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| Backpack | 18.18 Miles |
4,666 AEG |
| | Backpack | 18.18 Miles | 1 Day 4 Hrs 10 Mns | | |
| 4,666 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Me and someone else had a backpacking trip planned where we would go up to Bear Canyon and down Sabino Canyon. Turns out though, they started doing some maintenance in the recreation area and it seemed like a lot of the trails got shut down. So that wasn't an option anymore so I thought this might be a good alternative.
Our plan was to once we got to the camp, we would decide whether or not we had the resources to bag the peak or just head back the next day. Starting off, we forgot to lock our transportation about a quarter mile into the hike at the register. Before I knew it, the landscape started changing. Just over a small ridge, a few junipers and oaks appeared, more grass was present around me, and the saguaros disappeared. At a little saddle with a ton of ocotillos, there was a crested saguaro. At 32.16478, -110.70747 there were small pools of water a few feet downstream of the trail. (When we were hiking back it was 3/4 gone.) This gave me hope that there would be some water at the campground. More trees appeared and the ones next to the trail were perfect for taking a quick break and rehydrating. There was a pine tree along the way perfect for getting into for shade. Many planes passed over us and in the distance, passing behind the Catalinas. Eventually, the gnats came. Right about as we got to a stream that has a sand bank. They were persistent beasts. They got in front of our faces, distracting us from the beauty of the moment, and just annoyed us in general. This was combined with the sun. It was a bit breezy before but now the basin blocked the wind from coming through, leaving the exposed 85 degree weather coming down on us. We got to a stream about half a mile before the campground. I had seen reports there is sometimes water here and there were pools. They looked decently clear. There were pools 100 feet up and down from the trail. I noticed here, after taking a deep breath, that I was short of breath, as if I only got 3/4 of my breath. I suspect this was because my pack was too tight. Shortly, we got to the campground at around 3 pm. There were a couple of algae filled pools in the stream by the campground. (Read on for better water reports though.) We explored the campground. Campsite 1 had a bear box, a flipped over grill, a campfire ring, and a couple of spots for camping. It was a bit sunny at the time. Campsite 2 and 3 were north of Campsite 1. Campsite 2 had a bear box, grill, campfire ring, and multiple spots for camping. It was mostly shaded there. Campsite 3 had no amenities, just like Grass Shack. (I can't remember if Grass Shack had an actual sign for Campsite 3 or not.) Obviously, Campsite 2 was the best option.
The "restroom", if you can even call it that, was up on a hill with a trail from Campsite 2 leading to it. Things looked sketchy immediately because the building was basically crappily thrown together wood boards. The backside of the "restroom" had no wall whatsoever. There was an old toilet right by it. The restroom is kind of like a step, the door is at the bottom of it, and there is a 2 foot high plastic step up to the toilet, placed on the edge of the step. The toilet had no hinges but two rocks placed on top of it so it wouldn't blow away. When the seat is off, it does not provide the most amazing of smells. It's truly a ridiculous specimen.
We did not decide to go up to the peak because of a lack of a strong water source and an overdependence on there being water here. (We didn't bring enough.) That combined with me being short of breath made us decide to skip it for now at least and possibly do it in the morning. I slept until about 5 or so when we boiled some water and rehydrated some meals. I had fettuccini alfredo with chicken and it was pretty darn good. Sleeping wasn't the best but that's what you have to accept when doing things like this. At 7 we started moving again. I explored the surrounding area a bit, going down washes, hearing the morning dew drip off of grass like a subtle rain, and going to the top of a little hill. On my way down, I decided to go a bit downstream on the main wash next to the campground. It was all rock but not too slick at all. I saw more pools of water of medium clarity but I noticed the pools of water were flowing into each other. Flowing water! I told my partner and we had decided that we would go up to the peak, head back down, filter the water, and head back to the trailhead. We estimated we would be back at the trail head at around 2:00-2:30 pm.
Going up to the peak was by far the best part of the hike. The forest engulfed the area and when it did fade away, stunning views emerged. The sea of green of the basin was beautiful and the surrounding landscape made it even better, with far off mountains improving it. Towards Mica Mountain and Rincon Peak, you could see all of the trees they held and all of the great views they probably hold. The trail at some points was more of like a ditch carved into the Earth to keep the trail at a steady gradient, not going straight up. The peak was visible from this point in the trail, with its large rocks standing tall. We eventually had to go through some of the rocks, kind of like in Chiricahua National Monument. I was unsure of how difficult it would be to get to the summit because I knew it was a rock. All I knew was that there was a sign, up at the top. Right as I said that to my partner we turned a bend in the trail and the peak emerged with a sign clearly visible on top. It doesn't look the best on camera but it is pretty cool in person. There was also some mountain lion poop on the trail. Thankfully, we only saw birds and lizards along the trip.
Soon enough we were at the junction of the peak spur trail. One of the signs was knocked over so we set it back up again. We signed the summit register (not on the summit). I'm glad it actually had a pen and paper instead of just a few business cards like by the trailhead. The summit was on a rock about 8 feet tall. It wasn't vertical though. The west side of it had a small amount of exposure. It was pretty easy to get up. I have a photo of the route. Immediately, the views were stunning. It's a 360 degree panoramic view. The summit rock is also pretty large so there is no need to get close to an exposed cliff. There was an ammo can summit register at the top. I instantly am glad we didn't skip the peak. After a couple of minutes of enjoyment, we got back down. We had our last bit of food and started heading down.
Heading back down to the campground wasn't too bad. The views were less impressive this time because the peak topped them all. Constantly looking down to check your footing also made you not see them as much. The footing in fact wasn't too bad. The gnats came back. I opted to use one hand with a pole and the other constantly waving in front of my face. We got to the camp and we went downstream to the water. We found a suitable pool and started filtering. We decided to have 2 liters worth each. The gnats settled down while we were filtering thankfully. Heading back was a bit painful. I noticed the large hills the trail summited and then descended to a saddle, just to go back up another one. The lack of wind here did not help. Only after the last hill could we feel the wind. Along the way, the vegetation reversed back to desert scrub by the end. We got back right around when we thought we would. Before leaving the park we snagged a benchmark.
I saw a report from October 2021 saying the trail was overgrown. If you consider occasional
Hesperaloe funifera (or something similar looking) bleeding onto the trail and towards the top, some juniper bushes. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Some of the trees had yellow leaves still. Some of the trees were just green slightly tinted yellow. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Light (sparse) wildflowers throughout the first 4 miles or so. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
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was pretty cold by then. nice uneventful trip down.
