HIKE OF THE MONTH

Lions Guard Seven Falls Tucson's Bear Canyon offers a splash of beauty to cap a 4-mile desert trek

THE HIKE TO SEVEN FALLS comes with a warning label. Look out for mountain lions because they like to hide on cliffs and steep slopes and in thick brush, where they can rush prey and drag their kill back to a protected area.

Oh, great. The trail into Bear Canyon, adjacent to Sabino Canyon on Tucson's far northeast side, consists of nothing but cliffs, slopes and ambush brush. Mountain lions find this area perfect for their hobbies and habits, which lately include such aberrant behavior as daylight prowling, showing no fear of humans and even stalking humans.

Coronado National Forest officials hand out a two-page warning sheet to hikers headed into Seven Falls, and my advice is to read it and forget about it. I couldn't, of course, because I'm not, you know, insane.

But the possibilityadmittedly remote-of attack by such a shy killer only added spice to my 4-mile round-trip hike along Bear Canyon Trail. It offers the ultimate desert hiking experience, with the sublime payoff, under the correct

conditions, of powerfully cascading water and rock pools in which to frolic.

For most of its length, the trail parallels Bear Creek, and includes a sufficient number of guideposts to keep hikers on course. But it jumps the creek numerous times, and for a hundred yards or so the trail disappears. Hiking temporarily turns into high-stepping and boulderjumping, with arm-waving landings, during which you plot your next leap.

If the creek is running with, say, December snowmelt or recent rainfall, the wrong leap can mean an impromptu bath in impossibly cold water. But it can be great fun, if a bit soggy.

Magnificent cliffs shelter the trail on both sides, and they soar taller as you proceed. Canyon shadows and midday light conspire to confound your perception of shapes and distance, and this allows those of properly wild imagination to see whatever they choose.

I chose mountain lions. My son, Patrick, chose a scene from his favorite author, J.K. Rowling. That remained beyond my reasoning until I noticed that some of the peaks were decorated with tall saguaros. And those saguaros, rising fingerlike to the azure sky, looked like the magic wands wielded by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and their stalwart pal, Ron Weasley.

Even in broad daylight a 10-year-old can find something to scare him witless.

We climbed as the trail climbed, keeping wide of the grabbing brush and cacti while quail hooted their songs and lizards rustled through the brush. This isn't a difficult hike. I'd place it in the easy-tomoderate category, if only for the rocks on the trail, its disappearing act, and the climbing required. The falls sit at 3,490 feet elevation.

In some spots, the canyon offers a rear-view window down toward Tucson, a reminder of your proximity to the city's heartbeat. At the same time, the falls say you're a world away. That's especially true when the water is hurtling over the rocks, but we had no such luck this time.

The drought had turned the falls dry, leaving only a few stagnant rock pools.

If your fortune is better, you'll see what my friend Larry Cheek called the Sonoran Desert's most spectacular waterfall. Some years ago in these pages he wrote: "Seven Falls appears suddenly around a bend, an astonishing cascade tumbles halfway down the canyon's north face. The source of the uppermost falls is beyond earshot, so it seems like the craggy mountain is belching the water from some mysterious internal source."

Beautifully put. Now put that pesky mountain lion thing out of your mind and hit the trail. AH

►trail guide

Length: 2 miles one way from the trailhead at end of the shuttle road to Bear Canyon, or hikers can also begin at the visitors center, for a one-way trip of 4 miles.

Elevation Gain: 750 feet. The elevation at the visitors center is 2,740.

Difficulty: Easy to moderate.

Payoff: Seven seasonal waterfalls at the top, and rock pools.

Location: On Tucson's northeast side.

Getting There: Take Speedway Boulevard east to Wilmot Road. Turn north onto Wilmot Road and continue 1.7 miles. The road will become Tanque Verde Road. Turn left onto Sabino Canyon Road. Take Sabino Canyon Road north 4.5 miles to the park entrance, on your right, just after the intersection with Sunrise.

Travel Advisory: A shuttle operates between the Sabino Canyon Visitors Center and points along Bear Canyon Trail. Cost is $3 for adults and $1 for children ages 3 to 12. Always carry plenty of water, at least 1 gallon per day per person. This trail is popular in the winter, when melting mountain snow creates the falls. But the falls might also be running in the spring, the fall and after the summer monsoons. Parts of the trail are rough due to summer monsoon landslides.

Additional Information: Coronado National Forest, (520) 749-8700; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado.