RSVPs Open on Thursday, November 21st, at 7:00 AM

• 6.00 miles round trip
• Total Elevation Gain: 1,600'
• Rating: Intermediate
(See "What we're about" at https://www.meetup.com/Hiking-Tucson/)

**RESTRICTIONS: No guests, dogs, firearms or tobacco
• Cell phones SILENT during hike
Be sure to bring adequate water and snacks.

You can download GPS tracks and other hiking info here:
https://tinyurl.com/yfga59eg
A Google map with the hike route is here:
https://tinyurl.com/ygxb2xg8

This Nordby inspired hike will start at the overflow parking area which is about .50 miles (https://tinyurl.com/ygdagy6n) past the main entrance and on the right.

This hike is full of dramatic desert and canyon scenery - from start to finish.
At the beginning we will pass some interesting rock formations and then we will make a short ascent to a bluff above the parking area and trend east along the side of a heavily vegetated slope.
The trail winds down and across a small wash where we will have a chance to see two old gold mines. One is a horizontal shaft and one is vertical.

----- Sabino Canyon Gold Mining History -----
Col. Charles P. Sykes and a small group of associates staked claims to five gold mines near the mouth of Rattlesnake Canyon in 1892. By 1897, the group had formed the Sabino Gold Mining Company and had expanded its holdings to ten mines. The mines never panned out but the short tunnels dug into the canyon walls by this group can still be seen today.
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/sabino/shistory.html

The trail then makes another short ascent, then winds around to join the Esperero Trail which we will take just several hundred feet to join up to the Rattle Snake Canyon Trail.
At this point we will meander back and forth through Rattle Snake Canyon wash until we reach Sabino Canyon Road.

In just a few hundred feet we will arrive at the tram stop where there are restrooms and picnic tables.

After a brief stop we will cross Sabino Creek and pick up the Phone Line link Trail which switch backs up the side of the canyon for about a mile before joining the Phone Line Trail.
At this point we will hike up canyon for about .8 miles to the Big Rock where we will break for lunch/snacks.

----- Phone Line Trail History -----
Around 1911, the Forest Service constructed a telephone line to provide telephone service to several areas in the Catalina Mountains. This phone line started in Sabino Canyon, went up to Sabino Basin and then to Mud Springs (on the current Palisades Trail) and on to Soldier Camp and then to the Mount Lemon area.
A branch line also went down to Brush Corral on the eastern slope and then up to the Manning Camp in the Rincons. The Phone Line Trail follows the route of the phone line in the lower Sabino Canyon area. The information is from the book "Look to the Mountains" by Suzanne Hensel.

When everyone is ready we will hike down canyon on the Phone Line trail past the Phone Line link and Blacketts Ridge trails. This section will provide a good look at the mouth of Sabino and Rattlesnake canyons as well as the Tucson Basin and the mountain ranges to the west: The Tucsons, Quinlans and Baboquivari peak.

Once down we will take Sabino Creek Trail to Sabino Dam. We will then cross the creek and follow the old road to the restroom picnic area where we will pick up the Bluff Trail.
We will follow the Bluff Trail to its end at Sabino Road.
At that point we will follow the road back towards the visitors center and pick up the Overflow Parking Trail back to the starting point.

RSVP etiquette:
• Sign up only if you really intend to come
• If you need to cancel, do so BEFORE the deadline so someone can get your spot
• If you change your mind take yourself off the Going or Wait list
• Please don't be a no-show

Be sure to bring adequate water, food, trekking poles, etc.
As always - Hike at Your Own Risk

Questions?
Message me through MeetUP
Cell: 304.290.8066
WV-Mike