Agua Caliente Trail #140 • 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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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

_____________________

"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

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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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

SpiderLegs

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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Bearpaw Rock & Pete Mountain Loop

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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.

_____________________

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 16,091
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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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

_____________________

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

1 archive

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!

_____________________

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

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 27 2023

Guides 1
Routes 263
Photos 876
Triplogs 267

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 27 2023
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 267

Hiking	10.15 Miles	3,339 AEG

Hiking	10.15 Miles	6 Hrs 41 Mns	2.06 mph
	3,339 ft AEG	1 Hour 46 Mns Break

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Pete Mountain

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Somehow I hadn't managed to log any miles in October at all, and I needed to do something about it and quick. I wondered if the Santa Ritas would be a good place for fall colors so I decided to try Agua Caliente.

At the parking area I was greeted by a pair of abandoned trail runners. They were in good shape, name-brand, and clearly not intentionally left. I left them in hopes their owners might return to collect them while I was hiking.

Part of the reason for logging no miles in October is a bulking and weightlifting program taking up my workout time, and yesterday was leg day. That was mighty inconvenient for the steep ascent to Agua Caliente Saddle.

There wasn't much in the way of fall colors in the canyon portion of the hike. I took lots of short breaks on the way up to let my hamstrings calm down. From just below Walnut Spring to the saddle there was a lot of bear poo. I think I remark about the bear poo every time I post a triplog about this trail.

At the saddle I rested in my hammock a bit before deciding to head over to Pete Mountain. At the top of the first high point on the ridge I turned round and saw the patchy fall colors I was hoping to see, and reconsidered Pete Mountain. If I was going to see anything related to fall weather it was going to be on the north slope of Mount Hopkins. My legs really didn't want to do any more ascents anyway, so they talked me out of Pete Mountain. I went back down to Agua Caliente Saddle and resumed the trail to Josephine Saddle.

There were indeed patchy fall colors on this section, and while it was nothing spectacular it was still pretty. A small stand of aspens is about halfway between the two named saddles, but they had already lost their leaves.

I ate a late lunch at Josephine Saddle before heading back to the car. On the way back, in the upper part of the canyon section, I saw a single large coati descending a tree and trying very hard to avoid having its picture taken. Closer to the parking lot I startled some white-tailed deer who fled hastily. I saw at least five and heard a few more. Considering all the bear scat below the saddle I thought I'd see at least one bear, but not today.

The lonely trail runners were still there beside my car, so I took them and decided to post in the HAZ lost & found forum, which I did upon my return.

Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Kinda disappointing to be honest. Oaks turning brown. A few aspens on the trail were bare already. Some patchy interest here and there but this is probably not the place to go for fall colors.

	Walnut Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	No flow per se since it’s basically a natural tank, but it’s got plenty of water and pretty clear too.

Oct 06 2023

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,127

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Run/Jog		Oct 06 2023
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,127

Run/Jog	12.06 Miles	2,333 AEG

Run/Jog	12.06 Miles	3 Hrs 4 Mns		4.04 mph
	2,333 ft AEG	5 Mns Break	7 LBS Pack

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Super trail to Josephine Saddle. Then Agua Caliente out to the saddle and back. Great day down in Madera Canyon

_____________________

hi

Jul 29 2023

SpiderLegs

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

1 archive

Jul 09 2023

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,127

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 09 2023
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,127

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

_____________________

hi

Jun 09 2023

Guides 1
Routes 263
Photos 876
Triplogs 267

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Mt Wrightson Scenic Route, AZ

Hiking		Jun 09 2023
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 267

Hiking	13.67 Miles	4,771 AEG

Hiking	13.67 Miles	9 Hrs	2.04 mph
	4,771 ft AEG	2 Hrs 17 Mns Break

no photosets

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8 linked trail guides

Mount Ian

Crest Trail #144 - Santa Rita Mtns

Pipeline Trail - Santa Ritas

Four Springs Trail

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I arrived at the trailhead having decided to hike Carrie Nation, then head up to Agua Caliente trail. From there I wasn’t sure if I’d turn right or left.

I was greeted by three turkeys at the Old Baldy trailhead. They very reluctantly abdicated the trail as I approached; they let me get quite close.

It was my first time on Carrie Nation. There was water flowing in the creek all the way to the mine. I poked around the old equipment and took some pictures before heading up the ridge.

At Agua Caliente I debated between Wrightson and Pete Mountain. I needed to hop on a phone call at 10, and I knew that cell service was possible near Josephine Saddle as I’d made calls there before, but I had no idea whether it was possible at Pete, so Wrightson it was.

After the call at Josephine Saddle, I decided to take Super to Baldy Saddle. It was a bizarrely cool and overcast day in June so I figured if there was ever a summer’s day to do an exposed trail on a south slope in Arizona, it was today.

Just before Baldy Saddle I passed a couple volunteers doing tread improvements and thanked them for their service.

I had lunch at Baldy Saddle and it was delicious, and the view was great.

Up and down Wrightson was familiar and had the usual parade of hikers. I’d barely seen anyone all day otherwise. There were a lot of flies up there so I didn’t stay long.

The day was still young and I was feeling great so I decided to take the long way down. I popped over to Mt Ian, signed the log, and really enjoyed the view from there. Then I worked my way down the Crest trail to Pine Saddle.

That stretch of the Crest trail alternated between spectacular old growth forest and apocalyptic post-fire landscape in various stages of recovery. There is a lot of deadfall to climb over or under, and still many snags yet to come down.

I took the social trail down to Shovel Saddle. It’s pretty steep with loose rocks and gravel, so it’s definitely not a trail to hurry down.

From there it was Four Springs to the social trail connecting to Rogers Rock and Madera Spring, then down to Pipeline, Super, and the car.

It was a big day. Other than a few birders on Carrie Nation, a group of kids at Josephine Saddle, and the hiker parade on Old Baldy, I saw no one.

Baldy Spring

Dry

Upper Cave Creek - Santa Ritas

Dry

Upper Gardner Canyon - Santa Ritas

Dry

Wrightson Spring

Dry

Sep 16 2022

Guides 1
Routes 263
Photos 876
Triplogs 267

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Jack Mountain via Agua Caliente, AZ

Hiking		Sep 16 2022
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 267

Hiking	9.15 Miles	3,070 AEG

Hiking	9.15 Miles	6 Hrs 15 Mns	2.05 mph
	3,070 ft AEG	1 Hour 47 Mns Break

no photosets

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Lovely climb up Agua Caliente trail. Had lunch at Agua Caliente Saddle, then pressed on to Jack Mountain just to make a destination out of the trip. Lots of bear scat past the saddle as usual. Saw a deer not far before Jack Mountain that had no fear and stubbornly stuck to its munching even as I passed just a few feet from it.

	Rattlesnake Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Audible falls all along the trail till it splits off. Occasional glimpses of pools and running water through the vegetation.

	Walnut Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Large pool tucked away under the ivy. Pleasant drips from inside sounds very cavelike. Recent trail work rerouted the trail to go right by the spring, which is awesome.

Jul 25 2022

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,127

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 25 2022
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,127

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

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

Apr 16 2022

SpiderLegs

Guides 2
Routes 10
Photos 42
Triplogs 894

58 male

Joined Jul 12 2012
Oro Valley, AZ

Vault Mine - Josephine Saddle Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 16 2022
		SpiderLegs • Triplogs 894

Hiking	15.10 Miles	6,100 AEG

Hiking	15.10 Miles	6 Hrs 20 Mns	2.38 mph
	6,100 ft AEG

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Stringing together my two favorite tough training hikes together to get some time on my feet to prep for next month.

Doing a lot of trail work on Old Baldy below Josephine Saddle and it's like a super freeway in spots. Made for a quick ascent to the saddle.

No wildflowers to speak of. Did hear a pair of Elegant Trogons chatting with each other.

Bellows Spring

Quart per minute

_____________________

See my pics on Instagram @tucsonexplorer

Feb 05 2022

PrestonSands

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

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Old Baldy - Super Trail Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 05 2022
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	5.70 Miles	2,750 AEG

Hiking	5.70 Miles	2 Hrs 38 Mns	2.31 mph
	2,750 ft AEG	10 Mns Break

no routes

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Got a mid afternoon start and immediately met two others who were finishing their hike as I started, the only others I would see on the trail. First time on the western half of Agua Caliente Trail for me, and great to see something new. Trail is in great shape, practically a highway. Looked like the first half mile had been weeded and raked recently. Creekbed was bone dry. Reached the Treasure Vault Mine after a goodly climb through the oak forest. Water level was much higher in the mine shaft abyss than 3 years ago, now it’s a lake about 15 feet below the top of the shaft. Temps took a sudden dive as I climbed into the pines. Hit Agua Caliente Saddle and continued on a bit further to the top of the Vault Mine Trail for a view of Wrightson. Almost no snow on the north slopes of the peak. A side hike to Pete Mountain summit looked tempting but that will be another trip. Made it down Agua Caliente Canyon quickly, in time to enjoy the sunset from the trailhead. Great hike.

_____________________

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

2 archives

Jan 09 2022

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Old Baldy - Super Trail Loop

Tucson, AZ

Run/Jog		Jan 09 2022
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	12.80 Miles	4,050 AEG

Run/Jog	12.80 Miles	4 Hrs 19 Mns	3.51 mph
	4,050 ft AEG	40 Mns Break

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Old Baldy/Super Trail loop except using Carrie Nation on the way up. Checked out the vertical mine shaft above the main Carrie Nation shaft, that's one where you could die if you were to fall in. Wild.

Took one of the social trails from there up to AC, then headed over to Josephine Saddle and up Super Trail. It's been 4-5 years since I've been on the upper section of Super Trail, and there used to be a lot more of the sticker bushes. North slope of Wrightson had snow, and a couple stretches were slick.

Once at Baldy Saddle we started seeing the damage from the ice storm. Couple of stretches on the switchbacks were quite sketchy (forgot to bring my spikes), and the lower part of the switchbacks looked almost like a tornado went through there. Lots of trees on the ground, and we passed the crew who looked like they were putting the final touches on the cleanup effort. Microspikes are definitely advisable on Old Baldy right now, and it will probably get even icier in the coming days.

Took the lower half of Super Trail back down from the parking lot.

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Nov 19 2021

Guides 1
Routes 263
Photos 876
Triplogs 267

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Vault Mine - Josephine Saddle Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 19 2021
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 267

Hiking	10.48 Miles	3,245 AEG

Hiking	10.48 Miles	6 Hrs 27 Mns	2.02 mph
	3,245 ft AEG	1 Hour 16 Mns Break

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Took a mental health day and decided to try this trail. Boy am I glad I did. It is so pretty I was grinning ear to ear. The first couple miles are really steep but the trail is shady and well built.

The lower parts of the trail are grassy and a bit overgrown but not bad.

Walnut spring was a pleasant surprise. It’s a really beautiful spot and full of clear water even after weeks since the last of the monsoons. The trail around there is super steep with lots of switchbacks. There and in the segments of heavy leaf cover I was really wishing for my new trail runners; the ones I had were worn smooth so I was slip-slidin’ away in places.

After Agua Caliente saddle I came across the aftermath of Bear Berrybush Bingefest, which was basically a series of dinner-plate sized bear scat every few hundred yards for a good mile, each still steaming fresh. No bear sightings though.

Some really amazing, big, gnarly trees on this trail.

Fantastic trail. Road to it rough but definitely SUV passable. My 1st-gen CRV had no trouble.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alligator Juniper English ivy

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Walnut Spring

Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
Fall colors were throughout, though most of the deciduous trees above Agua Caliente saddle had already lost all their leaves.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A few paintbrushes.

Sep 29 2021

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 512
Photos 5,579
Triplogs 4,281

69 male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Vault Mine - Josephine Saddle Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 29 2021
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,281

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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