Thursday, Jan 30th, 2025, 0730-1630
Sabino Canyon entrance to Romero Canyon pools, Section 1A mm 3.5
16 miles, elevation gain 3k
Josh once again went out of his way to drive me to my (2nd) start point. We arrived just after 7 am as it was getting light. I so enjoyed the conversation with Josh on the way, plus the warmth in the car, I didn’t want to get out. I realized I was stalling, trying to soak up as much human interaction as possible because I was going to be alone for almost 2 months straight…one of the major causes of my anxiety the past few days. I knew from other hikes that I could handle the isolation, even thrive in it, but the desert has a way of taking things to the extreme. I thought I might go days on end without seeing another person. Even if I did, they weren’t likely to have much in common. Forget other hikers…once I left SNP I probably wouldn’t see another one until Joshua Tree NP.
I hugged Josh and promised a return so that we could hike some of the Arizona Trail together. I owed him a lot for all the trail angeling he and his family had done for me. I took a few obligatory “trail terminus” photos, namely one of me in front of a Saguaro cactus, and then I started hiking up the road. My original intent was to ride the Sabino Crawler shuttle for 3.7 mi to the last stop, but the earliest run wasn’t until 9 a.m. I was too impatient and it was too cold to wait around. Besides, for that short of a distance, I could hike myself up and still get there earlier, plus save $15.
Yet still, I was adding more miles to an already extended route that I didn’t need to be doing. At least they were easy miles along the road. A trail paralleled high above, but would have been more tedious. Besides, I was enjoying all the walkers, joggers, and bicyclists on the road. Like I said, I needed to soak up as much human company while I could. I talked and walked with quite a few of them, as everyone was curious as to why I was carrying a backpack. They all asked the question “how far are you going?” Perhaps I relished a little too much in my response that I was hiking to California. I’m sure I sounded a little crazy in describing my endeavors… especially since I was headed in the opposite direction from my goal.
I left all the people behind at the end of the road and started up some numerous switchbacks. It was another two and a half miles to connect to the Arizona Trail at the top. From there, I turned up the canyon and started northbound on the AZT. I wondered if I might see any thru hikers this early in the year and sure enough, along came a solo guy. He was just out for an overnight but was contemplating an AZT thru hike later in the spring. Having just earned his PhD from nearby, he was looking to squeeze in an adventure before having to get a real job. I should have warned him that doing a thru hike might ruin him for life, but I withheld my sage advice. Instead, I encouraged him.
I took a short break at Hutch’s pool, a premier campsite along the AZT. I collected some beautiful cold and clear water so I could initiate my brand new filter with probably the best water it would see on the whole hike. Man, I felt bad for what I was about to put that filter through in the months to come. It happily passed the water, unaware of the abuse ahead. Best to start it off on a good note, get it thinking it would be smooth sailing from here on out.
I continued the steady climb and shortly started walking through bits of snow. Then I spotted large canine tracks. The first few were too melted to discern, but I had a strong suspicion they belonged to a large cat. I couldn’t think of a more perfect habitat for mountain lions, given all the rocky crags and reliable water in the canyon. I could just picture one sitting atop a house-sized boulder, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting prey (me) that walked by. The tracks became clear further up… definitely a lion. It had been going down, opposite my direction, no more than a day before, perhaps hours. I must have already passed it and wondered if it was watching me as I went by. Probably.
The tracks went on for almost a mile as I pondered a death by mountain lion. I’ve joked a lot in the past that it’s how I will check out, but now it wasn’t a joke. I could think of a lot worse ways to go and at least it would make for a good story. But I knew I wouldn’t go down without a fight. I thought of how Josh’s kitty had been licking my ear the night before…so cute! But I also think she might have been contemplating taking a bite out of my ear. Cats are both adorable and terrifying. Imagine if your house cat suddenly grew to 200 lbs!
I reached the pass without lion interference and immediately started down. At over 6k’, it was the highest point on the route. But it’s not even officially part of the route, so I guess, whatever. Doesn’t matter. The snow was pretty thick on the north facing slope… maybe two to three inches in places. I had to be careful not to slip and my feet got pretty wet. I went another couple miles to where there were some nice flowing pools in the creek and called it a day.
It was only 4 p.m. which kills me to stop so early but there was no point in trying to go further. It was over 4 miles to the ranger station and I knew they closed shop at 5 pm, so there was no way I could make it in time to get my food bag. I also didn’t want to break any rules by camping in the state park. There were some nice sandy spots next to the creek…too close for my preference but they would have to do. I knew I’d be dealing with a lot of condensation in the morning and that it was going to be a cold night. But camping right next to clear flowing water was a luxury that was probably not going to happen for the rest of the trip, so I might as well enjoy it. I made an early dinner and was in bed by 7 pm.
