Forums • Trip Reports • Q&A

Canyon Collective

A focused space for Sabino Canyon and Catalina Mountains: conditions, trip reports, route beta, gear that actually works here, and the quiet stories in between.

Trail beta & route planning Creek & weather conditions Community trip reports

Start reading

Scroll into the latest conversations, or use the forum filters below to jump straight to trip reports, conditions, or planning threads.

Forums
Trails & Routes
Trails
Blacketts Ridge Tra...
 
Notifications
Clear all

Blacketts Ridge Trail

Discussion for Blackett’s Ridge Trail—conditions, questions, and the demanding climb that sharpens attention with every step.

 

Blackett's Ridge Trail Page

A steep, exposed ridge rising between Sabino and Bear Canyons, offering hard-earned views and a trail that rewards patience, awareness, and steady movement.

 

Points of Interest

 

 

Popular Strava Routes

 

Blackett's Out & Back

 

Misc

 

At the top of Blackett’s, the squirrels come close. Don’t feed them. The canyon didn’t shape them to beg from people, and every crumb you offer teaches them the wrong lesson. Let them stay wild.

 

Long before Blackett’s Ridge became a line on maps and guidebooks, it was simply a steep spine rising between two canyons, a place that asked for attention from anyone who stood beneath it.
 
In the late 1930s, Don Everett—a teacher at the Southern Arizona School for Boys—was one of the few who listened. He often brought his students into the desert, believing the canyon could teach them things the classroom never could. One of those boys was Bill Blackett.
 
In 1937, Everett and young Blackett rode on horseback up the raw, exposed ridge for the first time. No markers, no switchbacks, just the two of them moving through heat and stone, letting the ridge show them where to go. When they reached the top, Everett did what he often did in those days: he gave the land a name tied to the students who had shared the moment with him.
 
He marked that ridge with Blackett’s name—not out of ownership, but recognition. A way of saying: this place shaped you, and in return, you left a trace upon it.
 
Everett named several landmarks this way, assigning them like quiet honors to the boys who learned from the desert beside him. Blackett’s Ridge is one of those places, carrying a story built not from conquest, but from presence, mentorship, and a single ascent made long before trails and signs appeared.
 
The trail is very exposed to the sun, so hikers should be prepared with plenty of water and sun protection.
RSS

No topics were found here

Listening to the canyon…
Idle
Idle