East coast hikers looking for 1 day long hike in Tucson area

[kskilskyj]

We'll be in town for a few days and have 1 full day to get out on the trails. Looking for a day long hike that is difficult, has little traffic, and has killer views.

We're experienced east coast backpackers/hikers. Have also climbed/hiked/backpacked quite a bit in CO and MT.

We'll be in the Tucson area in late September.

Any recommendations? So many great hikes listed on the site, it's difficult to narrow it done.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Jeffshadows]

Finger Rock to Pima to Mt. Kimball. Have fun!

[kskilskyj]

Finger Rock to Pima to Mt. Kimball. Have fun!

Thanks. Any particular reason for this one?

[dysfunction]

It's a great hike in the front range.. great views of Tucson in general.. and the traffic dies out relatively quickly, at least when I've been on it.. most is long gone by Linda Vista.


http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=287 there's a link to it.


Wrightson via Baldy is also a favorite of mine

http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=158

[azbackpackr]

Ventana Canyon to The Window.

The above-mentioned Pima Canyon to Mt. Kimball, and back via Finger Rock Trail requires 2 cars. For a one-car hike, you can go up Finger Rock Trail, bag Mt. Kimball, then go back along the ridge to the east, to the Window, to add some mileage and views if you want to. Not sure the condition of that upper trail these days, though, between Finger Rock junction and Ventana junction. Anyone?

7 falls (in Bear Canyon) is fun to see if it's running, and then hike on up above it, do the loop back around to Sabino. There will be miles of solitude past 7 falls. Only one car required for this loop. You can find out if it's running by calling the Sabino Canyon Visitors' Center, or asking about it on here.

[dysfunction]

Yea, a big loop from the Sabino visitors center up through bear, then taking a left on East Fork and taking that to Hutch's, then turning back to Sabino, then hitting Powerline down would be a nice loop with (usually) a good chunk of solitude (cept around Hutch's itself and the first couple miles of Bear Canyon, last couple of Powerline)


Ok, so now this thread has made me decide I'm going to do that one this fall/winter.

[Jeffshadows]

Ventana Canyon to The Window.

The above-mentioned Pima Canyon to Mt. Kimball, and back via Finger Rock Trail requires 2 cars. For a one-car hike, you can go up Finger Rock Trail, bag Mt. Kimball, then go back along the ridge to the east, to the Window, to add some mileage and views if you want to. Not sure the condition of that upper trail these days, though, between Finger Rock junction and Ventana junction. Anyone?

7 falls (in Bear Canyon) is fun to see if it's running, and then hike on up above it, do the loop back around to Sabino. There will be miles of solitude past 7 falls. Only one car required for this loop. You can find out if it's running by calling the Sabino Canyon Visitors' Center, or asking about it on here.

Incorrect. The Finger Rock trail turns east at about 5.6 miles and the route becomes the Pima Canyon trail which takes you to the spur trail to Kimball. Finger Rock trail does not go all the way to Kimball.

[writelots]

I agree with the Pima/Finger Rock trail recommendation. Killer views, amazing changes from cactus-studded Sonoran desert to oak-pine woodlands, and it's rare to see people past the first big hill

Sabino is nice, may have some water to interact with, but is guaranteed to have more people in the lower reaches. Ventana to the Window is also spectacular - but if you don't know where the window is, there's a good chance you'll miss it. And, I have to admit that the whole bottom of the trail through the resort tends to make me hiss and spit (but that's just a local politics thing).

Wrightson via Baldy is also a very good hike - however, you don't get the signature Sonoran desert veg because you're starting higher. This is a better option if it's going to be very hot, however. PLEASE don't underestimate the effect that even 90 degree temps can have when hiking these big elevation gain treks. BRING LOTS OF WATER!

[azbackpackr]

But, what is lots of water? To someone from the east coast it might mean one liter. We are talking a minimum of 3 to 4 liters here, folks, and also make sure you have some electrolyte replacements and salty snacks. I can't count the number of times I have told people to bring plenty of water (BPOW) and then they show up with a little 12 oz. arrowhead bottle from the grocery store. And then you need to remember to actually DRINK the water!

I also recommend shirts with sleeves (not tank tops) and using sunscreen all over, using some kind of lip balm with sunscreen in it, and wearing a wide-brimmed hat that shades face, ears and back of neck, with a bandanna in your pack to provide extra sun coverage. And sunglasses. If you can prevent any sort of sunburn you will have a lot more energy, will feel less exhausted from the heat and sun exposure, be less likely to get a headache, etc.

People always think they should prevent sunburn for the future, because of skin cancer they might get, etc. Well, that's good, of course, but many people don't know they will have a lot more energy if they limit sun exposure while on a hike.

[kskilskyj]

Thanks for all the great suggestions thus far!

Is anyone familiar with the Rincon hike? Sounds interesting from the triplogs I've read, but haven't seen anyone mention it in this thread yet. How does it compare to the hikes already mentioned?

Also, what weather/temps should we expect as we head up the moutains. We'll be there over the next week. Looks like high temps in the city will be around 95.

Thanks again!

[Jeffshadows]

Rincons will require a fee, technically even if you are coming from the back side. The only single day trips to the summit and back are from Italian Spring or Turkey Creek (For all intents and purposes) and both require 4WD and some previous knowledge of the area to navigate to the trail head without a lot of trouble. The other option is to go up Douglas Spring or Tanque Verde trail. Both will be quite hot this time of year and not terribly fun. Douglas is not very challenging until you get into the final ascent into the saddle, and then you basically lose the view for a time. Based on the criteria you mentioned I would suggest Mt. Kimball or a trip into Catalina State Park (fee) up the Romero trail to the pass. That will also give you about 3,000' of gain and great views.

[Jeffshadows]

The weather has been unpredictable, of late. I would prepare for anything ranging from 90 to 101F; bring water accordingly, etc.

[kskilskyj]

Rincons will require a fee, technically even if you are coming from the back side. The only single day trips to the summit and back are from Italian Spring or Turkey Creek (For all intents and purposes) and both require 4WD and some previous knowledge of the area to navigate to the trail head without a lot of trouble. The other option is to go up Douglas Spring or Tanque Verde trail. Both will be quite hot this time of year and not terribly fun. Douglas is not very challenging until you get into the final ascent into the saddle, and then you basically lose the view for a time. Based on the criteria you mentioned I would suggest Mt. Kimball or a trip into Catalina State Park (fee) up the Romero trail to the pass. That will also give you about 3,000' of gain and great views.

This is the Rincon trail I was looking at:

http://www.hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=241

Looks like this could be accomplished as a day hike. According to the description, the trailhead appears fairly easy to find, just requires about 12 miles on a gravel road, though the description says the road is passable with a passenger car. Not sure how up to date that description is though.

Any advice?

Thanks.

[writelots]

I'm going to stick with recommending the Catalinas hikes. Rincon peak is a nice hike, it's a much longer drive, a much more difficult hike and it's in more grasslands and oak forest than the spectacular Sonoran desert. Benefits are that it tends to be very sparsely visited and it is a beautiful wilderness area in it's own right. Views from Rincon Peak are excellent, but so are the views from Kimball or the Window... When you're 4000 vertical feet above the desert, perched on a rock escarpment, you're guaranteed a great view!

[JimmyLyding]

Mount Kimball is a pretty tough hike. I would classify it as being a good deal tougher than hiking out of the Grand Canyon along Bright Angel. The Bright Angel trail in the GC is roughly 9 miles and 4500' of elevation gain, and Kimball is 5 miles up and 4200' of elevation gain. However, Mount Kimball is one awesome hike. Bring the big boots for this one. Not recommended for running shoes unless your name is John Spiker. The trail is pretty tough with lots of step-ups/downs. Just think of climbing the Empire State Building with gravel on the stairs....and some stairs missing.
Romero is also very cool.
If you have too many margaritas at El Charro the night before, and can't start early (if it's hot, and it probably will be hot) there are a lot of cool hikes in the upper elevations that are easily accessed via the Catalina Hwy.

[Jeffshadows]

Rincon Peak would be fine but you might have a little fun finding the trail head being from out of town. Technically, that's a permit required hike but you'd pretty much have to get caught in the act to get a ticket...

[dysfunction]

I've never been asked for a permit in SNP if I didn't have a framepack on.

[imike]

do the finger rock trail to Kimbell, and if you want some more miles/hours tag on a sidetrip up to the Guard, the prominent rock to the right above the Finger Rock... hit Kimbell first and if you have nice energy left over coming down, tag on this nice bit of extra steep side trail. You'll be scoring the big effort of Kimbell and the added drama of the Guard (...tiny bit of climbing required... along with some route finding).. and no car shuttles.

[imike]

Mount Kimball is a pretty tough hike. I would classify it as being a good deal tougher than hiking out of the Grand Canyon along Bright Angel. The Bright Angel trail in the GC is roughly 9 miles and 4500' of elevation gain, and Kimball is 5 miles up and 4200' of elevation gain. However, Mount Kimball is one awesome hike. Bring the big boots for this one. Not recommended for running shoes unless your name is John Spiker.

...I think the lighter shoes make for easier going on that trail, if you have trained in lightweight shoes... it is steep enough without adding more weight!

[dysfunction]

Your toes will hurt no matter what shoes you wear after the descent