Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
March 13 and March 15, 2014
Last Thursday, Joe and I headed out for our first hike in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Our first hike was a short 6.2 (Duh, what were we thinking?) miles. We got off to a rather late start as it was already 10:30 when we arrived at the park. Not the usual start time for us!
First part, Bear Canyon Trail...
This trail begins at the far side of the parking lot...we took the wide dirt track until it ended. We made a right turn onto the pavement and another right turn at the restrooms.
A short distance from the restrooms is a bridge...of course we stopped to see the fishes.
At the far side of the bridge, there is another road intersection. We took the Phoneline Trail (a dirt trail) which was directly opposite us at this T shaped juncture.
Second part, Phoneline Trail...
From here we continued on enjoying the sights, the colors and the sounds...mostly beautiful bird songs with an occasional grunt (that would be us) or two thrown in.
We considered the next .4 miles to be a medium grade...slow and steady.
Our views changed...
The Mexican Poppies were in full bloom...
And oh my...the saguaros have buds!
By this time, we were hot and pooped. So I am confessing that when we came to the right turn onto Blackett's Ridge Trail, we decided to call it a day. It was mid-day and if we turned around here it would make for a nice little 2.8 mile hike, so why not ?
On Saturday morning...bright and early, we returned to finish our hike. This time we were on the trail by 8:30! We retraced the 1.4 miles done on Thursday...no tram for us!
Last part of the hike...
Blackett's Ridge is the ridge that divides Sabino and Bear Canyons. Its a beautiful trail that climbs uphill twisting thru the saguaro, ocotillo and palo verde trees.
Much of the trail was very rocky...
Once the trail reaches the ridge line, its not so steep. Up here, the vegetation is desert grass.
We made it! What a thrill! What a view!
More than once we thought we had reached the summit...it looked as if the end were just ahead. But each time the trail kept going. We knew we reached the end when we came to a huge drop off and couldn't go any farther. The summit offers incredible views. There were sheer drops on all sides of us.
We agree this is a must do hike. For an easy to slightly moderate workout, the 2.8 mile roundtrip hike up to Blackett's Ridge trailhead is fun. It was during that part of the hike we saw the roadrunner on the rock. Blackett's Ridge Trail offers a more challenging workout if you choose to continue on to the summit, a 6.2 mile roundtrip hike.
Until next time, take care and...
enjoy!
