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| Hiking | 9.30 Miles |
1,969 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.30 Miles | | | |
| 1,969 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Very nice hike. I went from Phoenix to General Hitchcock CG on Sunday night, and did this on Monday. Stayed at the campground until Wednesday afternoon. This triplog and accompanying photoset include the commentary and pictures from both the Bug Springs hike and a little bit from my photo safari up and down the Catalina Highway.
I highly recommend this hike, though it might be a little tough in warm weather as a good portion of it is very exposed. I started from the General Hitchcock CG, and the first portion going up the ridge from the upper TH is pretty tough 10 minutes after breakfast. The trail is in outstanding condition, however, with many railroad ties grading the way to the top. It's still a tough portion because of its steep grade. Topping out after that portion felt great, and then I began the descent into Fraley's Paradise. This is a beautiful area that features a nice forest of Arizona cypress, ponderosa pine, junipers, Emory oak, and Arizona black walnut. The trail meanders through the forest with many stream crossings some of which were a little treacherous because of the heavy runoff. The end of this segment features a nice little climb up to the top of a ridge, and the amazing views start there.
The ridgetop section features not only cool hoodoos, but outstanding views to the south and east. Mica Mountain seemed close enough to touch. The hike down the ridge to the switchbacks just above the lower trailhead is very scenic even if the surrounding terrain is burned-out chaparral. The vegetation is coming back, however, with the Emory oaks and grass leading the way. Not much else. Not even prickly pear. Torqued my knee about 30' from the upper trailhead which pumpkined because it meant no hiking on Tuesday.
The next day I drove up the Catalina Hwy to take a bunch of pictures. I've been up there many times, and I've never seen that much snow. Not even close. Went to Summerhaven (hate that place), and had a pizza. The pizza joint is the only restaurant in Summerhaven, and it was jammed. Get there really early or forget about it. Then I went to Ski Valley, and it was closed. For some reason it's closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays even this year with the awesome snow. Talked with the security guard who kept people from going into the concession area and parking lot (there were motion sensors and video cameras as well). Quite a character. He told me that the ski area closed my favorite the Aspen Draw trail, and that made me curious because I thought a few HAZ users had hiked it just last fall. He told me the ski area chopped a bunch of trees down, and positioned them over the trail. I questioned him a little bit, and he admitted that it may have been about 9 years ago when he worked there previously. He admitted that he was impressed at how much I knew about the Santa Catalinas, and I told him that's only because the vast vast vast majority of people who go up there know absolutely ZERO about where they're at.
Anyways, I think the Box Camp and Palisades trails should be cool within 3 weeks, and the Butterly trail a little bit longer. I can't understate how unbelievable the snow was up there. The road from Ski Valley to the very top probably won't be open until May at the earliest.
Every drainage was flowing. The smaller ones had rivulets, and the bigger drainages had raging torrents. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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