The Loop is a system of paved, shared-use paths and short segments of buffered bike lanes connecting the Rillito, Santa Cruz, and Pantano River Parks with the Julian Wash and Harrison Road Greenways. It extends through unincorporated Pima County, Marana, Oro Valley, Tucson, and South Tucson. The Loop connects parks, trailheads, bus and bike routes, workplaces, restaurants, schools, hotels and motels, shopping areas, and entertainment venues. It is 131 miles total linking 30 parks and is the longest public multi-use path in the U. S. Click on the map below to enlarge or this link for an interactive map.
Starting on March 13th in partnership with Pima County, my company Trails Inspire will be covering all the river parks and greenways in the system, hiking approximately 80 miles in five days. The hike will end at The Loop completion celebration on March 17th at Kino Sports Complex. Trails Inspire is a consulting company that promotes the outdoors via photography, freelance writing, public speaking and trail design. I’ve logged thousands of miles hiking, backpacking, rafting and canyoneering in the Southwest and consider the Grand Canyon my second home. This journey will be a little different than what I’m used to, especially in regards to on-trail ice cream and taco stops 🙂
Sirena Dufault along The Loop, Tucson
I am excited to be joined by Liz Thomas, who is among the most experienced female hikers in the U.S. and known for backpacking light, fast, and solo.  She is affectionately known as the “Queen of Urban Hiking,” having pioneered and completed routes in 5 cities.  She is an award-winning author, public speaker and advocate for public lands. She will also be giving a talk on thru-hiking at the Tucson REI on March 16th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm.
Liz Thomas on her urban thru-hike of Chicago
During the hike, we will be posting on Trails Inspire’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, as well as The Loop’s Facebook page, doing live feeds and sharing the art, parks, and other points of interest we discover on their journey across Tucson with the hashtag #HikeTheLoop. Each day, we will highlight the food that makes Tucson a UNESCO International City of Gastronomy. We will also be promoting diversity with our message that the outdoors is for everyone.
The hike will end at the Completion Celebration at Kino Sports Complex on Saturday, March 17th. Sign up to join us as we hike the last 4.2 miles from Augie Acuña Los Ninos Park at 5432 S. Bryant Avenue into the Completion Celebration, arriving at Kino Sports Complex. Jasmine the adorable Mini-Donkey will even be along for the hike and event! There will be entertainment and activities for adults and kids alike and a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 11:30. Transportation will be available at 1 pm to shuttle people back to their cars. The hike is free but registration is required through REI at bit.ly/CompletionCelebrationHike.
There are also completion celebrations for The Loop taking place on the 17th at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and Steam Pump Ranch in Oro Valley from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
Born out of the disastrous floods of 1983, The Loop began taking shape when Pima County taxpayers started investing their Pima County Regional Flood Control District dollars in building soil-cement banks along the metropolitan waterways to guard against future flooding. The County took the opportunity to build along those overbank areas a river park system that has become one of the most popular recreational facilities in the region.
We hope you’ll follow along on social media as we Hike The Loop and join us for the completion celebration on March 17th! See the video below for a taste of what The Loop has to offer.
It’s the last month before the Bighorn Sheep restrictions go into effect in the Catalinas, so I wanted to do something in the area. From January 1st until April 30th, going more than 400 feet off the trail in the management area is prohibited because of lambing season. I had visited Alamo Canyon three years ago with my friend Bill and really enjoyed it- it was time to return.
Bighorn Sheep Management Area
Catalina State Park Boundary- Buster Mountain to the left, Alamo Canyon to the right
I parked at the Romero Ruins and took the trail for a short distance across the wash and then turned right at a cairn on an unnamed trail with surprisingly good tread. This trail took me to a little waterfall at the state park boundary. It had warmed up enough for me to wet my head in the creek before hiking on.
Waterfall in Alamo Canyon- 2012
A trail continues past the park boundary that stays above the creek on canyon right. I took the trail until a large boulder jam in the creek, where I descended to take a break. There was a huge racket as a pack of javelinas moved to get downstream away from me. The giant striped granite boulders, golden ash trees and running water made for a perfect spot to settle in for a while.
Saguaros and Leviathan and Wilderness Domes
Giant granite boulders in Alamo Canyon
The gnats descended just as I was going to take a nap and I had to get a move on. I wasn’t in the mood to go farther up the creek, but I was intrigued by a cairned path I’d seen in 2012 that seemed to go up toward the Buster Mountain ridgeline. I’d also seen the top of the route on the ridgeline, today was the day to connect the dots.
The steep route out of the creek took me through an expanse of beautiful banded gneiss on the way to the ridge. It was fun following the well-cairned route. Much of it was on gravel, which made me happy to be hiking up rather than down it.
Hiking up the cairned route to Buster Ridgeline
Gneiss!
I reached the ridgeline saddle and took another extended break. Some of my water had spilled into my pack so I didn’t hit the peak, instead I spent my time taking pictures and even had a little dance party at the saddle.
The route pops out at the saguaro on the ridgeline
I wanted to time my descent with the sunset and started down the steep route down the ridgeline. Tall grasses made route finding a little challenging, it was much more overgrown than in previous trips because of all the rain we’ve gotten this year. Made it off the ridge in the fading light and was excited to see the sunset paint pink and purple stripes above Pusch Ridge.
Sunset over Pusch Ridge
The sunset was one of those rare ones that changes and develops different characters way after the sun goes down. The entire mountain took on a subtle pink hue and fiery waves of orange, pink and red streaked the sky. It felt like it went on for hours and I kept stopping to take picture after picture. Timed it perfectly to arrive at the parking lot just as the sunset had finally faded. What a great way to end such an enjoyable day on the mountain.
Ever-changing light
And then the sunset got ridiculously good!
Can it be that it’s already almost 2016? I guess it’s time to put together the end of the year recap. I’ve got some exciting news to share as well- Happy Holidays!
Last year, I spent Christmas in the Grand Canyon. It was awesome. This year, I needed to stay closer to home because my husband is visiting his family and I’m home with our old dog Bailey. I never hear of anyone backpacking in the Tortolitas north of Tucson, but I thought it might be a fun spot to wake up Christmas morning. I could also choose a campsite that would get early sun.
Tortolita Panorama
I wanted to make the trip a little special, so I got out a red sparkly skirt my dad had brought me from India and a Santa hat to wear on the trail. (I can see this becoming an annual tradition- see this picture for last year’s sparkly skirt). I didn’t see anyone after I left the parking lot and once I got past the Ritz-Carlton I couldn’t hear any sounds coming from the hotel. I hiked a little ways past the Cochie Canyon junction and found a great spot right off the trail with wonderful views for the sunset. I could see all the way from the top of the Catalinas down to the base of Pusch Ridge, south to the Santa Ritas and Huachucas and Babo, Kitt Peak and Ragged Top to the west. Good stuff so close to town.
My Gossamer Gear Mariposa and I have been some amazing places this year!
Both my family and Brian’s celebrate on Christmas Eve, so I called and people passed the phone around. My family, being Italian, told me all the different foods that were served. My Christmas Eve dinner was cheese fondue with apples, bread, broccoli, cauliflower, and figs for dipping. And for dessert I had blackberries with balsamic and some Panettone (an Italian sweet bread). I listened to some music and then I went to bed. My camp had a great view of the city lights without being too noisy.
The morning was gorgeous and the night had been warmer than expected. I wrote a bit in my journal and then got packed up. The best part of the hike down was meeting a family from New Jersey that was coming up the Wild Mustang Trail. They asked me how far I’d gone that morning and I told them I’d spent the night out. They didn’t quite know what to make of it- “By yourself? Did you see any wild animals? But you’re so clean! You had the cheapest room in the place!” Pretty funny. I took the hotel spur back to save myself walking the wash and was back at my house by 10:00 am.
Christmas Camp
Christmas in the Tortolitas
I had plenty of time to relax and then visit my friend Leigh Anne and her family before going over to Wendy’s for dinner. Wendy made me the coolest present for Christmas- she framed one of my Arizona Trail Trek bandannas and put pictures from my hike on it. She’s so thoughtful! This Christmas was a great mix of indoors and outdoors, solo and with friends.
Wendy’s Arizona Trail Trek present- she’s so crafty!!
For today’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson picture, I’m digging into the archives for this little Javelina that came to us several years ago. We don’t take care of many larger mammals, so seeing this little guy was pretty fun!
Donate to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson
Pusch Ridge is a series of four peaks extending westward in the Catalinas: Pusch Peak, closest to town, The Cleaver, Bighorn Mountain, and the tallest, Table Mountain. From town, Table Mountain is a dark-green-dotted diamond shape, but from Oro Valley you can see that three sides of the Table are massive sheer cliff walls.
Table Mountain from Tucson
I have had a longtime fascination with Table Mountain ever since I came across pictures of the summit views. The thing that most piqued my interest, though, was a photo of the campsite on the summit. Underneath a stately Juniper tree was a beautiful stone fireplace made out of Catalina granite. That was it- there was no way that I was going to hike Table without staying at the campsite on top.
The fireplace at the summit
There is only a short weather window for this peak because it is off-limits from January 1- April 30th for bighorn sheep off-trail restrictions. Most of the time that it is open, the weather is too hot. Two years ago, I had attempted to backpack to the top for a lunar eclipse, but had a shoe failure and had to turn around. Last year, the weather didn’t cooperate with my schedule. This year everything fell into place and the experience was even more amazing than I had anticipated.
All the trip reports I had read said to take the Pima Canyon Trail three miles to a steep, loose, brushy gully. The reports made it sound unappealing and I was not looking forward to it. I remembered that Cowgill and Glendening’s book mentioned that there was a ridge option that would probably have more shindaggers. Then I came across a report by a woman who went by the name “Bloated Chipmunk” on NW Hikers.net that had pictures of the route. It looked way better to me, especially with a full pack.
The morning of December 17th, Wendy and I met at the Pima Canyon Trailhead, excited about the adventure ahead. Our packs were heavy with 7 liters of water and warm gear for our night at the 6265′ summit. We hiked about two miles on the Pima Canyon Trail and saw the slabs of our ridge route to our left, across the brushy creek.
Chilly start to the hike
First glimpse of our day’s objective- looks far!
We followed the trail until it crossed the drainage. There was a distinct sharp smell of cat urine and a large sprayed area under an overhang. We decided that hit would be better to backtrack and try to cross the creek closer to the slabs. There was a spur trail and a small opening in the brush that allowed us to get into the creek. We took a break before beginning the ascent and I spotted a pair of antlers in the creek. When I went to investigate, I saw an entire deer that had been picked clean, probably by our feline friend.
Our deer departed friend
There were tufts of hair everywhere and the skeleton was picked clean
The beginning of the route was on large slanted granite slabs and was quite fun to walk on. There wasn’t a lot of vegetation and the views were great! The ascent was an off-trail choose your own adventure with the occasional cairn. Sadly, the slabs ran out and we picked our way through patches of prickly pear and ocotillo.
On the slabs of the ridge route
Me and The Cleaver
Out of the slabs and into the brush
As we gained elevation, we lost most of the cacti and hiked into the sea of shindaggers. Wendy and I wove a path between them when possible, but sometimes there was no choice. The only way to deal with shindaggers is to step directly on the center. We reached a saddle and took a break for lunch with a fantastic view of our objective.
Shindaggers aplenty
After lunch, we climbed steeply up and toward the Table, aiming above a rocky outcropping with scattered oak trees. The vegetation changed again with our first juniper and pinyon pines appearing near the base of the Table.
Our route went up the litle drainage above the oaks
Getting closer!
Base of the Table
By this time, Wendy and I were getting pretty tired. We wished that we had a flat table ahead of us, instead there was another 1000 feet of elevation to go. We pressed on, but went a little far to the west and got into some boulders that made travel more difficult. The bonus was that we got to see the great views down the west gully right before the final ascent. Somewhere along the way we were in a brushy area and I looked down and found a black case with a camera in it.
Oro Valley, Tortolitas and Picacho Peak
Patches of snow at the top
Finally, we could see blue sky and the end of our climb. We went through some pinyon and junipers to a clearing with breathtaking views of the Catalinas and the sheer cliffs of Table Mountain dropping off below. We dropped our packs at the fireplace and toured the summit, dotted with patches of snow. Now came the payoff for lugging all our stuff up here- watching the sunset and sunrise from this incredible promontory and an enjoyable night by the fabled fireplace.
Cathedral and Kimball
Prominent Point and the Santa Ritas
Snow-covered Mt. Lemmon
There was a small glass jar summit register near the fireplace and I read through it before dinner. The first name I saw was the woman from NW Hikers.net who’s triplog I’d read. The second entry I read was an entry from February that said “Lost camera in a black camera case” and gave a phone number! I was so excited that we were going to be able to reunite the camera with its owners. I lost a camera this summer and would give anything to have it back.
View Northwest
Wendy got our fire going and we had a decadent meal of cheese fondue with all sorts of items for dipping and chocolates for dessert. The fireplace was great- it had a chimney and everything which diverted the smoke upward. The fire warmed the rocks and it radiated heat all night long as we slept in front of it. We hit a perfect weather window and the temperature was quite reasonable for 6000′ in December.
One of my favorite campsites ever!
A little chilly last night!
The night was a long one, and it stayed cold for a while after it finally got light out. I spent the amazing sunrise hanging my head over the cliff face and watching the light change. We ate breakfast in our sleeping bags and didn’t want to leave.
View north from atop Table Mtn.
Eventually, we tore ourselves away and started hiking downhill, packs much lighter after a day’s water and food were consumed. We followed what looked like the standard route down the face which was much easier than our ascent route. But if we’d taken this ascent route we wouldn’t have found the camera.
Incredible rock and views on the way down
Bighorn and Pusch below
It was a beautiful, cool day and we shindagger-stomped our way down the ridge, taking short breaks and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It felt like we were flying compared to yesterday’s ponderous ascent. The golden cottonwoods in the canyon got closer and closer and then we were back to our slabs down to the creekbed.
What a place!
Getting closer to the bottom of the canyon
Our deer departed friend had been moved in the night and looked more macabre than ever. We found our way out of the creek and intersected the Pima Canyon Trail. Clouds started rolling in and the wind picked up. The last two miles back to the car on the trail felt like they would never end. It felt great to look up at Table Mountain knowing we’d finally spent the night at the fireplace.
Slabby ridge
A look back at our ridge
We had been talking for the last two days about what flavors of gelato we were going to get at Frost after our hike. The weather changed so quickly that by the time we got our gelato, we had to eat it in Wendy’s car with the heat on!
That night, I called the owners of the camera and they were so excited that we had found it! They had gone back up the next week to try and locate it to no avail. It had become a running joke between their friends that someone was going to finally find the camera that was lost on Table Mountain. I dropped it off the next day on their porch and they sent a lovely card thanking us for returning their long-lost camera along with some pictures from the day they lost it.
What an amazing, life-affirming couple of days on the mountain. I’ve found another of my favorite campsites and Wendy is always a blast to hike with. So glad I finally got to spend a night on Table Mountain and it certainly won’t be my last.
In Wildlife Rehabilitation news, I was going through old pictures when I came across this shot of mama and baby bunnies from 2010. So cute! You can read their story here. Click below to donate to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson.
Baby bunnies that were born at the Wildlife Rehab to a broken-leg bunny
It’s that time of year again- time to head out to Sky Bar at 536 N. 4th Avenue from 7-10 pm Saturday, April 14th for the second annual Birds, Blues and Bellydance Benefit for Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson!
Citan the Harris Hawk
See Luna the Great Horned Owl, Citan the Harris Hawk, and the ever-adorable Elfie the Elf Owl from 7:30-8:30 pm. Enjoy danceable, funky blues by The Railbirdz and smoking-hot bellydance performances by Troupe HipNautic and their backing band, The Permanent Floating Riot Club. 100% of the $7 donation at the door, plus 15% of sales at Sky Bar and Brooklyn Pizza Company go toward the rehab. We had a blast last year and raised $1010 for this entirely self-supported rehabilitation center that treats and releases hundreds of birds and small mammals. I’d love if we could double it this year!
Gina closes the show last year -photo by Mike Bieke
I feel lucky to count myself among the dozens of dedicated volunteers that help 80-year old Janet Miller run the facility. Janet has encyclopedic knowledge and unending patience and spends thousands of dollars from her own pocket to run the only rehabilitation center on this side of town. So come on out and have a pizza and a beer and support this wonderful cause!
Elfie the Elf Owl
If you can’t make the event, but would still like to donate, click the button below to donate securely via PayPal or send an old-fashioned check made out to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson to Pima Federal Credit Union P.O. Box 50267Â Tucson, Arizona 85703.
I’ve been on some pretty fantastic adventures lately, look for a blog post about my return to Baboquivari Peak in the near future. Hope to see you on Saturday!!
Sirena's Wanderings 