The Box Camp Trail in the Catalina Mountain offers a scenic hike at almost any time of the year, but a trek there in the wake of this summerβs abundant monsoon rains reveals a lush landscape of brilliant wildflowers, waist-high ferns and a gurgling creek.
βJust beautiful!β said Carla Clark, who paused on a hike with Chris Bambara to enjoy clumps of golden columbine blooms beside a tranquil pool along the creek.
Other hikers, including Meg Weesner, took note of the almost radiant greenery of conifers and ferns lining the route.
TREKKING THE TRAIL
The Box Camp Trail, which begins at a well-marked trailhead between mile markers 21 and 22 on the Catalina Highway northeast of Tucson, extends for 7.1 miles, mostly downhill, to Sabino Basin. From there, itβs another 2.5 miles to the upper end of the road in Sabino Canyon.
At this time of year, the most pleasant hiking begins at the upper end of the route at a relatively cool altitude of 8,050 feet.
Some of the most scenic terrain is in the first two miles β a high-country world of evergreen forests, vast expanses of ferns, countless clumps of wildflowers and a small stream that creates pools along its winding way.
Hikers also pass areas that were severely burned in a forest fire. Itβs an opportunity to observe how a forest comes back after fire, with wildflowers, ferns, vibrant young pine trees and shrubs leading the way.
Hikers who plan to continue down the trail as it descends will encounter zones of oak and piΓ±on pine trees and, much lower, desert vegetation. If you venture into those zones, be sure to have plenty of water, sun protection and energy food because the return, mostly uphill, hike can be demanding.
ABOUT THAT NAME
The trailβs βBox Campβ name is said to be a reference to early trail users who nailed boxes to trees to store their camping food out of reach of animals.
