What a gorgeous day for a nice 5.4-mile hike in the steep foothills. Big Steve, Rod and Cassie and guest Fabian joined us for what turned out to be a short but challenging ridge hike in the Santa Ritas just south of Tucson. The trail was more steep than I thought. Starting elevation was 4830' and high point at Kent Springs was 6680.' Had we continued uphill we would have passed several more springs before hitting Florida Saddle but that will be for another day. We rested at Kent Springs and went back downhill after that, hiking a loop trail that year ago was apparently an old mining trail. We could see the expansive Green Valley ahead of us. This was a great hike for Sadie who helped herself from the creek.
This is a popular birding trail. I saw one man carrying a nice dSLR with 500mm lens
at the start of the hike (which means he was on the trail at sunrise!). But where were all the birds? I heard a few high in the treeline but most were out of sight. Like the man with the long lens, the birds had been up earlier when the heat was less intense. Things are starting to dry up again around us.
The shaded parts of this hike were lovely. Had this been a warmer day, though, this hike would have been gruesome as the first and last mile of this loop hike are exposed and rocky. The creek cascaded nicely and provided perfect shelter for yellow Columbines. It's been a few years since I've seen those flowers grow here. They like lush riparian stream beds nestled in the shade.
We didn't meet other hikers until we reached the end again. Most apparently stayed at the Madera Picnic area where the trail head was: the parking lot was packed when we got back to our cars by 1pm. Sadie got to walk "off leash" part of the way to avoid either Kevin or me from getting pushed down the steep slopes. Part of this trail was badly eroded and barely single-tracked at times. Good footing was paramount.
Kevin is getting into great shape. He mentioned he wants to trek up Carr Peak again tomorrow. I will bring my backpack this time. Today I wore my new Lafuma TD Tabort boots and they were so comfortable around me feet straight out of the box. They reminded me of my old Raichle boots I wore around Germany so long ago: no stitching inside the boot and a snug yet comfortable fit.
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