Rincons - Douglas Spring

February 5, 2021 hike: Rincon Mountains, Douglas Springs Trailhead to part way up Cow Head Saddle Trail, heading toward Mica Mountain peak.

The weather was spectacular. Not a cloud in the sky, mid-60s temps and light winds. It was really nice weather to be out in nature. And, the snow was much reduced up to the 6,550 feet I reached, a big contrast to all the snow above 5,000 feet in Ventana Canyon last week.

The Rincon trails are quite different from the Catalina trails. The Rincon trails are much easier - less steep, smoother and much better marked. But what they lack in difficulty, they make up in distance. They never seem to end!

Unfortunately, this is a very popular area with hikers and horse riders. Thankfully, the crowds and horse droppings died out after about 2.5 miles and the rest of the trail was blissful. The views are superb, encompassing the Rincons, Catalinas and its foothills and the east and south Tucson valley.

Photo 1 shows the lower desert. The trails meander through it for many miles.

Photo 2 looks northeast from the mid-Rincon chaparral toward the snow-capped high Rincons.

Photo 3 shows a rock formation near Cow Head saddle, about 6,500 feet up. You can see the beautiful sky and thick forest in the higher elevations.

Photo 4 shows some backside Rincon mountains from around 6,500 feet.

Photo 5 looks northwest to show the whole length of the front side of the Catalinas and the Catalina Foothills exurbs.

Photo 6 looks south to show the east and south Tucson valley with the Santa Rita's in the distance, highlighted by snow-capped Mount Wrightson.

Photo 7 looks up the Cow Head valley to the Saddle, showing the nice mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. It is really pleasant hiking through beautiful forest-covered trails in that area.

So, another great day out on the trails. I am so happy not to be in freezing dreary North East!

Hike stats: 19.2 miles with 3,850 feet of vertical to 6,550 feet. Although the trail was easy, the distance and vertical was exhausting. I did a lot of trail running to make it in 6 hours 10 minutes. Recall that I did less than 10 miles in the snow in Ventana last week in roughly the same time. One day, I will do the full 25.4 miles and over 6,000 vertical feet to the top of Mount Mica (the Rincon peak). That would be epic!