Lutz Canyon

Today was the big day to hike up Lutz Canyon, one of the steepest trail in the Huachucas that crawls 3.5 miles to the Crest Trail. I hadn't been up this trail since that mild January day last year with all three dogs, on my way up to Miller peak. I had forgotten how steep it is for someone still getting back into shape.

We didn't make it very far. Kevin had a hard time getting his MoJo. I felt dry-mouthed at first, but after that first 20-minute break a mile up, felt better. The longer we hiked, the easier it got for me, despite two rest stops and smoke breaks for Kevin.

"Is it like this the entire trail?" asked Kevin about the steep grade.
"It gets worse after the Upper Bear Mine" I told him. Facing steep uphill grades is pretty standard when hiking up mountains! He was a little irritated with me for taking a lot of pictures of him, but his irritation was more because he didn't feel strong enough today to hike long or steeply.

Lutz Canyon is a pretty trail but definitely not a trail for the casual, out-of-shape hiker. The canyon is a narrow, steep side canyon of the more wider Ash Canyon. There is more water here. The lower section up to the lower mine (now shut) is shaded by mature oaks. The old mining trail is quite obvious here as it is deeply rutted and erosion over the years has exposed the tree roots along the trail by a good three feet. It wouldn't take much of a landslide to wipe away the landscape. Fallen rocks have also added to the difficulty of this trail as getting good footing at times is treacherous.

The creek below was running and the dogs took advantage of the added refreshment. Sara found every opportunity to slide downhill to the cascading waters. We were higher than Nipple Peak--which never left our view--and could see the distant mountains of Mexico. I love the vista into Mexico. One of these days I'm going to make it into the heart of that country.

We made it to the lower mine by noon (!) and rested here. The vistas were splendid enough, with Highway 92 and the valley to our east, distant Mexico to our south, and the peaks behind us. I could have gone higher but Kevin's legs were done. Oh well, at least we got a work-out. I'm just happy that Kevin wants to get back into shape. We probably did four miles r/t: two hours up (!) and an hour down and 30 minutes resting. We never made it to the snowline, but from our vantage point I couldn't see any snow at all higher up.

We met a mother-son-friend trio on the way down. Originally from Naples, NY, the son now lives in Tucson. He was taking his mom on a weekend hike to Upper Bear Mine. He normally hikes around the Old Pueblo but there's still quite a bit of snow in the higher peaks there. They were slow, but at least they were outdoors! If only my own kids could get in touch with nature, I'd be happy. Erin is still too much of a party girl and Eric is too much into finding himself.

It was 77F when we got home at 2:30pm. I may just hike this trail again to Miller peak in two weeks. By then the thick snow layer along the Crest Trail should be passable. I'll open it up to the club, but doubt anyone would be interested.

Donna invited me to a car camp in Moab, Utah in late May with a Tucson meet-up group. I joined. Now I'm going to have to get ready for a week in southern Utah the week after school gets out. YAY! The dogs will have to stay at home, though as the group's hiking in Arches National Park. But oooh do I love southern Utah and those red rocks.

An hour after coming home I read about the 7.2 earthquake in Baja, Mexico. People in Los Angeles, Yuma, Phoenix and Las Vegas felt the 30-second temblor, but we here on the border didn't. A few hours later Malibu had a 4.1 temblor. Looks like the entire Pacific plate is cracking open.

http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_0b380013-ce0f-5b2f-a7dc-c6e7c48f5445.html