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| Hiking | 5.82 Miles |
1,550 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.82 Miles | 2 Hrs 45 Mns | | 2.33 mph |
| 1,550 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I’ll never complain about rain around here, especially when it’s an extended period of steady rain for a day and a half, and not entirely because I’d probably get lynched if I did. But, of all the days such an event would occur, it had to be on a Friday, which is my hike day.  I briefly entertained the notion of hiking in the rain all day (I was born in Oregon after all), but being a good Arizona almost native, I don’t own any rain gear.
So I rearranged my schedule a bit to hike Saturday afternoon/evening instead… after the rain stopped. Ventana seemed the best bet. The parking lot at the trailhead was pretty full so I wasn’t the only one with a pent-up need to hike after a good rain.
The first mile had a fair bit of traffic, most of whom were enjoying the perfect weather but slightly dismayed that 1-1/4”+ rainfall didn’t so much as produce a trickle in the canyon. Indeed, the only water I saw until Maiden Pools was a couple puddles in concave-shaped rocks. The Pools themselves had some water, but no flow at all. The views up there are always pretty, but today more so with patchy sun over the city behind and low, misty cloud decks ahead.
I had a little extra time before dark so I continued past the pools till a little before the 3-mile mark. There I stopped to enjoy some much larger pools with dripping seeps in the canyon walls. I found a spot of solitude nearby and enjoyed the quiet. All I could hear was the steady drip into one of the pools and a few chattery birds.
I timed my return for between sunset and last light, without having to hurry down the slick wet trail. It worked out perfectly; had I been a few minutes later I might have needed to pull out my headlamp.
It was a magnificent evening and worth the wait. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
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Ventana Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Mostly dry despite the widespread soaking rain yesterday and today. Nothing till Maiden Pools unless you count a small puddle in a concave rock. A few larger pools a little further up. | | | |
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This was a successful Tuesday outing.
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