DESTINATION Generic 86 Photosets
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| Hiking | 4.20 Miles |
400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.20 Miles | 2 Hrs | | 2.10 mph |
| 400 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I found this trail description online about a 75' waterfall in Catalina SP and had to go check it out: http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to- ... on-a223269
I took the Canyon Loop to the Sutherland Trail to a junction with a bench and a brown carsonite Sutherland Trail marker about .4 miles from the Canyon Loop. At the bench, a trail branches off heading right (east), toward the unnamed canyon between Romero and Cargodera Canyons. This is an unofficial trail, but it is well worn and very easy to follow. After the trail goes into and climbs out of a wash, there is a split in the trail. The left fork goes up a little in elevation toward the foot of Hidden Falls, which were a big dud today. Barely a trickle. Interestingly, there were four Hohokam grinding holes right in one area. One rock had three of them, two circular and one elongated- an ancient grinding station. Thirty-three archeological sites have been discovered within Catalina SP. In 1940, a hiker stumbled upon a cavity about 3 miles from Romero Ruins that contained a treasure of Hohokam artifacts. The cache held an olla (ceramic jar) containing about 100,000 stone and shell beads, as well as 30 copper balls. This always kills me- could you imagine coming across something like that!
Even though the falls were dry, all was not lost, as the other fork took me into a beautiful little canyon with good pools and plenty of water. I went for a swim and enjoyed the fact that there would probably be no one else visiting this area of the park. Saw a ring-necked snake that was black on top, with a yellow band on its neck and colorful underside. There was a nice campsite just above the creek that would be great for a quick overnight getaway. The best part of the campsite was that there was a big ridge obscuring the view of town, giving it a secluded feel even though it is only 2.2 miles away from the trailhead. I'll have to come back and check out the falls when they are running. |
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