Water flowing in Sabino Canyon. December 2015.A Saguaro in the Moon – moonrise above Bear Canyon. December 2015.On the road into Bear Canyon. December 2015.
It was raining when I parked at the Mint Spring Trailhead – not hard, but enough to make me reorganize some of my gear into Aloksaks to keep everything dry – just enough effort to keep the rain away for the rest of the evening! Highlights:
Mint Spring Trail – The first part of the trail was wonderfully overgrown – in spots the trail was almost a tunnel thru all of the summer growth – the fern covered hillsides with flowers peaking thru were memorable.
On the Mint Spring Trail – geranium richardsonii – Richardson’s Geranium I believe… September 2014.
Wilderness of Rock Trail – Water! Not the highest/fastest I have seen the water here – but enough that to make it exciting to see – small waterfalls, spills and pools!
Rushing water near the Wilderness of Rock Trail. September 2014.Aspen Trail – On the last climb to the ridge, burned years ago and now quite open, the flowers were blooming and beautiful and I had great views of the moon.
Moon and trees – near the top of the Aspen Trail. September 2014.Aspen Draw Trail – Sections of soft trail thru the big trees, it wasn’t long after starting the trail that I had to get out my headlamp to navigate the dark tree covered trail.
I finished with a run thru Summerhaven, by the time I arrived nothing was open (not unexpected on a Sunday night – but I was still hoping…), and the streets were nearly empty… 11.75 miles, 2600′ of elevation gain/loss.
The view from the 50 Year Trail – the wind/dust almost obscuring the view of Pusch Ridge in the middle of the day! May 2014.
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!
Wooden Trough Spring Tank – we were surprised to see the water, running and clear. May 2014.
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.
The moon rising between Samaniego Peak and Mount Lemmon. May 2014.
A short section of road – single track on the 50 Year Trail – the moon rising between Samaniego Peak and Mount Lemmon – Pusch Ridge – home…
