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| Hiking | 10.78 Miles |
636 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.78 Miles | 5 Hrs 6 Mns | | 2.55 mph |
| 636 ft AEG | 52 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | LaSelvilla to Loma Alta time to finish off a passage and complete a postponed hike of the top of 8 thru the Rincon Valley so we met in Sun Lakes at 7:15 and made our way, once again, toward Vail. Side note: Vail was named after an Easterner named Walter L. Vail, who purchased the “Empire Ranch,” a small spread in Cienega Valley, southeast of Tucson, and set about to develop a major livestock operation in the region. Stretching from the Rincon Mountains, east of Tucson, forty-five miles south to the Huachuca Mountains (eventually 180 square miles) http://www.empireranchfoundation.org/wp ... verted.pdf
The Loma Alta TH was pretty packed when we arrived so we decided to leave Tonto Jr and piled in Shawn's truck for the short shuttle to LaSelvilla Campground. It looked like it would be a lovely day for a hike.
The trail is in nice shape as it winds gradually up and over and into the Rincon Valley. There is lots of flora, some blooming, along the way. We encountered one large group of bikers that eventually made their way by us and shortly thereafter must have turned around so we had to wait for them again.
It looks like there had been some plant maintenance along the way but they didn't do the best job. There was one foothill palo verde tree that they did such a terrible job, we just had to stop and fix it. Shawn pulled out his saw and started sawing away at a branch or two which became at least 1/2 dozen branches so not only is the tree cleaned up, it looks much better.
We did encounter two of the largest barrel cactus we had ever seen. We took a picture by one only to see another one not too far away that was even taller (probably a little over 6 feet). We also encountered a couple horseback riders that we let pass; altho for quite some time we had to slow our pace in order not to take over these two horses, sheesh! Eventually the riders engaged the horses in a trot to get some distance. When these riders passed us on their way back, those horses were dragging; I don't think they get out much  .
We took a break for lunch at a little past the 1/2 way mark with a great view of the Rincon Mountains and Rincon Peak. It was really lovely as we enjoyed that view off an on for most of the day. After lunch we continued on our way with about a mile left to Rincon Creek. The terrain changed a bit as we got closer to the creek.
A biker passed by and said the creek was really running today. And yep, he was right and it was running fast and a little high over/on the trail. Someone spotted a branch that had been laid across this fast water a little downstream and Ambika, despite it looking like a pretty weak branch, made the attempt. It was difficult because you had to place your poles just right to stabilize you as you moved across the branch. Shawn let us go first for fear if he went it might break but we all made it safely.
On our way again with the next destination being Hope Camp. That is quite the operation there with the windmill and troughs and tanks. From here we hiked on the old jeep road built by cowboys. We're now looking at Tanque Verde Ridge looming to our north and Sentinel Butte. We will pass by Deer Camp, another line camp (pretty much a duplicate of Hope's set-up) used by cowboys from area ranches, including the Rock-ing K and X-9. From there, it's a hop, scotch... wait... I hear thunder and some more thunder... jump to the TH. We had a quick libation and some chips and headed over to LaSelvilla to pick up Shawn's truck.
We met up with Wendy and Randy at Rigo's for some Mexican fare. It was very crowded due to large parties so it was a bit noisy. The food got mixed reviews. Won't be back on the Arizona Trail with the section crew again until later in March. Pictures are done, video production pending 2-15-2017.
Part 1 [ youtube video ]
Part 2 toward Rincon Creek [ youtube video ]
Part 3 Rincon Creek to Hope Camp [ youtube video ]
Part 4 [ youtube video ]
Part 5 toward Camino Alta Loma TH [ youtube video ] |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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