The windy/dusty – slightly cooler – day pulled us out to the west side of the Santa Catalina Mountains for the Baby Jesus Trail Loop.
Golder Ranch Road Parking Area – 50 Year trail (a counterclockwise loop today), the single track of ends too soon… Dirt roads and gunfire as the background… Trail Link – Sutherland Trail, I barely paused at the junction with the Baby Jesus Trail, the thin track thru the desert was marked but seemed too small, thankfully Alison corrected our path.
The Baby Jesus Trail seems to get surprisingly little use near the junction with the Sutherland Trail – cows – the Wooden Trough Spring Tank has clear flowing water, a great surprise!
The cows have taken over trail building in this area and at times following the trail is a bit of a guessing game, today we are glad that the last hiker on this trail seemed to know it rather well and left us beautiful foot prints to follow.
The lower stretches of the Baby Jesus Trail are especially beautiful as it follows a ridge and canyon past beautiful rock formations – easy to see why the lower portion of the trail receives more use.
A short section of road – single track on the 50 Year Trail – the moon rising between Samaniego Peak and Mount Lemmon – Pusch Ridge – home…
