Guys! I am so late in posting this, the day got away from me (this last week has actually) and then the debate, and now Dancing with the Stars is on. Figured I should take some deep breaths and share some amazing pictures with you from our last hike. We headed to Tucson (about 2.5 hours away from our home) to do a large hike. This actually has been the longest hike to date that we have done with Presley and it was incredibly gorgeous and so much fun….and tiring. Chad went on this hike with our dear friend Eric and after looking at all his pictures – I knew I wanted to do it, but we just couldn’t convince ourselves to do it alone, so with Chads family in town we decided we would do it together.
Presley got all lathered up in sunscreen, and was prepared with a bag full of snacks and lots of water. She always starts hikes so stinking exciting and usually ends up asleep about halfway through. She actually did almost this entire hike the way in (3 miles) and then slept almost the entire time back to the car.
The Seven Falls hike begins at a trailhead that sits in a paid parking lot & comes fully equipped with a 2 mile ride to the actual trailhead (saves you 4 miles round trip if you take it for $4 a person). The last ride back to the parking lot leaves at 4pm and we missed that, so we got to hike an extra 2 miles back.
The hike itself, other than being pretty long was moderate in difficulty and is definitely a great hike to do in a day as long as you have TONS of water. With it being such a long hike – I went through twice as much water as I usually do. There is no water along the hike – so you have to pack it in. Thankfully there was a few spots in shade where we could stop to snack and cool down from the warm Arizona sun. Definitely a great hike to spend the entire day doing with a hammock and a delicious packed lunch. I could have relaxed in the shade and read a book on the way down the hike.
The falls are sort of hard to see -but truly beautiful & flowing the second week of September. We only climbed up to the second pool of water, but if you are brave you could definitely climb up higher (Chad and Eric did last time they went) we shared some food with some sneaky squirrels, stood in the waterfall, played in the water & got to see lots of little fish swimming around in the water.
Sometime during our playing in the water, Presley took off her shoes & ended up stepping on a bee! This was her second bee sting so we were incredibly nervous she was going to have a reaction and we were going to be stuck at the top of this hike. Thankfully nothing happened & she only ended up having a swollen foot for the next few days. I was so thankful and so nervous & so overwhelmed at the same time. At least now we know she isn’t allergic to bee stings!
Like I said, Presley fell asleep at the falls & ended up napping almost the entire way down the hike and then just cuddling with Chad while we trekked back to our car in the parking lot.
Definitely an amazing hike – even though it was incredibly long. If this is one you are going to try make sure:
You plan your hike around the ride to the trailhead, that cuts off 2 miles each way
Bring tons and tons of water
Bring lots of snacks: nuts & proteins are our favorite
Wear great hiking shoes (water shoes recommended) you do have to cross a little stream a few times so plan accordingly.
Watch the weather, and make sure to keep an eye on any quick moving clowds – flash floods are real and scary!
You do NOT need a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead
There IS some service at the falls if you need to make any phone calls, or catch up on snapchat.
Adventure is out there, go find it! (More Explore Arizona adventures seen here)
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