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| Hiking | 4.71 Miles |
1,066 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.71 Miles | 2 Hrs 20 Mns | | 2.32 mph |
| 1,066 ft AEG | 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | A hike with a past. This gem of hike hits many marks with minimal effort. Noted along the route to the cooler hiking during Arizona summers, I made a note to assign myself a future outing in the winter/fall.
The hike trailhead area name alone sets you to discovery. The Sycamore Reservoir Trail #39 sets off from the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Area--just past mile marker 7 on the Catalina Highway.
Named for a Japanese American who was sentenced here during World War II, this beautiful setting has a conflicted past. In 1939, the federal government established The Catalina Federal Honor Camp for tax evaders, war objectors and Japanese-American men who resisted internment.
The Sycamore Reservoir was built to furnish the prison with water. The prisoners were used as the laborers for the building of the very Highway we drive now for our hiking and camping “getaways,”
The ruins of the prison remain along with informational signage at the camping area. Even if your plans take you further up along the road, a stop here for the history is worth the time served.
As for the hiking, we parked at the spaces available at the entrance signed as non-fee. There are nice campsites and FS bathroom facilities here.
A walk south through the campsites, past the corrals finds the Sycamore Reservoir #39 hike start. There were many cars parked down at this end as well. If nothing else, parking at the entrance minimizes the noise for the lucky campers and allows you direct access to the prison ruins on your walking way in or out to the trailhead.
This hike also allows one to traverse part of the Arizona Trail, yet another bonus. There is not much I can add to the hike details. The trail is easy to navigate and well signed. This along with the HAZ description is enough said.
A little early for spring flowers and the greenery at the riparian area at the reservoir, made this a lovely winter hike. A popular area, there were a number of hikers encountered but as with many Southern Arizona hikes, not overwhelmingly so.
We did not hike past the Reservoir. The area was still dressed for winter and so really not up for lingering or looking for flora and fauna. The hike back up to Trailhead was easily done at a moderate pace as the enjoyment and the look around is spectacular.
A little extra time on our hands we headed over to Tanque Verde Falls which is a nice addition in the area if you have the time. Adding Bug Springs Trail or traversing back is to the Molina Campground would be adds to the existing location.
One larger group of backpackers was headed out to Hutch’s pool which sounded like a lovely way to spend some time here. Perfect weekend hiking weather added to our enjoyment.
Hike distance and time were recorded from the access point of the trail and not the parking lot.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Hirabayashi |
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