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| Hiking | 17.02 Miles |
4,671 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.02 Miles | 9 Hrs 17 Mns | | 2.01 mph |
| 4,671 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | We'd both been to Romero Pools in the past, and extreme drought generally isn't a great time to see water, but the plan today was to hike up to Romero Pass, which we hadn't seen before. Got on the trail just before 8AM and saw quite a few people hiking out over the first half mile, then fairly quiet to Romero Pools. I was expecting lots of people and little/no water, and though water levels were nothing like my last visit years ago, there were still some moderate pools and a light flow of and not very many people...low expectations for the win!
We took a short break near the pools for a snack, then onward and upward toward the pass. Romero Canyon continued to have occasional pools down below, and there were some nice, shady camping areas near some of the springs. We had to dodge a little poison ivy along some crossings, but the trail was mostly brush-free all the way up. The final ~ half mile up to the pass gets pretty steep, and TBK took a break there while I explored a little farther on West Fork Trail for ~15 minutes. I didn't quite reach the Cathedral Rock intersection before I turned around, and we started back down from the pass.
The hike out was uneventful but pleasant, with no one at the pools and mostly empty trails other than a few trail runners/hikers until we were back within a mile of the starting point. Didn't see any interesting wildlife, but more wildflowers than expected and nice temps all day--comfortable in a T-shirt from start to finish. It was good to be back in the Catalinas after 5+ years...definitely worth a return visit to hike some of the peaks and other trails I haven't done yet. |
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Romero Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Occasional small pools and trickles of water throughout |
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Romero Pools |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Numerous pools and very light flow/trickle | | | |
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