Catalinas - Blackett's Ridge

December 30, 2022 hike: Blackett's Ridge, Sabino Canyon.

I'd put off doing this hike as it is relatively short and I like more ambitious, less crowded hikes. However, its shorter length and lower elevation seemed a good option as the weather wasn't great.

It was a pleasant surprise, as what it lacks in length, it makes up in steepness. You can get a good cardio workout in if you hike quickly, as the trail climbs almost 1,700 feet in 3 miles, and much of that vertical gain is concentrated in the second half of the trail. The views are great too, even in the so-so weather of the day.

The main downside was the significant hiker traffic. I guess that is the downside of hiking during the Christmas-New Year's vacation week on an easily accessible and relatively short trail.

Photo 1 shows the start of the climb. This comes after about 1.2 miles of relatively flat trails. The start of the climb is quite steep with lots of rocks. This can be an intense cardio workout if you move quickly.

Photo 2 looks north across Sabino Canyon from the top of the first climb. The mountains on the north side of Sabino are very rugged. Thankfully the weather started to improve a bit, enabling me to take some moody/dramatic sun-cloud pictures like this one.

More drama in photo 3. This was taken a little further along the ridge from photo 2 and again looks north at the mountains north of Sabino Canyon. I love the misty clouds with the dappled sun on the very rocky peaks.

Photo 4 is a video that pans across Sabino Canyon from a spot fairly close to the photo 3 shooting location. The video begins by panning across the north wall of Sabino Canyon, then shows the sun-filled center of the canyon along with the mountains at the east end of the main canyon and ends looking at major mountain ridges on the south wall of the canyon. You can see the great breath of Sabino Canyon, which is one of the very large canyons on the south side of the Catalinas (along with Pima and Ventana canyons).

Photo 5 is a still photo of the photo 4 video, looking up the center of Sabino Canyon to the east. You can see the road up the canyon. Electric trams transport visitors to the top of the main part of Sabino Canyon. Many hikers/walkers also walk up this road. Note that the 9 bridges on the road crossing Sabino creek can be overflowing if there has been rain (or snow in the high mountains). Sabino creek was mid-calf deep on the one bridge I crossed due to the recent rains.

Photo 6 is another shot from the Ridge trail, looking east at the mountains along the south side of Sabino Canyon. You can see the aptly-named Thimble Peak on the top of the mountain to the left of the center of the photo.

All-in-all, this was a surprisingly good hike. The intensity of the climb gave a satisfying workout (more than 1,650 of vertical in an hour, even with a lot of photo time). The dramatic views, accentuated by the clouds of the day, were great too!

Hike stats: 5.9 miles round trip and 1,782 feet of total climbing including all the ups and downs on the trail (about 1,650 foot elevation gain to a peak of 4,341 feet) in 2 hours 32 minutes of hiking/trail running (1 hour 58 minutes excluding photo taking time).