Alamo Canyon Loop + The Bathtub

This was the day we were to knock out the 18-mile Seven Falls to Phoneline hike, but Gaia had other plans; apparently adding much-needed moisture to the aquifer with two days of light slow steady rain (the preferred method) was deemed more important than allowing a couple of privileged primates an opportunity to commune with nature and their devices. 

After the rains started, we first planned to scotch the whole day and wait for fairer weather, but Misty and I both felt a need to deal with the existential angst caused by the low-wattage neo-Nazis currently infesting our once-great country. So we squeezed in a short hike in between the raindrops. Catalina State Park is nearby, and that is where we headed. As a bonus, Misty's wonderful border collie Kate joined us.

Saw a few other folks out and about, most of whom also had dogs, and so Kate met four border collies and a lab on this outing. 

Temps were in the 50s and the skies mostly overcast.

[The pic above shows The Bathtub (center sliver of horizontal water which I blew up, left) from the main trail. A slight detour off the main route leads one up, over, and down to the tub itself, so scroll down to see those pics.]

My phone died about ⅓ mile from the finish hence the gap in the

track above (compare with the data from my watch (right).

Kate.

The clouds created a sense of foreboding, but produced only a couple sprinkles.

Much of this hike is sandy and flat, but often punctuated with a few short rocky climbs.

The light today was pretty stunning at times, naturally not captured in my photos.

After heavy rains or snowmelt, this is often flowing with water which feeds all the granite pools, including the bathtub.

The Bathtub