Two fellow hikers taking in the beauty of Hutch’s Pool. This image captures my own feelings. — Images by kenne
Last Friday’s SCVN hike was to Hutch’s Pool, which is one of my favorite hikes. On this particular Friday’s hike, the schedule offered options of either taking the West Fork trail to Hutch’s Pools, or the East Fork trail to Seven Falls via the Bear Canyon trail. Since I was not assigned as one of the guides to Hutch’s Pool, the East Fork option provided my first opportunity to take the loop to Seven Falls.
Friday was a beautiful cool day for an outing, with 31 hikers taking the tram to Stop 9 in Sabino Canyon. The hike from Stop 9 to Hutch’s Pool and back is 8.2 miles. If one decides to not take the tram, then the walk to and from Stop 9 would add another 7.6 miles.
When we arrived at the junction of West & East Forks, although still interested in taking the East Fork to Seven Falls, I thought I would walk the short distance to check out the first of two streams crossing the trail to Hutch’s Pool. The height of the water caused many in the group to turn back. When I decided to cross the stream, that make it easier for our guides to not chance crossing, so I set out to the Hutch’s Pool guiding 13 of the original 31 hikers. Although some of us may have experienced wet feet, it was a fun and challenging hike.
The following photos chronic much of our adventure. Taking the loop from Sabino Canyon to Seven Falls through Bear Canyon back to the Visitor’s Center remains on my list of hikes., as well as staying on the West Fork trail past Hutch’s Pool through Romero Pass to Catalina State Park.
kenne
Click on any of the thumb nails to see a larger image in a slideshow format.
Yesterday we received a much-needed 1.6 inches of rain (patio reading) with even more at the higher elevations.
This image is from our patio, looking south past our neighbor toward the Tanque Verde wash.
Later in the day the clouds began to breakup, with still a heavy cover over the Catalinas.
This morning I walked along the Tanque Verde wash, which now has water flowing toward the Rillito river at Craycroft Road.
Images by kenne
Before the rains this weekend, I was leading a SCVN hike in Sabino Canyon, which involved crossing the Sabino Creek —
an easy task compared to what some hikers were having to deal with yesterday in Bear Canyon, located just east of Sabino Canyon.
Last Friday we hiked to Seven Falls in Bear Canyon. That evening we went to see the movie “The Way.” Both are recommended highly.
If you have already seen the movie, then you recognize the backpack image.
Panoramic view with Sabino Canyon on the left, Blackett’s Ridge end of trail in the middle, Bear Canyon on the right. Image by kenne
“What a great idea,” I thought when one of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) asked if any of the trainees were interested in hiking Blackett’s Ridge late Tuesday afternoon to see the sunset as the full moon begins its rise. Not only would there be great photo opts, but there would also be the experience of hiking down the ridge in the light of the full moon. “Cool!”
On the short drive home after the SCVN training, I thought more about hiking in the light of a full moon. However, I wasn’t sure about the time of the hike nor the name of the naturalist who made the announcement. However, I did recall hearing something about “3:30 pm.”
So, at 3:30 pm the next day, I was at the Sabino Canyon Center. After waiting for a few minutes and not seeing anyone I recognized, I decided to head out — I may have missed the “moonlight” hikers, or if they were leaving later, I could wait for them at the trail end.
Stopping several times along the way to take photos and video, I still completed the upward leg in one hour and thirty-seven minutes, which was faster than when hiking with others, making my arrival sooner than expected. Besides being a warmer than average Tucson day in October, the hiking conditions were excellent in a cloudless sky. Even so, I didn’t pass anyone going up or coming down as I hiked the ridge.
Once reaching the end of the trail, it was clear I was all alone. Still, I had hoped others would be coming up soon, having already concluded I had left about thirty minutes too early — so I waited.
After being at the trail end for thirty minutes, I decided to start the hike down the ridge; even though I would not get sunset photos at the trail’s end, I could still get them on the way down.
I was only a few minutes down the trail when I saw the naturalist who had suggested the moonlight hike. (I now know his name is Phil.) He was alone and on his cellphone — we shared howdy’s as I passed him, continuing down the ridge. I was surprised that no one was with him, even more so having now experienced the moonlight hike — maybe next time!
After stopping to get sunset and full moon shots, I continued down the ridge, now by moonlight.
I always try to be cautious when hiking, especially when alone. The only movement around me was my shadow from the moonlight.
Hiking in the light of the moon is a real adventure — I loved it. However, I must admit that hiking all along at night, and knowing that mountain lions are generally nocturnal, was a little disconcerting. I could almost feel eyes watching me!
About an hour from the center, I called Joy to tell her I should be home a little after seven. Having previously told her I would be hiking with others, I told her I had hiked Blackett’s Ridge alone. Then, of course, I got a real ass-chewing — better on the phone than later.
Wait, there is more to this story.
The following day I was in Sabino Canyon observing one of the SCVN classes for elementary school kids in the riparian area. After the class, I began the walk back to the center parking lot with some fellow SCVN trainees. As we walked, I shared my Blackett’s Ridge moonlight story. Then, of course, there were questions about the moonlight hike’s difficulty, to which I said my only concern was for mountains lions.
“Mountain lions,” said one of my fellow trainees, “I have a story for you about mountains and Blackett’s Ridge!”
It so happens that his wife is a guide at Canyon Ranch Resort. A while back, she was leading a group on Blackett’s Ridge when they came upon a mother mountain lion with two cubs feeding on a recent kill. They promptly stopped and slowly moved back down the trail. As they proceeded down the ridge, they met a young woman and told her about the lion and cubs near the trail, suggesting she turn around. However, she wanted to see the lion and her cubs, so they warned her, whatever she did, not to run from the mountain lion.
The young woman proceeded up the trail — moments later, she was screaming and running back down the trail with the mountain lion coming after her. Obviously, she had not followed their advice about running from the mountain lion. So the group began making all kinds of noise and waving jackets to cause the lion to stop, which she did. After slowing her chase, the mountain lion watched for a moment, then returned to her cubs.
There was a part of me thinking, “I didn’t need to hear that story!”
We first met Sharon and Woody on one of the Tucson Welcome Wagon hikes in February of this year. Like us, they had moved to Tucson last summer. From February through April we hiked several trails in the Santa Catalina and Tucson Mountains, and on some occasions Sharon, Woody, Joy and I would hike a little farther than the group. The last time we hiked together, we went out for breakfast.
Yesterday we got word that Woody passed away in his sleep, only a few weeks after learning he had brain cancer. Click here for a Flickr photo set.
“To live is to be photographed, to have a record of one’s life, and therefore, to go on with one’s life, oblivious, or claiming to be oblivious, to the camera’s non-stop attentions. But it is also to pose. To act is to share in the community of actions recorded as images.” — Susan Sontag
kenne
One of the Seven Falls Crossings — Image by kenne
The song “Black Widow” was selected for this video, in February of this year, because I like the song without taking literally the lyrics.
Blackett’s Ridge is the ridge that divides Sabino and Bear canyons, which provides great views into each canyon, Mount Lemmon to the north and Tucson to the south. This trail is steep with a lot of swatch-backs climbing up this ridge to a point where you can’t go any farther because of a steep saddle that blocks the way up the ridge. This is one of my favorite trails combining great views with a lot of trail diversity.
Joy has been active in a local Welcome Wagon Club. One of their weekly activities is hiking. A couple of weeks ago we went, with six others, hiking in Bear Canyon. This was the second time for us to hike the canyon. Most people hike the canyon up to Seven Falls. The first time we were in the canyon, we started late in the day, so we turned back before reaching Seven Falls, to avoid a return in the dark. This time we started early in the morning.
Joy and I have tried to do more hiking in the mountains near us. Back in January we did an afternoon hike in Bear Canyon on a trial up to Seven Falls. Because of the hour, we didn’t make it to the falls, but did in a later hike, which will be in another posting. We only have to drive for about ten minutes to be at the trail base.
Two fellow hikers taking in the beauty of Hutch’s Pool. This image captures my own feelings. — Images by kenne
