Length: 4.7 miles out and back.
Elevation Change: 1,180 feet
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult.
Dogs: Yes, if leashed.
Mexican poppies on the Babat Duag Trail.
Stop number 2 on our trip up the Catalina Highway is Babat Duag Trail. It is pronounced "bob-ott doe-awk", and the name comes from the Tohono O'odam tribe. This historical name for the area, now known as the Catalina Mountains, literally translated to Frog Mountain.
The trail head PARKING is off to the right on the way up Catalina Highway. The trail head BEGINS across the highway, and about 100 feet up the road. Be careful crossing the street and look to your left for the trail head sign.
Trail head proper for Babat Duag Trail.
January on the Babat Duag Trail means wildflowers...and lots of them. The Mexican Poppies were all over. Several other local species were blooming and the pollinators were everywhere. Really, a beautiful trail in the early Spring.
Flora and fauna.
The beginning part of trail consists of steep climbs through grassy slopes that tends to be more forgiving than the rocky terrain of Soldier Trail below. There are several times where the trail levels off for a bit to give way to vantage points of the land below.
Catalina Highway can be seen winding along the left edge of this picture.
The views of Redington and Tanque Verde Ridge from up here are amazing.
The end goal of this hike are the seasonal falls in the canyon at the trails terminus. The last ascent on the puts you on the North face of the mountain in this picture. We hiked up the trail on the ridge line below, stopped just short of the 'falls', and turned around to get this picture.
Grasslands near the end of Babat Duag Trail.
This is a picture of the end of trail 'falls'.
I don't know what season this falls has water in it, but it isn't Spring. We stopped by a trickle of water to eat lunch and get a picture of the ridge we just walked across before heading down.
Allegedly this trail has an un-maintained connection that leads over to the top of Soldiers trail. We hiked uphill from the End of Trail sign, looked for signs of a trail, but did not find any leads. It is pretty steep and a little exposed here, so we didn't push on any further.
Stay tuned for our next adventure in the Catalina's.
Length: 5.3 Miles
Elevation change: 1.938 feet.
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult.
Dogs Friendly: Yes, if on a leash.
The rocky beginnings of Soldier Trail.
We had decided on a new strategy for how to approach the many different hiking options in the Tucson area. With the cool Winter weather providing low temps in the valley, we focused on trails that would normally be too hot to hike any other time of year. The vast amount of trails in the Catalina Mountains offer great hikes all year though. I suggest purchasing a topographic map, then using that map to plan a hike in an elevation that suits the season.
You can purchase a map of the Catalina Mountains on Amazon here:
Catalina Highway has many trail heads on the way up to the summit at Mount Lemmon, so we decided to just start at the bottom and work our way up. Soldier Trail is the very first official trail head that you come to on the way uphill. This is an old trail that is believed to date back to the early 1900's when soldiers from Ft Lowell would use it to access the mountains from Tucson before Catalina Highway was built.
The trail clocks in at 5.3 miles. Doesnt seem bad until you figure in the elevation gain. The first thing you notice...It is steep, and intimidating. From the parking area, you have to crane your neck to follow the trail up the rocky slope.
Forget about Waldo. Can you find Scott in this picture???
This trail is full of Rolling Rocks. Not the beer. Do they still make that stuff?
Great view of Tucson from this trail.
Nothing much to see but the steep slope for most of the climb. When you get closer to leveling off, you can see a gorge cutting trough the grassy plateau in front of you. This makes for one of the best landmarks on the trip if trying to orient yourself to the map. Following this upstream to the East will give you access to the seasonal stream and canyon below.
There is somewhat of a riparian environment here at the top of the canyon, where seasonal water can sometimes be found.
Small creek that is the origin for the falls in this canyon.
Following the creek downstream will lead you to this spot above the falls.
This was our shaded lunch spot above the falls
Following the creek back upstream will lead you back to the trail. It is not well marked throughout this swampy area but if you follow the stream bed NE for a bit you will see the cut to your right where the trail breaks East and begins to climb out of the canyon.
After a bit of climbing and skirting the top of a canyon or two, Soldier Trail begins to descend to the spot where it meets the Arizona Trail just West of the Hirabiyashi Rec Area.
An interesting thing about this trail is that it has an accessible trail head at either end. So, if you have two cars, then you can do this trail as a shuttle route. I suggest parking your shuttle vehicle at the bottom trail head and hiking down from Hirabiyashi Rec Area at the top.
I would rate this trail as difficult if done 'out and back' and moderate if done by the downhill shuttle route mentioned above. It is a classic Tucson trail and anyone who lives here and hikes has no excuse to not complete it, especially since you have a shuttle opportunity.
The Quilter Trail is located in Saguaro National Park East. The entire trail is a small part of a small section of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. It begins on what appears to be an old mining road, but wastes no time climbing into the Rincon foothills.
The closest access is the Loma Alta Trail Head in Vail, Arizona. Hope Camp Rd is the name of the old mining road that runs through here, and the remains of several camps can be seen just off the road.
A windmill marking one of many mining camps in the Rincon foothills.
Following Hope Camp Road will take you over rolling hills of old growth, giant saguaro. We decided to make Scott stand in front of this one to get a perspective on its size.
Blend in with your surroundings.
Beginning the ascent up Quilter Trail.
This section of trail is named after John J Quilter III, who was a park volunteer that helped on trail construction. He collapsed and died on the job at the age of 26 while on a trail rehabilitation mission. The trail was named after him and there is a plaque commemorating him at the Southern terminus of the trail.
We had been to this trail on several occasions and had really grown to love one of the drainages that produced several nice pools and small waterfalls.
Upstream
Downstream
After this basin, the trail begins to climb up steeply into the foothills. Water will be scarce along the trail from this point.
The trail skirts along the top of several canyons before leveling off a bit.
We stopped for lunch at a ledge overlooking the valley to the South. You could see the X-9 ranch below, and the views from here were amazing.
Mini Bic with a mini barrel.
View from our lunch spot.
Jenny couldn't leave without getting a picture of this little tree.
Just like every adventure we go on, we didn't finish until dusk. The old mining road from Hope Camp was an easy hike out in the dark. Quilter trail itself is a strenuous hike, best done from late Fall to early Spring.
Reminder: If you plan on an overnight hike to Manning Camp, you need to obtain a permit from the National Park. I don't care if you do or don't...just giving you a heads up. Have fun out there.
For those of you keeping up with us...you are correct. We did just visit Douglas Springs in the last episode of the blog. If you remember though, there was ZERO water in Bridal Wreath Falls when we arrived, so we vowed to come back. After being treated to a rare Winter snow storm, we decided to make the trek up there again in search of flowing water.
First, we thought we should add a few pictures of the RV Park. This is what we woke up to, and we wanted to be able to share. So we leashed up the dogs and went for a walk to get a few pictures.
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.
Deja vu of Saint Louis. Hard to believe this is the SW.
Memories in snow, already melting away.
Purple Fish Hook Barrel Cactus
We set out around 10am. Since it was a weekday, we didn't expect too much traffic. We were wrong! Everyone in town was there. The parking lot at the trail head was full. Cars were lined down the side of the road. Hikers, spectators, and amateur-photographers congested the trails surrounding the trail head.
We belonged to all three of the aforementioned classes of park visitors we encountered that day. We were different, though. Our antisocial traits and desire to actually spend time in nature, led us deeper into the wilderness, and farther away from the throngs of people. Those "nature-lovers" were already dreaming of their heated car seats as they followed their footprints back through the snow. We were rewarded for our efforts with views like this:
In the bajada, shortly after starting our hike.
It's too cold out for this. Where's the elevator???
By the time we reached this sign at the junction, we could already feel the difference in temperature. You could look down at the lower elevations and tell the snow was melting. Up here, most of the snow seemed to still be sticking around. Lets hope we get to see some water this time.
2.5 miles in so far...
Somewhere near Bridal Wreath Falls.
On the Bridal Wreath Falls Trail, you will eventually come to a set of bars embedded in the ground. If you are on horseback, tie your mount up here and walk down into the canyon. At this point, we could hear the water from the falls above.
Canyon pool just below Bridal Wreath Falls.
As you climb up toward the falls, make sure to stop at the boulder pile at the top and look out towards Tucson. On a clear day, you can see the city of Tucson's NW side and part of the Pusch Ridge.
Rocky outcropping at the base of the falls.
Mission Accomplished! This was more water than most Tucson residents have seen in this waterfall, unless they have been here in Monsoon Season. We got out our Thermarest Z Seats, plopped them down in the snow, and sat down at the foot of the falls to eat lunch.
We stayed at the falls for about a half hour after finishing up our food. The Z seats kept our backside warm and dry, even after virtually sitting in the snow. This is one piece of backpacking gear I try to never leave home without. Great for sitting on cold rocks, sharp rocks, hot rocks, hot sand, wet sand, wet chairs...you name it. Pick one up here on Amazon:
The obligatory selfie with a waterfall photo-bomb.
The descent.
Near the bottom. Only snow left is in the shadows.
This is such a great hike for all skill levels. It is not handicap accessible, however, and the stairs would be a challenge in warm weather. The trail is really well maintained though, in fact, we saw workers on the trail a week before the snow storm hit.
It was a rare occasion to get to see the desert mountain wilderness covered in snow. We felt vindicated in our first quest for water at Bridal Wreath Falls. We hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the video.
Until next time, here is a link to our last article:
