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| Hiking | 3.64 Miles |
517 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.64 Miles | 1 Hour 35 Mns | | 2.30 mph |
| 517 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | After hiking Middle peak and USLM 2871 near the Oracle ridge trail, I rode down the mountain on my Harley motorcycle. The ride felt great and the temps were cool. I wore a windbreaker from the top of the mountain because it was already getting cool up there.
When I got to the bottom of the mountain, I thought I could use a break so I stopped in the Sabino canyon area to research this hike. It was a private gated neighborhood, but I found a good way to walk in.
Park at the Immaculate Heart Novititate as mentioned in the directions. At first I thought this was a church, but not exactly. The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian novice (or prospective) monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to vowed religious life.
Walk out of the parking area and turn right. Head toward the 'The Hacienda at the Canyon' retirement home. At first I thought this was some kind of luxury hotel. I can't imagine the cost of this retirement home. It looks as nice as any resort. Walk toward the retirement home and stay to the right. Follow the sidewalk around the right side of the building and to the back. You will see a path that heads East, crosses a wash and intersects with a wider trail that heads up the Southwest side of Sabino mountain. This is some kind of religious path that contains several monuments & statues along the way. On the way up, I skipped a switchback because I just wanted to get to the top faster. I first started seeing religious monuments/statues after about 1/3 mile from my parking area. The monuments are numbered from roman numeral I to XIV (14), and then there is a final white statue of Jesus on the cross with other individuals standing aside. I followed the main trail up and then an unmarked use trail beyond all of the religious statues that followed the top of the ridgeline.
After 0.7 miles total I reached a metal fence. There were portions of the fence that were raised up either on purpose, or there could have been some erosion here. I was able to duck under the fence and walk down a rocky embankment to get down to N Black Rock Drive, part of the Sabino Mountain private residences area. There was nobody on the street walking and I don't even think anyone noticed me walking the entire way. From here I walked North of Black Rock Drive for nearly a mile and then turned left onto N Block Rock Place. There were some huge nicely architected homes along the way. Some of the homes looked like commercial buildings or even libraries. There seemed to be home at the actual summit which I believe was near 4623 N Black Rock Place. I walked the sidewalk, continued to the cul-de-sac at the North end, took some photos at the view point, turned around and continued back the way I came. Along the way, I saw 2 gravel parking areas intended for looking at the views. I took photos of a few of the fanciest homes although it was nighttime, along with some interesting looking plants/bushes/trees. Near the North end of Black Rock Place, I saw a pair of eyes looking at me. It was probably either a bobcat, mountain lion, or coyote. By the time I got closer, it was gone.
I continued all the way back the way I came, going South/Southwest on Black Rock Drive. I exited the neighborhood, crossed under the 'high fence' and continued following the ridgeline 'use trail' back toward the religious statues/monuments. This time I didn't cut across any switchbacks. I followed the trail just to see where it went. It winds a bit but eventually intersects with the trail going to the retirement home area. If I had continued on the main religious trail past statue IV (4), it would have led back to the Immaculate Heart building, but that building was all fenced off at night and marked as private property, so I didn't go that way.
I checked the box 'only party on the mountain' because I was the only person walking in that entire area. Of course there were several other homeowners inside their homes!
Note: I did this hike at night so visibility was 'dark' and only in the range of my headlamp...
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 3.64 miles
AEG: 517 feet
Strava moving time: 1 hr 35 mins
Strava elapsed time: 1 hr 50 mins
Driving directions:
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use Google maps OR set your navigator to...
Immaculate Heart Novitiate
3820 N Sabino Canyon Rd, Tucson, AZ 85750
Park in the lot. This is a good place to park and start this hike. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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