Archive for the ‘Jack London’ Tag

In Hiking, The More The Struggle, The More The Reward   7 comments

Hiking Blackett’s Ridge — Images by kenne (Click on any of the images to view in a slide show format.)

One of the most popular and difficult trails in Sabino Canyon is the Blackett’s Ridge Trail. The is 6.2 miles with an elevation change of 1810 feet. Starting at the Sabino Canyon Visitor’s Center, the trail attracts runners and hikers alike, some making the trek several times a week. As part of a published hiking schedule, the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) lead, hikers up to the trail’s end, providing a close-up wow-view of Thimble Peak, the canyon riparian area and the Tucson valley. Once up on the ridge, first time Blackett’s hikers begin to feel as if the trail will never end with several up and down climbs before finally getting the trail’s end in site.

Often at the end of the trail, chipmunks will greet the hikers. This behavior occurs because some good intending hikers wrongly feed our little friends. On this particular hike, a Cooper’s Hawk soured above the canyon.

kenne

“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life,

and beyond which life cannot rise.

And such is the paradox of living,

this ecstasy comes when one is most alive,

and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”

― Jack London, The Call of the Wild