2018 Tuscon Sabino Canyon and Off Road Adventures

Friday, March 23, 2018

Starting up Bear Canyon Trail to Phoneline

Friday morning we headed to Sabino Canyon, a national park with hiking tails into the outback.  No cars are allowed in the park, trams providing the only motorized access on the road up into the canyon.   After talking to a ranger, we decided to hike up and take the tram down, not the usual choice,  but my original equipment knees prefer up to down.  It's one of the most visited national parks, and even on a weekday, there was a lot of traffic on the trails.

Panarama with Tuscon on the left and Lynnea hiking on the right
(High Resolution- View full screen and zoomed in)

Multi-striped layers of color in the rocks along the trail

Looking back on the trail up - path is halfway up on the left

We chose to take the ' Phoneline' trail  which ran along a ridge.   We started with Bear Canyon Trail at the visitors center, before joining with Phoneline, and ending with a segment of Sabino Canyon Trail, about a 6 mile hike with an elevation change of 880' before  hiking down to the top tram stop.  It would give us a chance to see what a 'moderate' rated trail was, and it was as advertised, narrow on steep slopes with a moderate incline. The terrain was interesting and the views were great, although we saw more hikers than wildlife.

We were happy to hop on the tram for the trip back to the visitor's center.  Had we chosen to hike down, we would have hiked through a couple of creek crossings with ankle deep water crossing the road, something we hadn't known in advance!

Leonard on the trail

Looking down to the top of road up the canyon with a tram arriving

Saturday, February 24, 2018

As arranged, we met the Caldwells Saturday morning at the Costco parking lot for an off road adventure to Chimney Rock.  It was an adventure.  A couple of weeks ago they did a counter-clockwise trip of the trail, but turned back when they reached a tricky area rather than get into trouble. They have a 'Spot' device they used on 'Golden', which leaves 10 minute location cookie crumbs and has alerts for either 'we're in trouble' or 'we need emergency help now' modes.

Caldwell's 'Toad' with its special 10 ply tires 'aired down' to give more grip on rough trails

We did the loop clockwise, and the trail was more challenging than when they'd done it last year.  Summer monsoons can dramatically change the trails and apparently had done so this past year.  We got out at Chimney Rock to explore the area before continuing.  Their Toad does some amazing tricks, climbing rocks and skirting washouts. However, it is disconcerting to approach a rise and not see the trail down beyond until you've started down.  Paige had the trail map on their Ipad, giving our location and keeping us on track - seeing the physical trail was difficult at times, including a short drive down a wash they'd scoped out the area on a previous trip.

Chimney Rock

Although Mike had explained to Leonard, riding shot gun,  he'd need to engage the down hill button to keep the Jeep to 3mph when he said 'down hill'.  Leonard needed reminding to press the magic button - the fact we were going down  was obvious and most vehicles don't have a 'down hill' mode!

Pond and creek where we stopped for lunch

At some of the more challenging areas we got out and spotted Mike as he drove through the obstacle course.  Even so, we scrapped bottom several times.  They have a pan under the car to protect vital parts like the gas tank.  We added to their 'Arizona back road pin stripping' as the brush along the trail scrapped against the sides.  One section required us to drive down a creek bed which was dry, but when the Caldwells did the trip the first time, it hadn't been, and they hiked down the creek scouting for the continuation of the trail.

We were surprised not to see much traffic - 2 dirt bikes heading the opposite direction at the start, and finally another off road vehicle (ATV)  just before the end of the trip.  They chose Saturday thinking there would be more folks out in case we got into trouble - safety in numbers.  The ATV folks led the last tricky passage and waited to make sure we were safely through. At the end of the trail we chatted briefly with them about conditions and some nearby, more difficult trails while they 'aired up' the tires for highway driving.

Checking the best route through a narrow section of trail

Although the official off road portion was only 10 miles, it was a long day by the time we found pavement at the west end of Redington Pass road - not considered 'off road'.    Frankly we had difficulty differentiating between the trail and the county road as we headed back to town.  That may be why most rental car companies restrict driving to paved roads.  We don't have that restriction, but wouldn't want to try it in our Jeep.

Even the ever energetic Callie, their long haired dachshund, was tired and fell sleep on my lap as we headed out. It was a lot more fun for us to be passengers and not worrying of getting in over our heads - I would have chewed my fingers down to the knuckles. As we drove out, we noticed many of the trees and shrubs had begun to show the first vestiges of spring, with leaf buds beginning to open.  It was a fun day and a chance to see some of the back country not available to everyone. Thanks Paige and Mike for the great day!