Arcadia Nature Trail • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 14 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	1.00 Miles	100 AEG

Hiking	1.00 Miles
	100 ft AEG

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Up to the saddle for a sit.

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May 21 2022

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 21 2022
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	3.00 Miles	350 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	350 ft AEG

no routes

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Arcadia Trail #328

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Solo afternoon trip around the Arcadia area.
Wet Canyon - 100 yards down the trail and I came face to face with an endangered Mexican Spotted Owl! Cool, I've never seen one down in this canyon before. This short hike down is very beautiful right now and the creek had some decent flow.
Arcadia Nature Trail - Love hiking this old forgotten "secret" trail. Took it to it's short end at the Noon Creek Ridge overlook.
Arcadia Trail - Just a bit up this one to the creek crossing. Sun went down here and it was time to git.
Really nice afternoon. Kind of a little too busy up there for my liking, but it's Saturday

Wildflowers Observation Light

Light flow

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Apr 13 2020

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 13 2020
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	1.50 Miles	200 AEG

Hiking	1.50 Miles
	200 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Arcadia Trail #328

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Nature trail and just a bit up Arcadia #328
Wet Canyon was flowing strong.
Arcadia up to Wet Canyon just beautiful!
Sat at my perch on the Nature Trail for an hour camp.
All the developed sites on the mountain are now closed.

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Jun 24 2019

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Canyoneering		Jun 24 2019
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Canyoneering	1.00 Miles	250 AEG

Canyoneering	1.00 Miles
	250 ft AEG

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Up Wet Canyon to the climbing rock and back.
Arcadia NT up to my spot for sunning and a hammock hang.
A good morning to start the day!

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Apr 18 2018

cactuscat

Routes 85
Photos 3,718
Triplogs 486

female

Joined Oct 15 2002
Rimrock, Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2018
		cactuscat • Triplogs 486

Hiking	0.50 Miles	100 AEG

Hiking	0.50 Miles
	100 ft AEG

no routes

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Geocaching/birdwatching/picnic ... fun cache found near here, then lunch and bird photos! Found some hummingbird nest-building in progress.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mexican cancer-root

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rufous Hummingbird

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Geocache

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1 archive

Jul 29 2017

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 29 2017
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	2.00 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	2.00 Miles
	300 ft AEG

no routes

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PrestonSands

Drove up with Preston in the late afternoon to Ladybug Saddle to check things out.
Preston's first time up since the Frye Fire.
We first hit up Ladybug Peak. 1000's of Ladybugs on top and with great 360 stormy views.
Then back down the Swift Trail to hike the Arcadia Nature Trail. More great views down into Wet Canyon.
We then stopped at the Wet Canyon crossing and talked with the stationed ADOT employee about the canyon.
Wet Canyon crossing/picnic area has been all but destroyed from flooding due to the fire ..... heartbreaking.
I can't imagine it ever being returned back to what it was

Lower on the mountain we stopped for a bit to photograph a nice lightning storm hitting over the Gila Mountains.
It rained on us a bit on the drive up, but stayed away on our 2 short hikes & the cool 60 deg temps were nice!
Twas good to be on the mountain again with my friend!

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Jul 29 2017

PrestonSands

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

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 29 2017
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	2.00 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	2.00 Miles
	300 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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SkyIslander18

Rolled into the Gila Valley on Saturday afternoon for a weekend of adventure with Chad, and soon the two of us headed up the Swift Trail, surveying the burn damage from the Frye Fire.

An A.D.O.T. crew halted us at Wet Canyon while they loaded a dump truck with flood debris that had piled up behind the Wet Canyon bridges. After our short wait we drove slowly over the muddy torrent of Wet Canyon, looking over to see the horrendous field of boulders, mud, and mangled logs that had avalanched down from above following the start of monsoons a few weeks earlier. Quite the scene of destruction!

The end of the line for us was at Ladybug Saddle, as it will be for everyone until at least next spring. Everything was the same at Ladybug: big trees and big views. We entered the damp, cloud covered forest, and were soon on Ladybug Peak, along with thousands of ladybugs. We tried with limited success to determine the extent of burn damage on Heliograph Peak and along the Graham Ridge crest. Most areas appeared to have come through as a mosaic burn, but there were definitely a number of crown fire areas.

Next up was a stop at Arcadia Campground, where Chad lead the way on the Arcadia Nature Trail to an overlook of Wet Canyon, to check out the flood damage. We couldn't see the canyon floor, but the water was roaring down there.

As darkness fell, a lightning show over the Gila Mountains provided a great photo op from the forest boundary overlook. We then drove back to Safford to conclude the day. I enjoyed a sandwich from Mount Graham Market and then found a campsite for the night.

So good to hang out with Chad and see ol' Graham again!

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

13 archives

Apr 26 2017

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2017
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	3.00 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	300 ft AEG

no routes

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First stop Wet Canyon - Always beautiful, but a little early for the good stuff. Lots of winter damage this year up the canyon, turned around at the climbing wall due to the new dead fall.
Second stop Twilight Canyon - Nice short side drainage along the Swift Trail. Another beautiful area with a gently flowing creek. Took it just a bit up before climbing was required.
Third stop Arcadia Nature Trail - On the drive back down stopped for this cool little trail that took me up to the great view down on Wet Canyon & Noon Creek Ridge.
Another few hours well spent in the backyard!

Wildflowers Observation Light
Columbines in Wet Canyon.

Twilight Creek

Light flow

Medium flow

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May 22 2016

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Twilight Spring

Twilight Spring

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 22 2016
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	7.00 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	7.00 Miles
	500 ft AEG

no routes

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PrestonSands

Met up with Preston at Roper Lake SP.
Drove up Graham to Twilight Road.
Hiked the entire road in and around the mountain side to the excellent Heliograph Peak view point.
We then backtracked the road to the spur trail that took us up & down through the forest to Twilight Spring.
Lots of greenery along the way, raspberry bushes are coming in nicely & some good flora stuff is starting to happen at the spring ..... future return trip for sure!
For extra credit we hiked the Arcadia Nature Trail on the drive back down before leaving the mountain.
Good hike, good friend ..... good times!

Twilight Spring

Dripping

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Apr 26 2016

Stoic

Routes 297
Photos 6,928
Triplogs 552

49 male

Joined Dec 30 2007
Avondale,Az

Riggs Flat Campground

Webb Peak from Ash Creek TH

Riggs Flat Campground

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2016
		Stoic • Triplogs 552

Hiking	9.50 Miles	1,850 AEG

Hiking	9.50 Miles	6 Hrs 15 Mns	1.52 mph
	1,850 ft AEG

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Lakeshore Trail #340

Webb Peak via Soldier Creek

Moonshine Creek

Big Creek Falls - Coronado NF

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I had Tuesday off work, so I decided to camp somewhere I had never been. I quickly came up with Mount Graham. The pups and I drove to Riggs Flat Campground on Monday night. That night the temperature dropped to 18F not counting the windchill.
We woke up around 5am and headed toward the lake. We hiked the LakeShore Trail#340. We then drove to Soldier Creek Campground and made breakfast. After some warm food, we headed toward the Ash Creek TH. We did a 3.5mile loop up to Webb Peak and back. It was a cold and Windy treck to the top. We then hiked Moonshine creek and Big Creek Falls. Big Creek Falls was a nice hike, but it did get a little rough on the dogs at the falls. We got back in the truck and did a couple small hikes on the way down the mountain. Lady Bug Peak, Arcadia Natural Trail and very little of the Wet Canyon trail. Lady bug trail is a short trail that has amazing views. Adding up all the elevation gains for the day, I now understand why my bigger dog was exhausted. I usually dont hike more than a 1200ft gain with her, so 1800+ft was a bit much. She ended up sleeping all the way home.

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1 archive

Dec 30 2013

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Jacobson Sawmill

Jacobson Sawmill

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Dec 30 2013
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	4.30 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	4.30 Miles
	300 ft AEG

no routes

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Returned back home to Safford last night after spending a wonderful Christmas week with my family in Chandler/Gilbert and was able to get in a couple of South Mountain & a couple of riparian water park hikes during my stay. I enjoyed my big city hikes, but after a week of hiking in the valley I started to feel a little like Gossamer the Monster (PEOPLE!) -

https://www.youtube.com/embed/b0FViwZmsGQ

Awoke today back in my small quite town and headed right up into the Grahams to get back to my solo/loner/solitude ways! I needed a short & sweet trail to break in my new Christmas gift boots and Jacobson Sawmill fit the bill. I always love hiking down this trail, it is only .75 miles down to the sawmill, but packs a big punch of old mountain history starting with the Cluff Dairy and on down to the sawmill! Really took my time on this visit as I walked through both sites and found many previously unseen artifacts. The sawmill site down in the shaded canyon had a foot of snow and was a little tricky to get to in places, but awesome! Returned back to the Swift Trail and although my new boots were starting to create a couple of hot spots, I felt I could get in another mile with them and decided to add the Arcadia Nature Trail into the day before leaving. The mountain was very quite today with zero wind and I never saw another person the entire trip ..... It was good to be back home!!!

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Still a little bit of color down in Jacobson canyon.

	Twilight Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Light flow with most of the creek frozen.

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May 24 2012

outdoor_lover

Guides 7
Routes 72
Photos 14,456
Triplogs 627

62 female

Joined Aug 19 2011
Scottsdale, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 24 2012
		outdoor_lover • Triplogs 627

Hiking	1.00 Miles	100 AEG

Hiking	1.00 Miles
	100 ft AEG		5 LBS Pack

no routes

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SkyIslander18

Chad thought it would be fun to knock off a bunch of short Trails today instead of doing one longer one. Made sense to me, as you get alot of variety and you wouldn't want to make a trip up the Mountain just to do one short Trail, so we sewed a few up today.

This was the first one, as we worked our way up the Swift Trail. This Hike was an out and back with the TH being located at the Arcadia Campground. The beginning of the Trail was a little hard to find, but we hooked up with the Trail a bit further up the slope and hiked to the Overlook. Nice spot looking across Wet Canyon towards the Peaks on the other side, including Heliograph Peak. You can continue on and make a Loop of this one if you want to bushwack down Wet Canyon, but that was not in the plans today. The wind was blowing a little, but not too bad. Enjoyed the views, headed back down and followed the Trail all the way back to the Campground, finding the beginning and taking note of it. Nice easy start to the day.....

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!"

May 24 2012

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Pinaleno Mountains, AZ

Hiking		May 24 2012
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	6.55 Miles	1,231 AEG

Hiking	6.55 Miles
	1,231 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Big Creek Falls - Coronado NF

Hospital Flat Nature Trail

CP Flat Loop

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outdoor_lover

Day #1 of mine & Pam's 2 day stay on Graham. I thought for the first day it would be fun to just drive up the Swift Trail and hit many of the shorter (1-2 mile) "nature" trails and leave the longer day hike trails for the next day. After meeting up at Roper Lake SP, we headed up the Swifty with the first stop being at upper Arcadia -

Arcadia Nature Trail - Short & sweet stroll along the mountain side and up through the pines & oak to a nice overlook of Noon Creek ridge & Wet Canyon below. Good start to the day!

Ladybug Peak - Always a favorite of mine to bag on the way up or down the mountain. The ladybugs are starting to congregate on top and I will have to return in a few weeks to view the full spectacle of hundreds of thousands!

Big Creek Falls - Big Creek was not flowing at it's best today, but that made it possible to hike right down the middle of the creek's rock slabs down to the big falls. Always a scenic canyon to hike down heavy flow or not!

Hospital Flat Nature Trail - One of the prettiest meadows on the entire mountain! Hiked the standard counter-clockwise loop and just took in the beautiful forest scenery with a lunch break back at the campground before continuing on up the Swift Trail.

CP Flat Loop - Trail of the day! The aspens on this trail were almost full and the walk through "Letty's Grove" was truly the highlight of the day! We both sat at the end of the grove not really wanting to leave, but the sun was starting to fall and we needed to get down to Riggs Lake and secure our camping spot for the night.

Riggs Flat Lake - After looping the campgrounds, we decided on a camping site (#1) and spent dusk getting camp set up and eating dinner. Night brought a campfire, some star trail photography & a couple of hours of good ol' campfire conversation! I settled into my tent around midnight and fell asleep to the sound of high mountain wind blowing through the pine trees above me.

Great day #1 with Pam atop my backyard mountain home!!!

Wildflowers Observation Light

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