Our next destination was Tucson Arizona. We had won a free week at the Picacho Peak RV
Resort about 50 miles northwest of Tucson.
We arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday and decided that we would hike
around at Picacho Peak State Park on Wednesday.
We are camped right at the base of this 1,500 foot peak. It is an
impressive sight. The unique shape has
been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times. One of the first
time it was mentioned was in the 1700's by the Anza Expedition as it passed through the
area. It was also the location of a battle in the American Civil War on April
15, 1862. The action occurred all around Picacho Peak. It was fought between a Union
cavalry patrol from California and a party of Confederate pickets
from Tucson, and marks the westernmost battle of the American Civil War. Re-enactors come each spring to do it all
again.
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| Picacho Peak |
We decided to drive to the farthest point in the park, and
then walk up from the Sunset Vista Trail Head, about 2.5 miles from the visitor’s
center. From there we can walk along the
south side of the peak, which is the top of this map. The trail starts out of the parking lot, and meanders up and over some foothills.
The trail starts by going up and over the little foot
hills.
The view along the trail
The desert is starting to bloom
Mexican Gold Poppies
Wayne on the more gentle part of the walk
The park rangers get to use the roads, we have to take the
trail. I wonder; maybe this road is really for
the emergency vehicles, so they can pick up the pieces if you go off the trail
above…
This is a Teddy Bear Cholla, a very nasty type of
cactus. You think it looks soft and
furry. Nope, those spines are sharp and
hooked like a porcupine. This type of cactus propagates by having the little
ends break off and attach to anything that moves close enough to it. In nature that would be Javelins, burros,
cows. Also humans that are silly enough
to get that close. Once one attaches
itself to you, your first instinct is to brush it off. Wrong, now it’s stuck to your hand. It’s a real life example of the old story
about the Tar Baby. You actually have to
get a stick or a comb and flick the offender off. Two years ago one of our cats got incased in
this stuff and it was 2-3 layers thick in places. It's a long story for another time.
Picacho Peak from the back side
Yes, we are going up there…
The first of the cable ‘assist’ spots. Nice view.
Yes those are steps in the trail
The trail goes up between those cables, and so did we. The camera doesn’t do it justice, but that is
as close to vertical climbing as I want to get. There are toe holds, but really….
After this section our trail met with the Hunter trail from
the front side. Here we made the
decision not to go to the very top. I
could see a section of the trail above us that was just cables and manmade
treads out over the space where a trail should be. You had to hold on with both hands and inch
your way around the edge of nothing. Not
for me. The stuff where there was
actually rock to walk on was bad enough.
The view was spectacular, even from here at the saddle,
which was where we headed back down. How much better could it have been from
the top?
Can you find the trail below; you can see it in several
places, way down there.
More steps with cable assist. This picture does not do it
justice. This is a long slot canyon and you have to duck under the rocks on the
right and the steps are too tall for me to make without holding onto something.
The view from Hunter Trail looking down on the visitor’s
center
This view shows our campground way down there.
Wayne on one of the last cable sections
According to my GPS, by the time we made it down to the road
and a shady table for lunch, we had walked 4 miles in close to 4 hours, had
gone up and then down a thousand feet in elevation and we still had to walk
back to our truck, 2 miles away.
About 40 minutes later we were back at the truck.
From here there was only one logical place to go…
Boy it felt great to cool off in the pool!
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