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| | | Butterfly Trail #16 - Catalina, AZ | | | |
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Butterfly Trail #16 - Catalina, AZ
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| Hiking | 11.07 Miles |
3,845 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.07 Miles | 8 Hrs 41 Mns | | 1.53 mph |
| 3,845 ft AEG | 1 Hour 28 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Another section of the AZT Chris needed to scratch off his list. I was onboard, but probably didn't think out what I was getting myself into. We met at Wally's house at 430am and off we went.
This hike was a challenge. A couple of steep drops and climbs and a less than manicured trail. This part of Mount Lemmon is certainly beautiful. Despite what appeared to be smoke (dusty hazy) that limited the amazing views, the vistas from every side from the high points were very nice. Signs of past fires were evident all along the trail.
The first hike up towards Mt Bigelow wasn't too bad. Wally and I almost visited the watchtower on Mt Bigelow until we heard Chris yelling at us from the lower junction pointing towards the Butterfly Trail. That was a 2+ mile descent around Mt Bigelow to a pretty nice canyon below. The never-ending down turned into a little up and then some actual level hiking(sorta) at the turn around point at the junction of what I think was Crystal Springs (a continuation of AZT section 11).
My hip was already bothering me and hurting from the rough descent down from Mt Bigelow. We had a little lunch and started back towards the trailhead. About a 1/2 mile in on a downward area in the little canyon, a steep step caused something in my hip to "pop". It's never good to hear those kinds of sounds coming from your joints. The usual soreness was replaced with a very sharp acute pain. After that, I was at turtle speed. Going up didn't hurt as bad, but any kind of step down was painful. It took me forever to climb back out this one. I decided to let Chris and Wally know that I will make it up to the Bigelow junction and would meet them at the Incinerator Ridge Road camping area we passed on the way up. But, between intermittent cell coverage and another miscalculation, I had to hike down to the area to told them to meet me. Adding even more suffering...ugh.
The hip injury aside, this was a nice trail. Challenging and rough, but a good hike under different health conditions.
My ortho doctor told me 2 months ago my left hip was basically bone on bone. I got a cortisone shot and was told to "take it easy" on the harder hikes. Of course, since then, I have done the exact opposite. It appears I may have done something else to it now, hastening my inevitable hip replacement. Anyone on HAZ been through this procedure? I am a little depressed about the thought of not being able to hike the crazy trails I love anymore. |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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