Pima Canyon

November 12, 2021 hike: Pima Canyon most of the way to Pima Saddle.

I started the new season. It was a beautiful day, but it was very tough! It was hot and sunny (low 80s), which makes for tougher hiking. Plus, I am definitely out of shape for mountain hiking. Running on flat roads, even done 3 times per week for 8 miles per run, does not prepare one for the Catalinas. Also, the incredible monsoons caused massive grass growth, which made following the trail difficult, especially in the lightly-trafficked higher elevations.

The trail was busy in the lower section with the typical Friday groups. It appears that the tourists are back, as I heard a couple women discussing when they go back. There were no hikers on the trail after a couple of miles. Needless to say, I was very happy with many hours of solitude in nature!

The Big Horn fire damage has been virtually erased, except near the very top, where the burned large trees are still noticeable.

Photo 1 looks up the canyon from the canyon mouth - lots of beautiful low-desert vegetation.

Photo 2 looks up from middle of the canyon, just before it gets much steeper. This area was heavily damaged last year, but doesn't show it now.

Photo 3 looks up to Pima Saddle (the notch in the middle of the picture). You can see some burned trees in the final ascent to the Saddle.

Photos 4 and 5 look down the canyon from my lunch stop about 1,000 feet from the top. I have a new iPhone 13 pro with a much improved camera. Photo 4 was shot without magnification while photo 5 was shot at 3x magnification.

Photo 6 looks at a mountain on the east wall of the canyon in the late afternoon sun.

Photo 7 shows how a burned barrel cactus has put on new growth. Note how the center of the top of the cactus has a lot of new thorns (new growth), but the ribs below are burned on their outer edges from the fire last year.

Photos 8, 9 and 10 show some nice wildflowers, although flowers were fairly sparse on this hike.

All-in-all, a great start to the season!

Hike stats: 11-12 miles with about 3,000 vertical feet to 5,700 feet in about 6.5 hours.