Monday August 15th  - Hike in Agua Caliente Canyon - A hike 6 miles / 2150 feet elevation gain

 

Joel Thormen, Tom Feldsien and I hiked in the Santa Rita Mountains.  Madera Canyon was closed to hiking, because of the recent fire.  Therefore, we our hike started in Agua Caliente Canyon, which is the next major Canyon south of Madera.

 

We hiked 3.3 mile up the very steep Agua Caliente Trail up to Agua Caliente Saddle.  This Saddle is 1250 feet below the Whipple Observatory located on the top of Mount Hopkins.

 

On our trek up the Canyon we could here the sound of running water, from the monsoon rains, gushing down the creeks.

 

In order to get a better look at the fire damage, I had hoped to continue hiking 3 additional miles on the Agua Caliente Trail toward Josephine Saddle.  However, I barely made it up the very steep trail to the Saddle.  We saw some fire damage, which are depicted in two pictures.  The last picture is of the same mountain face, but was taken in June 2003.  Notice the difference.  

Thanks Gary