Look No Further: Tucson’s Southern Section of the Arizona Trail from Colossal Cave to Sabino Canyon.

The long trails have a special place in my heart. Not that I have yet to complete one, in entirety, from start to finish. The idea of a contiguous trail coursing through the backcountry for hundreds of miles ignites a certain unique interest. If the Pacific Crest, Appalachian, Continental Divide, Camino de Santiago, Te Aroa, Long Trail, and others beckon you, consider this: you need look no further than your own backyard to enjoy endless contiguous miles of some of the best of the American West's backcountry. That is, if you reside in Arizona.

The Arizona Trail is an 800 + mile trail which connects Arizona from its southern border with Mexico and its northern border with Utah, following mountains, deserts, and canyons through Arizona’s wilderness. Some of the best sections follow the mountains surrounding Tucson.

Rincon Peak, Viewed from Spud Rock

We did a section in March 2017 over a four day weekend. We self-shuttled a car to the Sabino Canyon trailhead, then drove to the start of our hike, 48 trail miles away from the Sabino Canyon trailhead; the Camino Loma Alta trailhead near Colossal Cave.

View West from Sud Rock, Mica Mountain

On day one, we hiked northeast, climbing the southern face of Mica mountain. The afternoon sun was warm, and we ran into two Gila Monsters on our way to night 1 camp, Grass Shack (make sure you get a permit from the National Park to camp here). That night, the temp really dropped.

Day two was a huge climb up over Mica Mountain, down across Reddington, where we would dry camp. We woke just before first light in order to make the distance. Within minutes, it began to snow. This continued for a couple hours while we climbed up to Manning Camp. It was amazing to freeze to death less than 20 hours and 10 miles after seeing two Gila Monsters.

After passing the viewless summit of Mica Mountain, we made a highly worthwhile side trip to Spud Rock, a prominent knob near the summit. The sketchy steep ice covered rocky ascent was rewarded by spectacular views from one of southern Arizona's least visited sky island vistas.

Descending Micah Mountain into Reddington, along the Arizona Trail. The Santa Catalinas, in the distance, would be the following day's destination. Check out Pusch Ridge on the far left, in the distance. 

Then, we descended down the northeast face of Mica Mountain into Reddington, losing a total of over 5000 feet. On the way, we stopped to filter water at the Tanque Verde creek, our last reliable water source for the next 20 miles. We then hauled the water needed to hike on, camp, and hike the next day until we made camp somewhere in Reddington. This was one of our toughest, longest backpacking days to date. A more rational approach would be to camp at Tanque Verde Creek, then drop into and across Reddington the following day.

On day three, we hiked from Reddington, up the Bellota trail , crossing the Catalina Highway at Molino Basin.

We then entered the upper Sabino Canyon via Gordon Hirabayashi, then down Sycamore and Sabino Canyon, camping on the bank of the east fork of Sabino Creek. On day four, we completed the circuit, hiking out Sabino Canyon to our car.

climbing into the Catalinas from Reddington on day 3 on the Bellota Trail. Mica Mountain, which whe had climbed on day first half of day 2 in the distance, with the Reddington Section in Between.