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| Hiking | 3.32 Miles |
451 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.32 Miles | 58 Mns | | 3.43 mph |
| 451 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Spent the night at one of the nearby golf suites (not even a golfer, but we had points to burn) and got an early morning hike on the "Lorraine Lee" Hidden Canyon Trail. There is a (newer) sign (compared to the others, which are badly faded) commemorating this trail in Loarraine's honor for her work in the Tuscon community. Not sure when this designation occurred. The parking for this trail is not ideal. There is curb side parking, most of which is restricted for taxi/shuttle services or fire access. That being said there were about 30 cars parked in this restricted area and I found a spot amongst them.
The trail starts off in a canyon but after crossing the wash a couple of times begins a gradual ascent. There were a handful of badly faded info signs about fauna and foliage but as soon as you begin your climb they stop. The trail does a very gradual climb that would have been ideal for jogging if it hadn't been so rocky. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since the scenery is very nice and should be enjoyed. The resort quickly passes from view so you get a very intimate, remote feeling. The trail though rocky is a great single track with "character" that is easy to follow. The trail flattens out briefly and then climbs a little more to reach a saddle. The views a limited since there are quite a few mountains that rise around you. (Directions are always a challenge for me, but....) Off to the NW the view looks down upon an open ended valley sparsely populated with higher end homes and to the SW you are looking into the heart of the mountain range and you can see the Bowen Trail in the valley below. This is the high point of the Hidden Valley Trail. There is an obvious user trail that starts a climb that will take you to the top of a nearby peak. I started up,it, but found that it quickly faded. I didn't proceed past that point but the vegetation is such that if one wanted to reach the top it would be an easy accomplishment. Returning to the saddle I continued down SW slope. The descent down this side was as gradual as the ascent had been on the Hidden Valley side, though maybe not as rocky. I quickly reached the Bowen juncture. The juncture is well signed with a nice map of the local trail system giving you a chance to salivate on your options. It took me 1.6 miles to reach this juncture. I could very easily have taken the Bowen Trail back to the TH, but opted for returning the way I came just to get some more distance....and appreciate the trail from the other direction. Met one hiker on the return trip, but otherwise had the trail to myself. No wildlife. Weather was awesome. |
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