Bear Canyon Trail to Seven Falls

The beauty of Seven Falls

This was an out of sync hike for me.  It wasn't done with our regular Wednesday hiking group, it was a couple from our regular group – LaNeta and Gordy and their son Carlan who was in town to visit, and a new friend Esther.  It was a gorgeous day for a hike and Carlan wanted to have another hike under his belt before heading back to the Dakotas and the cold and snow. 

Gordy & Carlan - Trailblazers extraordinaire 

We arrived at Sabino Canyon just in time for the 9a.m. tram up to the Bear Canyon trailhead.  We started out with expectations high because of recent storms that deposited snow up in the Catalina Mountains.  

As we crisscrossed the seven times over Sabino Creek, each crossing becoming a little more hazardous than the previous, we knew that the falls would be fabulous.  There was so much water in the creek we had to find new spots to cross even since we were there a few weeks ago.  This was because of the melting snow up in the higher elevation of the mountains.  Some hikers – not from our group, of course – actually removed their shoes and crossed in the bare feet.  This had to be a chilling experience; I mean we are talking about melting snow….

One hiker found bare feet easier

Esther demonstrating how to do it correctly

This is a pretty moderate hike which we all thoroughly enjoyed.  The Seven Falls hike is a total of about 7 miles from the parking lot to the base of the falls, with an elevation gain of approx. 700 ft.  It was a beautiful day and there were quite a few people on the trails.  I always say hikers are the friendliest people in the world because they are always willing to stop and share an adventure or point out something interesting on a trail that you may not be aware of.  Before moving to Tucson several years ago, I never thought of waterfalls in the middle of a desert, but they do exist and they are some of the most beautiful areas in the world. One of these is Seven Falls.  

LaNeta and Esther choosing the right rocks.....

LaNeta - with dry feet - trudging on ahead

We made pretty good time to the top and what awaited us was nothing short of spectacular.  Words – just like the photos it take every week for the blog – cannot convey the beauty that awaited us when we reached the top of the trail right across from the falls.  There were several people standing there taking pictures when we reached and although they had been there several times before, they said it was the first time they had seen the waterfalls so beautiful.  That was an understatement!  We were so excited to see all 7 falls flowing enough to view from the other side of the canyon.  We hurried across and settled under the falls to enjoy our lunch and rest for a few minutes before the hike back down.  I would like to add at this point that we reached the tram stop about 40 minutes before a tram was due so we hiked the additional 2 miles down to the parking lot.  I wasn't sure this was going to be a good idea since we were hiking again the next day, but what the heck.  I've become quite adventurous in my retirement.

 See you on the trails….