Sabino Canyon is a spectacularly beautiful place to hike. Halfway up the side of the canyon, the Phone Line trail contours along length, offering great vistas. Other trails include Blacket’s Ridge. A paved road runs along the bottom, along which runs a tram.

Bear Canyon, the next canyon over from Sabino Canyon, while not as spectacular, has its own treats for the avid hiker. With the exception of the trail, the canyon is undeveloped. Like Sabino, water flows year-round. Many hikers enjoy rock hopping back and forth across the stream as they follow the trail. Many find the bear Canyon trail a more natural riparian experience compared to the paved road in Sabino.

 
Sycamore trees, boulders, and water in Bear Canyon

The boulders, sycamore trees, and water make bear Canyon worth the trip. The coolest feature, however, is Seven Falls. About two and one half miles in from the mouth of the canyon (four miles from the parking lot), there is a fork in the trail. The fork that goes down to the left, will take you to an area of slickrock with waterfalls both above and below. While none of these seven waterfalls are particularly tall (the largest not more than about 20 feet), but they are all pleasing to the eye and ear. The water flows across the slick rock forming a number of small pools. The place is ideal for sunbathing, sitting quietly and listening to the mantra of the water, or if you are so inclined, climbing up the rock cliffs to the next fall. A note to parents: kids love this place, and opportunities to slide or fall off cliffs abound.

Falls, pools, and slickrock at Seven Falls

The other fork in the trail, the one to the right, will take you further up the canyon eventually joining the trail that runs from the Prison Camp area to Upper Sabino and Hutch’s Pool. The upper part of the trail provides access to Thimble Peak, the distinctive and aptly named high point on the ridge that separates Sabino and Bear Canyons. Ambitious hikers and trail runners make a loop combining the trails of the two canyons.

To get to Bear Canyon, park at the Sabino Canyon recreation area parking lot (permit or fee required). Take the dirt path from the parking lot to the road, then the road to the bridge over Sabino Creek - the crossing of which will put you face-to-face with the trailhead for both the Phone Line and bear Canyon Trails. Soon after stepping on the trail, there will be a sign pointing to the left for the Phoneline Trail, and right for the Bear Canyon Trail. It will be about another mile to the actual mouth of Bear Canyon.

There is, for those who prefer, a road that parallels the trail for that one mile segment. I generally prefer taking the trail, having already done some pavement walking from the parking lot. In fact, on our last hike there I saw three white tailed deer foraging not far from the trail.

 
White Tail deer foraging near Bear Canyon Trail

The relatively low elevation makes Bear Canyon a good choice for winter hiking. Remember, however, that canyons such as Bear Canyon often active as drains for cold air in the higher elevations, making the bottom of the canyon somewhat cooler than the surrounding area. Summertime can be enjoyable to, as long as the water is flowing and peak high temperatures are avoided.

The traffic in both Bear and Sabino Canyons is substantial - they are just north of town. However, Bear Canyon is still an excellent choice for those who like to hike along a stream, and experience waterfalls, while avoiding long drives.

 
The mouth of Bear Canyon

Molino Basin is a gateway to a number of truly fantastic areas in the Santa Catalina Mountains. One great off-trail destination is Airmen Peak. Although no official trails exist to the peak there are many ways to the top - this blog post describes hiking to Airmen Peak by of way Molino Canyon to the east and the West Fork of Molino Canyon to the West. While certainly not the fastest or easiest route - it is interesting because it takes you thru two wonderful canyons on the way to and from Airmen Peak.

As always, be very cautious about off-trail travel in the Santa Catalina mountains - the route below is only on official trails for about the first five minutes. If you are not comfortable scrambling off trail, on steep terrain and near sheer cliffs this hike should be avoided.

Mile 0 - The starting spot for this hike is the Molino Basin parking area. This area is on the left side of the Catalina Highway between mile markers 5 and 6 as you head up the mountain (well signed). There is a campground at Molino Basin that is open during the winter. After starting just off the parking area the trail crosses the road. You will pass a large Arizona Trail sign and just a few minutes after that leave the trail to begin travelling up Molino canyon. To work up canyon to the top of the first falls you have two choices - an obvious, but unofficial, trail that starts just before the Arizona Trail crosses the canyon (pictured below) - or simply walk up the canyon bottom. While the trail may be faster the canyon bottom is more beautiful and often has small pools of water and plenty to see - Canyon Treefrogs, Ferocious Water Bugs and Black-necked Garter Snakes were some of the animals I saw this trip.

As you approach the small falls the trail will take you up the left side (looking up canyon) of the canyon and eventually deposit you in the canyon bottom. If you followed the canyon simply work up the hillside to your left and catch the trail to get to the top. Once you are above the falls the rest of the hike will be off-trail.

About 10 minutes past the falls a drainage comes in from the west - this is the drainage mentioned in the Mountain Project description of the approach to the Stonewall climbing area.

Mile 1 - The canyon continues to steepen - occasional sections of slippery water polished rock and large boulders present some challenges to scramble up and/or work around.

Eventually the scrambling ends and the canyon levels out into a sand and rock walkway. This section of the canyon is a great destination - perhaps camp for the night and explore the surrounding area! Just a few minutes after the canyon levels out look for a smaller drainage coming in from the left (easy to spot and often marked with a small cairn). This drainage will take you to west towards Airmen Peak.

Mile 2 - As the small drainage bends to the north you get a good view of the rocky cliffs of Airmen Peak and a view of the small saddle you will be hiking to.

Leave the drainage and take the path of least resistance towards the saddle. As you near the saddle look to your left for the overgrown slope (to the south) that can be used to gain the peak - head up this slope anywhere that seems feasible. Progress is slow as you work up the steep slope and, finally, onto the rocky summit. The summit area offers views in every direction - plan on spending some time exploring - this is a great area!

Mile 3 - I wandered around the summit area and nearby ridge enjoying the views for quite a while. But eventually it was time to head down. There are a number of ways back to Molino Basin - but I love the West Fork of Molino Canyon so I decided to take a fairly direct northwest route down into the canyon. This route was less than thrilling - more than once taking me thru classic Santa Catalina hillsides filled with Manzanita... Next time I will retrace my route to the saddle and head down into the West Fork from there, but either way the reward for descending is the beautiful bottom of the West Fork of Molino!

Mile 4 - The rocky bottom of the West Fork eventually presents you with several cliffs/falls that you will need to work around. The hillsides are bushy but with some care it is possible to find a reasonable path around the obstacles (although there is no escaping the brush) - you may pick up some friends along the way... 

Mile 5 - More canyon... One more set of falls to work around, more rock hopping thru beautiful canyon and all too soon you are at the road - continue under the highway and down the canyon - you will pass behind several camp sites and then eventually hit the Molino Basin campground road a minute or two from your car, just as your mileage hits 6!

This trip may not be the fastest way to get up to Airmen Peak and back - but it is an amazing chance to travel some beautiful terrain if you are up for an off-trail adventure.

I don't think I would have picked Buster Mountain out of the Santa Catalina skyline as a hiking destination without the help of "The Santa Catalina Mountains: A Guide to the Trails and Routes" by Pete Cowgill and Eber Glendening (this guide has been out of print for years, but it is a great resource and we try to keep a copy on our map table!). The summit of Buster Mountain has great views of Alamo Canyon, Table Mountain and other formations including Leviathan Dome. There are no maintained trails to the Buster Mountain summit, but the Cowgill and Glendening guide (in the description for Buster Spring) gives a brief description of an old horse trail that can be used to get to the Buster Mountain/Buster Spring area. For this trip I used the Cowgill and Glendening description - but I decided to loop back to the parking area via Montrose Canyon (rather than the Alamo Canyon route described in the guide).

Getting Started

The parking area for this hike is the last parking area on the main road in Catalina State Park (this is the parking for several trails including the Romero Canyon Trail) - entry into Catalina State Park currently costs $7 per vehicle with 1-4 adults (check the website for the current cost). From the parking lot cross the road to a well signed trail head and take the trail across the Sutherland Wash. Just after crossing the wash there is a signed junction - take a right onto the Birding Trail. After a few minutes bear left at the Birding Trail loop and cross Montrose Canyon. Just after passing Montrose canyon a faint trail starts on the left - take this trail.

The Trail Up

The route to Buster Mountain with the summit in the background.

The trail just beyond Montrose Canyon is - I believe - the horse trail mentioned in the Cowgill and Glendening guide. From here I lost and found the trail MANY times. But losing the trail is not too much of a concern - Buster Mountain is easy to locate on the skyline, navigation is reasonably easy and the terrain is somewhat forgiving - getting off trail might slow you down, but it should not be a major obstacle to getting to the summit!

An old National Forest Boundary sign - I think it means I was on the trail at this point...

At just under 3 miles I reached the summit - from the summit there are great views of Leviathan Dome and the upper reaches of Alamo Canyon. This is a nice spot to relax - and perhaps to find a camp site for a night...

Leviathan Dome and Alamo Canyon from the summit of Buster Mountain

After leaving Buster Mountain I headed downhill and contoured over to Buster Spring. The tank was still holding water, but it was low and the canyon near the spring was quite dry.

Buster Spring Tank

The Canyon Down

After visiting the spring I headed down canyon towards Montrose Canyon. Travel in the canyon alternates between working thru thick brush, easy walking on exposed rock and scrambling down cliffs and falls. The canyon bottom was fairly dry on this trip and that made the scrambling easier - with some water flow I can imagine having to bypass the canyon bottom (or rappel) in a couple of spots. Just a bit before mile 5 I entered Montrose canyon. Montrose is a beautiful and rugged canyon - this section is sometimes accessed by hiking up the Romero Canyon Trail and then going off-trail and dropping into Montrose Canyon when the trail/terrain allow. It is possible to travel down this section of Montrose by scrambling and finding paths up, out and around the obstacles - but for this trip I brought 100' of rope so I could stay in the canyon bottom.

Obstacle 1 - At just past mile 5 a large boulder blocks the canyon.

Obstacle 2: A rappel or scramble above several pools. The last pool is pictured above - even with the canyon fairly dry these pools were quite deep!

The last obstacle in this section of canyon is a small cliff band overlooking a pool. There are a number of ways to continue past the obstacle - on this trip I chose a short rappel. Below this point Montrose Canyon has many more visitors and you will begin to see fire rings and small side trails.

The pool below the last obstacle.

From here continue down canyon - my favorite exit is to hike up to a park bench on the right side of the canyon (the bench is both an easy marker of where to exit and a welcome excuse to sit for a minute). This bench is on the on the Montrose Pools trail and from here it is an easy walk back to the parking area. Your mileage at the end of this hike will be approximately 7.6 miles!

Shoes after a few miles of canyon hiking.

This hike is a great journey up to a great summit, over to an interesting spring and down a beautiful canyon! As always, be very careful when hiking off-trail in the Santa Catalina mountains.

There are quite a few reasons to like the Palisade Trail - easy access to a great section of Pine Canyon, great views of an outstanding Santa Catalina waterfall, great views of Thimble peak and Tucson... But the best thing about the Palisade Trail is that you can use it to take a journey from the pines to the cactus!

8:20 AM - Sabino Canyon parking lot - this is where we will end our hike so we leave one car here and take another car up the Catalina Highway. We head about 19 miles up the highway and make a left turn onto Organization Ridge Road – the turn is just after a set of restrooms (on the right) and before the Palisade ranger station (on the left). The Palisade trailhead is less than a half mile down Organization Ridge Road on the west side - just after the turn off for Shower's Point Campground. A dirt parking area and trail sign mark the start of the trail.

9:24 AM - After getting our gear together we head down the trail! The trail starts at about 7800 feet - we enjoy the cool air, tall pines and sounds of a small trickle of water in Palisade Canyon.

9:33 AM - After hiking for a few minutes there is a trail that comes in from the east - clearly signed 'no public access' – and a trail to the west. The trail to the west takes you to the bottom of Palisade Canyon (where there is usually some water to make this a nice diversion). Look west for good views of the Druid - a popular Tucson climbing area.

9:45 AM – The wilderness boundary sign - this marks the start of the descent into Pine canyon as trail moves to the east side of Organization Ridge. As you head down to Pine Canyon you start to move thru areas impacted by fire - dead tree trunks mix with new green growth.

10:15 AM - The trail levels out and passes within yards of Pine Canyon - a few different social trails will take you into a beautiful rocky area. A small set of falls is just a few minutes down canyon. This is a fantastic spot to spend a few minutes - or a few hours (or days!) - or use this as a turnaround point if you want a shorter hike.

10:35 AM - Mud Springs! The tank for Mud Springs is just off the trail to the west and there is an explosion of green as you approach. Watch your step - there is sometimes a slippery section of muddy trail (a rare treat in Tucson!) created by run off from the spring. A few minutes down trail you will cross a drainage that can be used as a rugged off-trail route down into Pine Canyon (it will arrive in Pine Canyon a few minutes below the falls marked on the USGS topo).

10:55 AM - The trail has been of the west slope of Pine Canyon for the past 40 minutes - very spectacular - and now it moves back to the other side of the ridge. For the first time in about an hour we can see Palisade Canyon, now much deeper and more rugged than the simple stream near the beginning of the trail. As you move across the ridge the trail become harder to follow - but if you are attentive there are more than enough cairns to keep you on the trail.

11:14 AM - Break time! We find a fantastic overlook and take a break. From here the trail takes a long and winding path down into Sabino Canyon.

12:38 PM - Just a moment after crossing Sabino Canyon we come to the signed junction with the East Fork Trail. Take a left here and you will head up switchbacks, eventually arriving at another trail junction - at this junction you can head down the Bear Canyon Trail or take the trail past Sycamore Reservoir to the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Area (both interesting alternatives to ending in Sabino Canyon). Take a right and you will be heading west towards the Sabino Canyon Trail and Tram stop #9!

1:06 PM - Just after the junction with the Box Camp Trail duck under a tree and you will be at the junction of the West Fork, East Fork and Sabino Canyon Trails! This is a great spot to take a break and catch your breath before heading uphill on the Sabino Canyon Trail. If you have time and are comfortable rock hopping off trail you might head down canyon - in less than 20 minutes you should find some great areas to get in the water and cool down!

1:48 PM - Finally the junction with the Phoneline Trail - I am tired and it seems like forever to get to this junction! For a longer hike you could continue south on the Phoneline Trail - but we are (very!) tired and (very!) happy to head down to Tram Stop #9.

1:59 PM - Tram Stop #9 and the end of our hike!!!! There is almost no shade at the Tram stop but it doesn’t matter - we all sprawl out and wait for the tram. The current fee to take the tram down is $8 - you can walk the road, but at this point I was happy to hand over the $8... If you plan on taking the tram be sure to check the last time it will pick up at stop #9 and double check that it is currently running to stop #9.

My GPS reports that this hike is 10.88 miles - starting at 7,800 feet - in the Pines - and ending at just under 3,400 feet - with the cactus!

Talk to just about anyone who has walked the loop trail in Upper Muley Twist Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park, and they’ll be happy to rant and rave about just how great the hike is. Hard to argue; this is certainly one of the finest and most rewarding hikes I have ever been on.

In Upper Muley Twist Canyon

The route includes an elegant loop which alternately pokes along the canyon bottom and then traverses the soaring rim of the Waterpocket Fold high above. There is so much to take in: a beautiful and fascinating canyon, spectacular geology, a bunch of natural arches, scattered prehistoric Native American artifacts, eye-popping panoramic views, not to mention a unique and unforgettable name – “Muley Twist”, who came up with that?

One of several arches in Upper Muley Twist

Upper Muley Twist Canyon runs just under the rim of the magnificent 100 mile long Water Pocket Fold, a gigantic geologic feature that dominates most of Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah. The trailhead for the hike is near the crest of the Fold, just off the Burr Trail Road, a great back road which runs from the Notom-Bullfrog Road in Capitol Reef to the settlement of Boulder on Utah’s highway 12.

About a mile west of the exhilarating Burr Trail Road switchbacks, turn north onto the Strike Valley Overlook Road. Passenger cars can navigate this dirt track for about 0.4 miles before it drops steeply into the bed of Upper Muley Twist Canyon. Four wheeled vehicles are needed to drive the next 2.5 miles to a small parking area at the base of the Strike Valley Overlook Trail.

Wildly eroded Wingate sandstone

From the 4WD parking area, wander up the bed of Upper Muley Twist for about 1.8 miles. On the west wall of the canyon you will see Saddle Arch, and you may notice a metal sign on the east side of the wash which marks one end of the rim trail and the closing point for the big loop.

Two more miles up the bed of the canyon be alert for a bypass route marked with rock cairns leaving the wash on its east side. With this bypass, hikers avoid a narrow slot a short distance further up the canyon bottom. The cairn marked path continues up canyon until the narrows below are passed, and then drops back into the wash briefly. Not too far past the top of the narrows, watch for cairns marking the climb out of the bottom, up the east side of the canyon to the rim trail on the very crest of the Waterpocket Fold.

Walking the crest of Waterpocket Fold

Rock cairns mark the faint rim trail; follow the rim and cairns south for about 3 miles to a metal sign which marks the beginning of the descent westward to the bottom of Upper Muley Twist and the end of the loop.

Season: Fall and spring offer the best chances for pleasant outings. This area is hot in the summer and catches snow in the winter.

Water: Usually scarce; bring plenty of your own.

Note: Overnight backpacking requires a backcountry permit.

Difficulty: Moderately difficult. Those in passenger cars will park about 0.4 miles after turning off the Burr Trail Road onto the Strike Valley Overlook Road. The round trip distance from here is about 14.5 miles. Four wheel drive vehicles (and sometimes high clearance two wheel drive depending upon current conditions) can reach a parking area at the base of the Strike Valley Overlook Trail, which reduces the round trip mileage to about 9.5 miles. Elevation gain on the hike is 800 feet or so. The trail is more of a social trail than a constructed one; it pays to be watchful for the many rock cairns marking the route, especially on the rim portion of the trail.

Map:

Click map for larger image

Bryon wears soft cotton pants and no shoes, so when he walks behind you--even right behind you--you can't hear him at all. He knows how to build a fire by rubbing two sticks together. He knows the best wood for making a bow, and the way to prepare cactus to eat so that it doesn't act as a diuretic. Bryon knows that if you go ahead and chomp into a piece of cactus without preparing it this way, it will act as a diuretic and dehydrate your already desert-worn body.

There's a map in his head of secret canyons he's found where water flows in the summer, and he offered to take Logan and me--sworn to secrecy, of course--to one he calls "cat canyon" because he's often seen the wash full of mountain lion tracks.

A disclaimer for the kind of story this will be: I cannot tell you where this canyon is, though I do hope, dear reader, that you discover an amazing canyon for yourself. In Bryon's case, he was driving along one of our local mountain roads looking for something inspiring, and in the distance he saw a large bright green patch of cottonwoods. So he hiked to them, because cottonwoods mean water. Some days I forget that there are so many places to be explored.

We hiked in the dry bed of the wash until rock walls started to rise on either side. Then from the sand we came upon small pools of murky water and slimy gardens of algae. One hundred yards later, the water was running down to the algae in trickles. Then the pools got bigger, and some of the water was clear. It was weird to follow the water backward, from the mucky places where the desert is thirsty to a more hopeful place where the oasis might last all summer. We waded through deep troughs, and the tall boys were in water up to their thighs; I soaked my shorts entirely.

Crawling up an amazing rock formation.

In the swimming hole the water was so cool it had this weird relaxing effect. Not so cold that we were shivering, but cold enough that it felt strange to sit still. The rock rising out of the water was black granite with beautiful white veins, and reflections of the water, brighter than its stripes, danced over it.

Reflections playing on the rocks.

In the belly of the Secret Canyon.

Way up in the canyon, the trees closed in. Bryon showed us the place where a mountain lion was slaughtered. He came up the canyon one day to find blood all over the rocks. The now dried carcass was laying near the stream, missing head, feet, tail and hide. The smell stayed in my nose even as we hiked back down to the field of thistles and sweet honeysuckle. I'm told that hunting mountain lions is legal in Arizona. It didn't help me feel any better about it being done.

Angry Gila Monster

Hiking back out, we doused ourselves in the water, fending off the afternoon heat. Someday, Bryon says, he'll hike up to the source. We watched the water trickle back into the sand as we neared the car, knowing that somewhere up there a spring was pumping a lot more out.