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mini location map2025-10-15
21 by photographer avatarspeedgoat
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Sutherland Trail #6Tucson, AZ
Tucson, AZ
Hiking16.50 Miles 4,692 AEG
Hiking16.50 Miles   9 Hrs   47 Mns   1.69 mph
4,692 ft AEG12 LBS Pack
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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Sutherland Trail is a trail that I really want to love. I've been pushing the one-day out and back limit on Sutherland... finally making it to the ridge. The views are awesome, the challenge of climbing 2000' in 1.7 miles from the Cargodera Canyon tributary water crossing is inspiring. Sutherland has fantastic views, but the cost is high. Just getting to the end of the road is 2.5 hours of climbing from Catalina SP. The top of the ridge is 5 hours. After several brief loss-of-trail from a missed cairn (often just a small 2" rock sitting on a boulder) finally made it to the top of the ridge, 8 miles. The last 1/4 mile was mostly off-trail I guess, and the route down was on a different off-trail. Fortunately with GAIA its pretty easy to map check and recover the trail--except in places its hard to see that you have recovered the trail. The climb was well worth the trip with the panoramic views of Romero Canyon, Window Peak--right through the window, Cathedral Rock, Mt. Kimbal, the Sutherland Ridge, Samaniego Ridge, and the basin to the east including upper Sabino Canyon and Wilderness of Rocks. It's quite a view, I spent half an hour on the ridge with the monocular. But, but the time you descend, get off trail, check map, straight-line or backtrack, after 4 hours of descending, I'm question my love of the Sutherland Trail. That's what makes it epic, not a soul on the trail, not a footprint above the end of the road.
BTW, water was flowing a trickle in the first tributary of the Cargodera canyon, enough to get 1.5 liters on the way up, and another 1.5 liters on the way down.

water 1 out of 5water less than maxwater less than maxwater less than max Upper Cargodera @ Sutherland Crossing Pools to trickle Pools to trickle
  3 archives
HAZ Member
speedgoat's
7 Photosets

  2025-10-15
  2025-09-20
  2025-09-15
  2025-08-20
  2025-08-15
  2025-07-28
  2025-07-25
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