We decided to return to the network of trails we have visited a couple times before this trip. Once again we would focus on the region south and east of Golden Gate Pass. There are even more trails in this area than the map signs suggest according to some mountain bikers we met so this is a region we can explore quite a bit more before ever repeating ourselves.
We dawdled a bit this morning and so did not set foot on the trails until 09:39. Today we were treated to mostly cloudy skies, a first for the trip, and cooler temperatures. It was about 54F at the start and we had a light breeze cooling us off enough that we had our various shell layers on. We quickly began a moderate climb that took us quickly away from the sounds of the town below. As we moved into the desert the shrubs grew in height and leafiness. The climbing also grew quite a bit gentler and the footing remained quite good.
We would eventually leave the Sarasota Trail and join the David Yetman Trail. This is the trail Mom and I walked yesterday heading towards Golden Gate Mountain. Today we would travel the other direction. This gives you a different perspective on the valley and that was a nice treat. As we moved along, layers came off even though the sun really did not break through the clouds except for a minute here and a minute there. Temperatures did rise as the morning progressed.
After about 3.5 miles we came to the spot where we had lunch the previous day and deemed it a fine place for lunch once more. At this point we could have, we believe, shortened our loop by taking the Little Cat Trail but we wanted to go for a longer hike so continued along the David Yetman Trail to the intersection with the Starr Pass Trail. It is possible that many years ago we hiked this part of the Starr Pass Trail. Years ago I had a nasty fall just beyond a gully that I thought was on Starr Pass Trail. While we worked our way around a large rock formation at times it seemed familiar and then it did not. However, it seemed like a new area and that made it worthwhile. We even got more hints of sunshine as a breeze picked up as we neared the end of the trail and the Sarasota Trailhead.
Photos
Perhaps you can come up with a name for this rock. We worked our way around it as the morning wore on.
--January 09, 2020 at 20:29:34. , ,
A light breeze is blowing and the air temperature is 55F with no sun to bathe us in a warm radiant glow. Bundle up!
--January 09, 2020 at 10:00:22. Tucson, AZ, United States
While you can see many low shrubs here the plants to take note of are the lighter green ones. Those are cholla cactus. They look enticingly cute but don’t get too close because it takes almost nothing for a cholla to release a slew of spines into you: spines that are painful going in and coming out when removed.
--January 09, 2020 at 10:48:45. Tucson, AZ, United States
These Saguaro cactus are bracketing the Starr Pass Trail. We actually have had a few glimpses of sunshine by now and , as you can see, hints of blue sky are growing. It also warmed up several degress so layers could be removed.
--January 09, 2020 at 13:01:41. Tucson, AZ, United States
Stats
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes with 41 minutes in breaks including lunch
Total Distance: 5.7 miles with 340 feet ascent and 340 feet descent. The trail undulates with no particularly great climbs up or down except a quick one on the Sarasota Trail at the start.
Weather: Overcast. Started out around 54F and would eventually reach about 64F. The clouds did break up a bit later in the morning but we only had hints of sunshine every now and then.
No comments:
Post a Comment