Catalinas - Sabino Loop

January 8, 2021 hike: Sabino loop - Bear Canyon past Seven Falls to East Fork to Sabino Canyon Trail to Phoneline.

Another perfect hiking day. Sunshine, very light wind and about 70 degrees.

This is an easier, but very long hike. The vertical is less extreme although there is a lot of up and down. The hike also traverses a lot of back country, which feels completely cut off from civilization.

I stopped for lunch in the back country and it was idyllic. Warm sunshine, no breeze, spectacular views, no one within miles and no cellphone signal. A very special moment!

The Big Horn fire never made it to this area, so aside from a few burned trees from a long ago fire, it is pristine wilderness.

Photo 1 is the usual lower desert just before Bear Canyon.

Photo 2 is the canyon side by Seven Falls, which is not running due to the drought (no water in any of the creeks).

Photo 3 is the length of lower Bear Canyon from where one starts to leave civilization.

Photo 4 is the East Fork Canyon back country, which has almost no human traffic and is part of the Arizona trail.

Slides 5 and 6 are the upper Sabino Canyon trail, where the canyon is extremely rugged and dramatically beautiful.

All in all it was another fabulous hike! I was happily tired after the hike and it was great to be alone in beautiful wilderness for an afternoon.

Hike stats: 17.3 miles, 2,910 feet vertical to 4,800 feet peak and did it in 6 hours 8 minutes with quite a bit of trail running.