Vault Mine Trail #77 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 22 2025
		azdesertfather • Triplogs 1,145

Hiking	12.98 Miles	4,167 AEG

Hiking	12.98 Miles	7 Hrs 13 Mns		2.11 mph
	4,167 ft AEG	1 Hour 4 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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no photosets

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6 linked trail guides

Josephine Peak

Mount Hopkins Loop

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Planned to do Josephine and Hopkins peaks, but didn’t quite turn out that way!

Started from Madera Canyon, plan was to do Josephine first. At Riley Saddle we turned off and got a little ways in before calling it. The brush was insanely thick, no way to make it currently that I could see and I was trying to follow the HAZ track.

So we abandoned that summit attempt and headed for Hopkins, taking Super to Agua Caliente, and at the point where we were closest to the Hopkins road, we took a little, steep, unnamed path straight up to it, then hiked the road to the summit, having lunch on top.

We headed down the summit road a short distance then bushwhacked down the steep mountainside to rejoin the Agua Caliente. There was nothing really to follow there, though we did stumble onto game trails a couple of times for a little ways which helped. We then headed down Agua Caliente to Vault Mine Trail to Old Baldy, back the short distance down to the trailhead.

Weather was perfect, and we saw a number of deer and some birds. Great but tiring day!

going up Baldy and Super

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." — Henry David Thoreau

Jan 03 2025

Jackluminous

Guides 1
Routes 263
Photos 876
Triplogs 267

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Carrie Nation Super Pipeline loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 03 2025
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 267

Hiking	6.77 Miles	1,975 AEG

Hiking	6.77 Miles	5 Hrs 4 Mns	1.74 mph
	1,975 ft AEG	1 Hour 11 Mns Break

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Pipeline Trail - Santa Ritas

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Keith and I hadn’t hiked together in a while and neither of us had made it out to the Ritas in a while either, so we did something about it.

We always seem to wind up at Josephine Saddle (surprise), but he hadn’t seen the cool miney stuff on Carrie Nation, so we went up that way. We were pleasantly surprised to find water around the old mine.

Saw not a soul till Agua Caliente, where we passed two ladies headed to go down Carrie Nation. I remember remarking to Keith on the way up that I really would rather ascend that trail than descend. A slip going up means about a three foot tumble. Going down that slip might lead to 300 yards of rolling.

We took a little break at a saddle, talked about options, then settled on descending via Super with a detour to Madera Spring for lunch. We cruised by Josephine saddle and on down Super. We took the upper turnoff to Madera Spring, which was a mistake. That descent was not fun.

Madera Spring was delightful as usual, though it took a while for the flow to fill my dirty bag. We set up for lunch and enjoyed the afternoon.

Headed down we noticed the squirrels were particularly industrious and generally oblivious to humans. They acted like they owned the place, which is pretty accurate.

Lovely weather. Another fabulous day in one of the happiest places I know.

	Carrie Nation Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Plenty of water trickling down the drainage once you approach the mine. Lots of clear, filterable pools; a nice surprise considering how dry it has been.

	Madera Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Slow dripping but decent pools. Tasty!

	Sprung Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Almost dry. Pretty sludgy. Pipe into the basin looks broken.

Sep 28 2024

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 28 2024
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	15.50 Miles	5,950 AEG

Hiking	15.50 Miles	6 Hrs 31 Mns	2.38 mph
	5,950 ft AEG

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One last big hike before my Grand Canyon trip in two weeks. Weather was weird, it got warmer driving up to the trailhead from Green Valley. Green Valley was in the 70's and when I parked at the trailhead is was 84 degrees at 4:30AM. Stayed warm for about a mile up Old Baldy and then the temperature dropped to what I was expecting. No speed records were set, just wanted time on my feet and I knew that it would be warm by the end of the day. Went up Old Baldy, came down and then went up Vault Mine and down Carrie Nation.

Saw a bear near Bellows Springs, so that was one highlight of the day. Then on Vault Mine saw two ridge nose rattlesnakes hanging out on the trail. Stepped on the second one and we were both surprised. Gave him some space to throw a temper tantrum and he slithered off.

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See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

Jun 15 2024

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 15 2024
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	7.10 Miles	2,110 AEG

Hiking	7.10 Miles	3 Hrs 30 Mns	2.03 mph
	2,110 ft AEG

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Bearpaw Rock & Pete Mountain Loop

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Went up Vault Mine, bypassed Carrie Nation to head up Jack's and then backtracked to Carrie Nation to return. Fairly uneventful hike. Saw some fresh bear scat, large prints and once or twice a musky bear-like oder wafted over the trail, but we didn't see anything.

I'm no birder, but can recognize about 10 different birds. Know enough that I caught a good glimpse of a few Montezuma Quail running up the trail near the parking lot. Bumped into a few birders taking a survey on the way down and they got excited to learn that there were a few in the area.

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See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

Mar 09 2024

rubywrangler

Photos 268
Triplogs 17

female

Joined Mar 12 2021
Seattle, WA

Bearpaw Rock & Pete Mountain Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 09 2024
		rubywrangler • Triplogs 17

Hiking	7.50 Miles	3,052 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles	5 Hrs 20 Mns	1.50 mph
	3,052 ft AEG	20 Mns Break

no routes

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This is a great loop! And just enough winter right now to look pretty without conditions being sketchy or annoying.

I left the car at ~7:40am. Patchy snow begins on the Vault Mine trail around 6000 feet, with a couple crusty inches on shaded and north-facing aspects. Other orientations are either snow free or slippery slush. Nothing too tricky, but I was glad to have a trekking pole and my high-top gore-tex ultra raptors rather than the low-top mesh ones. I had descended this trail a few years ago and it is MUCH easier going up.

At Agua Caliente, the footsteps of all previous hikers turned left so I broke trail through a few inches of untracked snow to the saddle. From there, the trail to Bearpaw rock and up to Pete was surprisingly obvious in the inch or so of remaining snow. Actually, the cairns near the summit were the most confusing part; they didn't necessarily seem to align with the most logical route. Took exactly one hour from the top of Vault Mine to the summit. Found another unopenable glass jar summit register.

It was a gorgeous day with spectacular views all around!

After a quick midmorning PB&J, I retraced my steps and then headed southeast on Agua Caliente. Such a pretty trail! The snow was deeper (4-6)" on north-facing sections and the footprints of previous hikers were helpful. A quick descent on Carrie Nation, and I was back to the car at 1pm. It was a quiet day overall; I saw a total of 7 other hikers until I was back within spitting distance of the parking lot.

Nov 12 2023

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,487
Photos 16,077
Triplogs 1,377

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 12 2023
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,377

Hiking	8.36 Miles	3,256 AEG

Hiking	8.36 Miles	5 Hrs 39 Mns	1.63 mph
	3,256 ft AEG	32 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Informational/Interpretive Sign Miscellaneous Survey Marker

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I have been wanting to do this hike for quite some time and the stars finally aligned so I finally got up there.

Starting from the Old Baldy TH, I started out on the Old Baldy Trail. I didn't go too far when the Old Baldy Trail went off to the left toward Mount Wrightson. Instead of going to Wrightson I continued straight on the Vault Mine Trail. From there I took the Carrie Nation Trail, the Agua Caliente Trail, and a social trail to the paved road that goes up to Mount Hopkins. I got on the road about 1.5 miles from the summit. I returned the way that I came.

These trails were all very steep -- much steeper than the Old Baldy Trail and the Super Trail that go up to Wrightson. The social trail was mostly easy to follow, but it was more primitive than the other trails.

This hike does not have as much distance or elevation gain as hiking up to Mount Wrightson, but I thought that it was tougher than hiking up to Wrightson.

I can see doing this hike again sometime, but probably not right away!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White Tailed Deer

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Atascosa Mountains Huachuca Mountains Josephine Peak Mount Hopkins Mount Wrightson San Cayetano Peak Santa Rita Mountains

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

1 archive

Oct 28 2023

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 28 2023
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hiking	7.50 Miles	2,750 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles
	2,750 ft AEG		10 LBS Pack

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PrestonSands

Some new area for me. Preston and I did a loop going counter clockwise, with 2 spurs. The first spur was out to Aqua Caliente Saddle (or Auga as the FS spells it), and then a few switchbacks down the trail to look at some of the trees. The second was Jack Mountain and Josephine Saddle.

Many members come here to hike this loop, it seems, but it was my first time. It was nice and has some good views of the higher terrain to the east. Jack Mt didn't have much to talk about, but it is summit. I didn't know Jack, but I do now.

If you like bear poop. The Agua Caliente is the trail for you. Piles and piles of it, all along the upper sections. Very impressive and fresh, too. Taste was a bit off.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Apache Pine

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Oct 28 2023

PrestonSands

Guides 170
Routes 148
Photos 5,914
Triplogs 2,097

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 28 2023
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	7.50 Miles	2,750 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles
	2,750 ft AEG

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Jim

Santa Rita Saturday hike. Jim and I went up Vault Mine Trail, had lunch near one of the mines near the top. Turned west onto Agua Caliente Trail and followed that past the saddle and down the other side a bit. Tons of enormous piles of bear crap along Agua Caliente. Took Agua east and summited Jack Mountain, then continued east to Josephine Saddle. Backtracked to upper junction of Carrie Nation Trail and followed that down to the Madera Canton trailhead. Great hike!

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"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan

Jul 29 2023

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 29 2023
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	8.26 Miles	2,467 AEG

Hiking	8.26 Miles	3 Hrs	2.75 mph
	2,467 ft AEG

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Even at 6:30 AM it was hot and muggy at 5400 feet, so much for escaping from the heat for a few hours. Went up Vault Mine to Agua Caliente and cut across to Josephine Saddle. Saw what looked like a well worn social trail that spurred off near Carrie Nation and explored up that for about 15 minutes. Figured out that it must be the trail to Mt. Hopkins. Turned around and kept heading towards Super Trail and back down to the car.

Oddly not that busy for a Saturday. Ran into 3-4 birders hanging around their usual spots before I turned off onto Vault Mine and then didn't see another person all day until I was halfway down Super Trail when I saw 3 more people. Got to the parking lot and half the parking spots were still open at 9:30 AM.

_____________________

See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

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Jul 09 2023

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,126

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 09 2023
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,126

Hiking	6.36 Miles	2,254 AEG

Hiking	6.36 Miles
	2,254 ft AEG		10 LBS Pack

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up vault mine (nearly killed me) then took agua caliente over to the saddle. came back and went up jack mountain. man the trees up there have really grown in the last couple years. came back and went down carrie nation. nice day down in madera canyon - warm but certainly better than tucson. got sprinkled on for 5 minutes. not many people

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hi

Aug 25 2022

cactuscat

Routes 85
Photos 3,718
Triplogs 486

female

Joined Oct 15 2002
Rimrock, Arizona

[ checklist ] Apple Puffball and Earthstar Mushrooms Scarlet Creeper

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 25 2022
		cactuscat • Triplogs 486

Hiking	2.50 Miles	1,000 AEG

Hiking	2.50 Miles
	1,000 ft AEG

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Madera Nature Trail #88

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I had a couple hours to kill before check-in time at the Santa Rita, so I decided to finally hike a bit of the upper trails - in all my trips to Madera Canyon I've mostly just stuck to the middle and lower canyon except for hiking the Bogs/Kent Spring Loop once or twice.

The name of this trail is confusing but I guess I was officially on the Vault Mine, even though ebird calls it Carrie Nation? What a lovely trail - definitely made me want to hike UP the mountain sometime soon. Kept my eyes open for the Elegant Trogons, but I never look for them too hard since I usually see them every year just by being in the places they are - that said, I still have not seen any yet this year.

Only saw a handful of people along the trail. Rained lightly for much of the hike, but the tree cover is thick enough that I rarely noticed it ... didn't have to cover my camera until I was almost back within sight of the parking lot, then dashed for my truck.

After check-in, I walked down the Creek to Whitehouse, then back up to the Amphitheater ... everything is SO green and the creek is flowing stronger than I think I've ever seen it - couldn't even cross it easily.

Birding at the lodge was amazing, as usual. I had a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher calling in the tree behind my casita as I was unloading my stuff - my cooler and backpack got temporarily abandoned outside in the rain while I went to look ... and soon after, I had a Painted Redstart catching moths right on my porch. At the lodges's feeders, I was able to see and photograph the rare Berylline Hummingbird - only my second one ever.

Safe to say Madera Canyon/Santa Rita Lodge is currently my happiest place!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Sister Butterfly Berylline Hummingbird Broad-billed Hummingbird Coues White-tailed Deer Lesser Goldfinch Painted Redstart

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trash Hauled Out

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Madera Canyon

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Jul 25 2022

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,126

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 25 2022
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,126

Hiking	5.45 Miles	2,110 AEG

Hiking	5.45 Miles
	2,110 ft AEG

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up vault mine across to jack and down carrie nation

nice and cloudy but with high high humidity so it was a sweat fest. going up vault mine killed me per routine. agua caliente was brialliantly beautiful like always. the route up to jack is pretty obscure now but it is easy to get up there. some of the trees are about 15 feet now! crazy. down carrie nation, i wasn't thinking and took the rockier descent by the old cabin instead of the piney canyon switchbacks (which i strongly prefer).

great short hike. lot of flowers. i only saw a couple people way down low, otherwise had the place to myself

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hi

Jul 10 2022

Timknorr

Photos 738
Triplogs 27

39 male

Joined Jul 26 2012
Tucson, AZ

[ checklist ] Assassin Bug Elegant Trogon Red Spotted Toad Sun Spider Yarrow's Spiny Lizard

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 10 2022
		Timknorr • Triplogs 27

Hiking	1.80 Miles	2,360 AEG

Hiking	1.80 Miles
	2,360 ft AEG

no routes

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Started up the Vault mine to Carrie Nation. Went up and back twice looking for critters and birds. Was spoiled with a Trogon about 20 minutes from the parking lot along the dry creek.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mount Wrightson

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Jun 21 2022

rwstorm

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 22,415
Triplogs 1,041

77 male

Joined Feb 28 2003
Tucson, AZ

Madera Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Jun 21 2022
		rwstorm • Triplogs 1,041

Hiking

Hiking

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Just finished putting a layer of rubberized coating on my roof before the rains come. It was long overdue. I did find out this old body isn't up to tasks like that compared to a few years ago. It was quite a chore getting those heavy buckets up the ladder and onto the roof.

Thought I would head down to Madera Canyon and see how I felt hiking. No energy, but it was nice being down there anyway.

Knowing storms were forecast, I kept my eye on the sky in the short period of time I was there. I was just about back to the parking lot when it decided to cut loose. I got wet and some lightning was close, but it was so nice to experience a little of that after what we have been going through!

The butterfly working the thistle plants made my day!

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Jun 03 2022

JMount

Routes 3
Triplogs 3

male

Joined Mar 07 2022
Tucson, AZ

Wrightson up the steep side, AZ

Hiking		Jun 03 2022
		JMount • Triplogs 3

Hiking	7.87 Miles	2,523 AEG

Hiking	7.87 Miles	3 Hrs 46 Mns		2.38 mph
	2,523 ft AEG	28 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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Temporal Gulch Trail #595

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I took the rode less traveled and missed the destination. I will attempt it again.

Sep 29 2021

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 512
Photos 5,579
Triplogs 4,280

69 male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 29 2021
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,280

Hiking	7.39 Miles	2,148 AEG

Hiking	7.39 Miles	3 Hrs 20 Mns		2.25 mph
	2,148 ft AEG	3 Mns Break	8 LBS Pack

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aztrailblazzer

MyRudy

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

1 archive

Sep 25 2021

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 25 2021
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	10.10 Miles	2,370 AEG

Hiking	10.10 Miles	4 Hrs 33 Mns	2.22 mph
	2,370 ft AEG

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Temporal Gulch Trail #595

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Just about perfect weather for hiking, hit the parking lot and it was 59 degrees and I had to throw on some arm warmers for the first mile or so. Uneventful stroll up Vault Mine and over to Agua Caliente trail. This about the only place where you are not swimming in knee high to chest high grass and weeds around town it seems. Heading down Agua Caliente and a deer pops in front of me and oddly just stands there without moving. Simply stands there and looks at me, then turned around and noticed the reason why. A tiny fawn was 10 yards away and attempting to rejoin their mother. Scooted along once I figured that out and let the family reunion begin. Lots of deer out today, saw at least a half dozen more along the way.

The reason for my hike is that I just finished up the book that details the tragedy of the three Boy Scouts who perished up in the Santa Rita's and I wanted to see where they had fallen. Had never been on Temporal Gulch trail and poked around there for a bit. Went roughly a mile and half down Temporal Gulch to get the lay of the land and to plot out future expeditions. Very pretty views back here and McBeth Spring was running well. Saw about the freshest bear scat I've seen up in the Santa Rita's, it still had a fresh pool of urine on top of it. But alas I missed seeing any bears up here again.

From there did a casual stroll down Super Trail and bumped into Jim H heading up for the afternoon. Hopefully soon it cools off and we can agree on meeting for a hike that doesn't start at zero dark thirty.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	McBeth Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Flowing well and very cool, refreshing water.

_____________________

See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

May 22 2021

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 22 2021
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	5.60 Miles	2,142 AEG

Hiking	5.60 Miles	2 Hrs 40 Mns	2.10 mph
	2,142 ft AEG

no routes

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Josephine Canyon Trail #133

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Did a new variation of the loop. Up Vault Mine to Agua Caliente, bypassed Carrie Nation to snag Jack's Peak. Then backtracked to Carrie Nation and descended back to the car from there. Almost perfect weather and bypassed all of the high winds. It was beginning to howl on Jack's Peak and I could hear it from my vantage point. Then had a hard time keeping between the lines on the drive home, it's pretty blustery today.

Tucson has always been a hiking town, but compared to Phoenix they all seemed to sleep in. So if I got to a trailhead at 6 AM, chances were that I was the first or second car in the parking lot. Got to Madera Canyon right at 6AM and noticed half the spots along the top row of parking were already full. Trail conditions were dry & dusty, we need rain.

Lots of birders out this morning and when they found out where I was, were peppering me with questions about if I saw the pair of nesting Elegant Trogons near the Carrie Nation mine site. Had to let them down and admit that I wasn't paying attention.

_____________________

See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

May 01 2021

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,126

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Josephine Canyon Trail #133

Tucson, AZ

Run/Jog		May 01 2021
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,126

Run/Jog	12.35 Miles	3,524 AEG

Run/Jog	12.35 Miles	3 Hrs 56 Mns		3.28 mph
	3,524 ft AEG	10 Mns Break	7 LBS Pack

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up super trail to josephine saddle. took josephine canyon trail down to the road and followed that to a confluence of a couple dirt roads where there was an abandoned car parked crazily on the hillside, on a spare with open trunk and windows. didn't look like it had been there long. saw the crosser on the way back up.

i kinda forgot how nice josephine canyon is.

took agua caliente out to jack mountain then continued on to vault mine and took that down

got to madera at about 710. there was still ample parking. it was a beautiful day in the santa ritas

_____________________

hi

Jan 18 2021

gummo

Guides 13
Photos 15,630
Triplogs 323

male

Joined Oct 23 2010
mesa

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 18 2021
		gummo • Triplogs 323

Hiking	8.00 Miles	2,360 AEG

Hiking	8.00 Miles	4 Hrs 38 Mns		1.73 mph
	2,360 ft AEG		3 LBS Pack

no routes

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