Molino to Sabino Basin Trail

On Sunday, Sept. 2, I ran from Molino Basin to Sabino Basin and back. The first ascent and descent into Sycamore creek was uneventful and the trail was minimally rutted. In Sycamore and along the creek, especially the first part, the trail is overgrown and somewhat difficult to follow. It helps to know where the trail is supposed to be. There was good water flowing at the creek crossing just before Head Splitter. This is a closed drainage and I don’t hesitate to drink there. I was not expecting the trail from Head Splitter down to have been worked on, but it was. There were several major washouts from last year’s flooding just below Head Splitter. These have been cleaned up and the trail built back up with rock bases so these areas are easily passable. There still are problems, however. The trail is badly rutted in places and this coupled with the fact that the vegetation has grown over the trail (one year of disuse) means slow going with your eyes on the ground. This will never be the trail that it was when it was paved. There are sections here where the trail is barely hanging on to the slope. The good news here is that fewer horses will travel here because of the conditions. I predict few Bear Canyon times under 3:30. As the season progresses the trail will be easier to see, but the ground in many places needs to be worked.