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| Romero to Sutherland Trails Loop, AZ | |
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| | Romero to Sutherland Trails Loop, AZ | | | |
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Romero to Sutherland Trails Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 27.00 Miles |
6,685 AEG |
| | Hiking | 27.00 Miles | 11 Hrs | | 2.70 mph |
| 6,685 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | 10 LBS Pack | | |
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none
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| no partners | | I can't seem to get the linking to work as there was no planned route for this so I created my own in TrailDex. This is the actual route http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=10273
It was an awesome day for a hike, perfect weather until you got above 7000' then the wind was really howling...
The hike up to Romero Pass and then up the Mt. Lemmon Trail was as expected.The Sutherland trail is another matter....
This was the first time I'd tried this trail and I wanted to do it from the top down so that if anything went wrong I could just 'follow my nose' back to the trailhead. Once you reach the split with the Canyon del Oro Trail, the sutherland pretty much disappears. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS TRAIL WITHOUT SERIOUS BACKCOUNTRY EXPERIENCE OR REALLY GOOD GPS EQUIPMENT.
There has been NO maintenance on the Sutherland for many years and not many people use it. The entire length of Sutherland ridge is completely unmarked and so overgrown that you can't find the sporatic cairn that is there.
Fortunately, I had my new Garmin Oregon 450 with me and when I deviated significantly from the trail I was able to find my way back easily. 
There are few to no wild flowers up there (probably from the hard freeze we had this winter) but let me tell you, the ankle daggers are in FULL FORCE. I looked like a pin cushion by the time I got down off the ridge.
Fortunately, just below the ridge the trail picks up again and is easy enough to follow. Some lnatic has actually ridden a motorcycle up to there on the trail so it's easy to spot, even in the failing light :-)awesome hike, but the Sutherland needs serious work.... |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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