Coronado National Forest - Linda Vista Trail

Trail info: Length: appx. 2.7 miles round trip depending on which trails you take - Elevation: (low-high) 2720-3120 - Location: Linda Vista Blvd just off of Oracle Rd near the school

I decided at the last minute to go for an evening hike as the heat in Tucson has been a little less intense thanks to some rain and a little extra cloud cover, plus the slight breeze was delightful. This ended up being a great sunset hike with its short length and nice overlooks right at the base of the mountains. As long as you don't mind watching the sunset over the city this is a nice spot without having to go out of your way to get there. (This hike is on the edge of the wilderness area but you are surrounded in all directions except east by development.) While the trail gets you close to the mountains it is a steady climb making it a pleasant stroll. The direct late day sunlight on the mountains made them a glowing yellow turning to pink as the sunset progressed. Lots of birds and bunnies scurried about as I hiked along and there were plenty of cacti to look at. With no worries about trying to get back to the trail head at any given time I was able to hang out and watch the sun setting and along with it a sliver of moon.

• If you are looking to travel to Tucson, AZ or anywhere else, be sure to click over to my travel site.

• If you like the images you see they are available at my Zazzle gallery.

• For Coronado National Forest visitor information click the link.

• I have images on Flickr ! Please visit and post comments.

Read more...

Coronado National Forest - Mt. Lemmon - Green Mountain / Brush Corral Trail

Trail info: Length: 8.5 (Green Mtn. up and back) + .9 (Brush Corral Shortcut) + 1.8 (Brush Corral from shortcut back to Green Mtn.) = 11.2 mile loop, Elevation (low-high): appx. 6000-7600 ft.

This trail is all about big views. Many panoramic overlooks of the valley below and plenty of interesting rock structures. At least the Green Mountain portion of the trail is very well maintained and on a recent hike I ran into a fire crew who were doing an excellent job of improving it. Like a typical mountain trail it has long up and downhill sections even though there is not a huge elevation change over the trip. The upper portion of the trail near San Pedro overlook is particularly nice early in the morning as the sun highlights the rocks. My trek on this occasion was particularly nice as it had rained the night before and the lower part of the trail was moist and refreshing as I walked along in the early morning hours. The forest was alive with sounds of animals enjoying the coolness. I hiked up viewing the interesting rock formations above me watching the light changing on them as the sun rose. By the time I reached the Brush Corral shortcut trail things were getting a bit warm even though it was only mid-morning. It was going to be a hot day on the mountain. The shortcut trail is quite a steep downhill trek at times and sometimes easy to loose sight of the trail. Thankfully there are many little rock piles to follow so I never felt like I was off track too much. Once on the Brush Corral trail heading back towards the Green Mountain trail the hike gets down along some pools that during the spring likely have some running water. For now they made a great place to relax and have lunch under the shade of the forest. After this point the trail begins working its way upward and passes a number of interesting rock formations and provides plenty of good views. It dips into another area that likely has water in the spring before climbing quickly back to the Green Mountain trail. When I hiked this it was quite overgrown although the fire crew mentioned the possibility of working on that trail too. You may want to stick with pants for this trail unless you want to get scratched up. Soon I arrived at the Brush Corral, Green Mountain junction and began the trek back which offers great views and some towering rocks to look at. It was getting into the late afternoon and some rolling thunder and storm clouds made for some excitement. I stopped and watched some butterflies and hummingbirds enjoying the agave in full bloom. There were a number of these amazing plants along this hike. As I was coming down the final stretch of trail it was obvious a good storm was brewing and the lightning was quite awesome. I got back to my vehicle just as the rain began. I took off for some of the overlooks, not far away, to watch the storm roll through. It made for great entertainment as I ate dinner, watching the show of lightning and intensely colored clouds with the sun peaking through them until it disappeared below the mountains. Another beautiful day on the mountain had come to a close.

• If you are looking to travel to Tucson, AZ or anywhere else, be sure to click over to my travel site.

• If you like the images you see they are available at my Zazzle gallery.

• For Coronado National Forest visitor information click the link.

• I have images on Flickr ! Please visit and post comments.

Read more...

Coronado National Forest - Mt. Lemmon - Box Camp Trail

Pools, streams, wildflowers, and awesome viewpoints abound on the Box Camp Trail, a moderate hike down the southwestern side of the Catalina mountain range. If you took this trail to its end, Box Camp Canyon turns into Sabino Canyon. I didn't go that far, just far enough to get some amazing views of the city below (Tucson). After all, it was a rather warm day and I knew it would be pretty toasty at 3760 feet where the trails meet up; or, maybe all the vultures circling above me was just a bad omen of what would become of me should I not be able to make my way back up the mountain. Anyway, the first mile or so of the trail goes along the mountain side through grass and ferns and a lot of burnt trees with very little change in elevation. That is followed by a good downhill moving into the forest with a stream and pools with banks of wildflowers. This made for a great spot to relax, have a snack, and watch the bees enjoying the plentiful golden columbine flowers. The trail follows along the stream for about a 1/2 mile before intersecting the Box Camp Spring Trail. If you hike the spring trail for a few tenths of a mile it goes down to another area with a seasonal spring and some pools. For the extreme hiker this little side trail goes still further and STRAIGHT DOWN a hillside to another stream, which had almost no water in it this time of year. With some water flow it could make for a neat waterfall, but otherwise there is little point to hiking down this really steep overgrown trail through thorny plants (unless maybe you're training for "Survivor" or something). Anyway, I made it back to the main Box Camp trail and headed further on it as it looked as if there may be some good views ahead. After a mile or so more I came to a rocky area providing a panoramic view of Tucson; although the haze and smoke from fires really limited what could be seen. This was yet another enjoyable trek in the Catalina's that provided a variety of things to see.

• If you are looking to travel to Tucson, or anywhere else, be sure to click over to my travel site.

• If you like the images you see they are available at my Zazzle gallery.

• For Coronado National Forest visitor information click the link.

• I have images on Flickr ! Please visit and post comments.

Read more...

Coronado National Forest - Mt. Lemmon - Butterfly Trail

Last week I spent several days on Mt. Lemmon in the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, AZ camping and hiking. This will begin a series of several new hikes not yet posted in this blog, all from that trip. My first day there I hiked the Butterfly Trail, which I have done before but never recorded in my blog. I setup camp on Mt. Bigelow near the radio towers. You can camp (primitive style) where you like along that forest road and during the week it should not be too hard to find a spot. (You can use the toilets and get water near the Palisades Visitor center where the Mt. Bigelow trail begins.) I then hiked the forest road away from the radio towers towards Catalina highway. If you take it the whole way the road will intersect Catalina highway at Bear Wallow. I then hiked about 1/3 mile on the highway to the Butterfly trail head. (By doing it this way, I am hiking the trail back to my campsite.) The total mileage of the trail plus the roads should be nearly 9 miles. The trail, like many on the mountain, has major up and downhill sections on it, so be prepared. This was a wonderful hike filled with wildlife encounters including butterflies, hummingbirds, deer, a rattlesnake, and a bear. (The bear and deer ran off too quickly for pictures - they didn't stick around like the snake and butterflies.) The landscape is also exquisite on this hike with its pine forests, hillsides of berries, a waterfall (seasonal), and panoramic overlooks. There are still some areas the fires have burned but it is small compared to other hikes. This is a quiet, peaceful place where wildflowers abound, gentle breezes blow and the sounds of the forest can be heard. On my weekday
hikes I've rarely encountered other hikers on this trek through the woods which is no doubt why I saw so many animals. This hike may be better a little earlier in the month, as I really hoped to have seen a lot more butterflies than I did. It seems around July was a good time for this trail if you want to see a plethora of flowers. There are also several nice spots on this trail to watch the sunrise and one I found is only a little ways down Mt. Bigelow, so I could just stumble out of my tent at 5am and down the trail to watch it and then go back to bed!












If you are looking to travel to Tucson, or anywhere else, be sure to click over to my travel site.
If you like the images you see they are available at my Zazzle gallery.
For Coronado National Forest visitor information click the link.
I have images on Flickr ! Please visit and post comments.

Read more...