Friday, April 24, 2015

Blacketts Ridge April 3, 2015

                                    Saguaro Cactus

Location: Sabino Canyon is one of Tucson's more popular places for hikes. From the University of Arizona take Campbell Avenue to Skyline Road. Turn right and drive Skyline (becomes Sunrise) until you reach Sabino Canyon. The parking lot gets packed on the weekends and later on in the morning so get there early.

I arrived early at the Sabino Canyon parking lot. My objective was to hike Blacketts Ridge. This hike is relatively short at six miles but the trail is rocky and steep in places so watch your footing and take your time. The route is easy to follow: take the main trail toward Bear Canyon and cross Sabino Creek turn left onto the Phoneline Trail. Hike this trail about half a mile until the junction for Balcketts Ridge on the right. After summitting the ridge I returned via Sabino Creek and dam. One of the memorable aspects for the hike would have to be the wildflowers. I saw many different species including Saguaro, Bitterbush, Mariposa lillies and poppies. Total mileage for the day was about eight miles with over 2000 feet of elevation gain.

                                  Blacketts Ridge

                                Bitterbush and vegetation along the trail

                            Ocotillo

                       Poppies

                                 Desert chickory and Hedgehog cactus

              Looking toward Tucson

                         Larkspur

                                          Mariposa Lilly


                                   Mariposa Lilly

No comments:

Post a Comment