Linda Vista Trail

The weather here has changed for the better.  Monsoon season and the extreme heat is pretty much done.  Overnight lows have been in the 50's generally with dew points as low as the upper 30's.  Daytime highs have ranged from the upper 70's to mid 80's.  Darned near perfect for me.  I can't help looking in my rear view mirror at Wisconsin weather and gloating inside a little bit.

The wildlife patterns have also changed.  I haven't seen javelinas lately, but I have had four coyote sightings at dawn on the nature preserve just this week.  We can also hear that the coyotes are active at night.  Of course, this is the first time since we arrived that we can consistently turn off the AC and keep the window screens open all night.  And we even need to pull on a blanket before morning!

Julia and I have been looking for a go-to hike that is close but still challenging.  We recently hiked a trail that leads behind an Oro Valley middle school and up to the base of the Catalina Mountains.



This is a short loop hike that totals 2.6 miles and 439 feet in elevation gain.  Bighorn sheep are in the area, and no dogs are permitted.  It was a great day for the hike.  




The trail goes all the way up to the base of the mountain, and there is an optional steep section that is an in/out.  It was getting late in the day, so we saved that section for another time.  The views at the midpoint extended across the Oro Valley with the Tortolitas on the horizon.




4 comments:

greg said...

Looks like a nice, convenient trail, and that Pusch Peak out&back section could be a bit of a chalange!

MFH said...

Let me encourage you to explore Mt Lemmon in its off season. Come May, or maybe even April, you'll wanna know where to go to get out of the heat.

John said...

It's less than a 15 minute drive away, so, yes. I want to do that steep section sometime soon, maybe scout it out for Julia first. She did very well on a longer hike in Sabino Canyon, which I'll report on next.

John said...

Mount Lemmon will be nice in April. Come May, maybe late May, we plan to meander back east. Not sure of our path yet, but we plan to travel next summer.

Linda Vista Trail

The weather here has changed for the better.  Monsoon season and the extreme heat is pretty much done.  Overnight lows have been in the 50...