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| Hiking | 12.80 Miles |
4,310 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.80 Miles | 11 Hrs | | 1.31 mph |
| 4,310 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | A slow hike, overall, due to a general feeling of fatigue for both my husband and me, as well as some knee and foot pain during the descent. Water levels were much lower than expected - Maiden Pools levels were the lowest we've ever seen, and none of the streams that intersect with the trail were active. My husband has hiked Ventana Canyon more than I have, and he remarked that he'd never seen the trail so dry (note that we haven't lived in Tucson since 2005, so we're not as up-to-date on the trail conditions as we once were). We had no trouble filtering at Maiden Pools on the way up and down, though, and there was one other spot, probably 60-90 minutes from the summit (depending on your fitness level), where flowing water could be found, although it didn't look too easy to access.
The trail was in fairly good condition, although I found myself feeling very thankful for some of the cairns that have been set up. Due to the recent storm, there was a good amount of snow on the ground at the summit - I'd estimate we hiked through snow for about 20 minutes before reaching The Window. (We did not attempt the actual summit - we stopped for lunch at The Window, which was our turnaround point.) It was a little icy at spots, but not too bad.
As for wildlife, we saw a few eagles in flight, as well as smaller birds chirping here and there. A few ground squirrels or chipmunks (they were too fast to identify), and a rabbit near the trailhead on the way back. We saw a few sets of mountain lion tracks in the snow near the summit, but thankfully missed seeing the animals themselves. |
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