02/06/03:
Things got off to a rocky start when I got lost in the desert trying to find my way back to the road from last night's campsite. Followed one set of tracks through the mesquite until I came to a fence. The road was on the other side of a drainage ditch and I just couldn't get there from here. Made it out 10 minutes later though.
Stopped by the visitor center for a Golden Eagle stamp for my park pass but they didn't have any either. Checked out the Nature Trail on Kinney Road and then headed for the Bajada Scenic Drive. The Hugh Norris and Sendero Esperanzo Trailheads only hold a few cars and were full at 10am so I kept going. Did the .8 mile View Trail which was OK and then did the .25 mile Signal Rock Trail. Here are a bunch of petroglyphs carved into big rocks rather than the usual wall of a canyon and such. Talked to a volunteer who was taking inventory of the state of the petroglyphs and he pointed out 100's more I hadn't seen.
Finally ended up at the Cam-Boh Picnic Area on Picture Rocks Road. It leads into several other trails in that area. It was close to 1pm so I chose to do the Prophecy Wash Trail (5 miles round trip). This was along a sandy wash which made the going a little hard. Lots of Saguaros with mountain ranges in the background.
02/07/03 Hiking Sendero Esperansa Trail (6.2 miles round trip):
My drinking water was kinda crunchy this morning. At least I didn't get lost trying to find the road.
Decided to hike the Sendero Esperansa Trail from Golden Gate Road to King Canyon Trail Junction. First mile is along an old, sandy road bed and then the trail rises on switchbacks 350 feet to the Hugh Norris Trail Junction. Then its back down 350 feet to King Canyon Trail Junction.
Fewer Sagauros over here but still a lot. Tons of prickly pear cactus, chain fruit cholla, some occatillo cactus and even a few agave type yuccas. Several mine shafts along the way.
02/08/03 Hiking King Canyon Trail (7 miles round trip):
Lower 50's again today with dark clouds and heavy winds. Even got a sprinkle around 8am.
King Canyon turned out to be almost more than I wanted. I haven't done much elevation since Zion National Park in mid-November. The first mile is a nice easy incline. The second 1.4 miles is a steeper incline. The next .9 is fairly steep switchbacks. If I had looked at the map I would have seen the trailhead is at 3000 feet and Wasson Peak is 4700 feet.
Well... yesterday's 350 feet is the most I had done in close to 3 months. I got half way up the switchbacks and experienced some mild dizziness and was ready to turn back. Instead, I slowed way down, stopping for frequent short rests.
The last .3 miles to the summit was easy compared to the switchbacks. That last mile took me an hour. Passed a few mine shafts on the way.
02/09/03 Hiking Hugh Norris Trail (9.8 miles round trip):
The ol' legs got a work out today as I climbed to Wasson Peak from the Hugh Norris Trail with an elevation gain of over 2000 feet. Done good though, no dizziness and had everything but my legs under control the entire time.
This is the prettiest of the Saguaro National Park trails for me. Lots of Saguaros, many of them growing on rocky knolls along with other types of cactus and plant life.
It's pretty much uphill the entire way with a couple of level spots and one dip on the way up. The first mile or so is up stone steps. Took me about 30 minutes. Then a few miles of mostly ups followed by 1/4 mile of steep switchbacks followed by .3 miles to the peak. I got there in about 2.5 hours. Didn't seem to pick up a lot of speed on the way back down.
02/10/03 Hiking Picture Rocks Wash Loop (10 miles round trip):
20's last night and crunchy water this morning. Overcast, windy and 50's at Cam-Boh picnic area and trail head. This trail follows Picture Rocks Road for 2.3 before switching off onto the Ironwood Forest Trail. The first 2.3 miles varies from sandy wash type surface and nicely packed but often stony trail.
Ironwood Forest Trail is up and down and very stony for .5 miles until it reaches Picture Rocks Wash.
From the name of the wash I expected some petroglyphs but... nada! Turned right at the wash and followed it a mile to the end of the trail and then back. Nothing but a couple of rocks. Followed the wash the other way .7 miles to the Ringtail Trail and still nada!
Followed Ringtail Trail 1 mile to Mule Deer Trail and followed that .3 miles back to the Ironwood Forest Trail and .1 miles back to the Cam-Boh Trail and then back to the picnic area.
02/16/03 Hiking Hugh Norris Trail (9.8 miles round trip):
Left Saguaro National Park several days ago (see next report) but came back because of heavy rains. I tried going up into the national forests but roads were too muddy for my 2WD. The area east of Tucson is more grassland and range land than desert and I didn't think I'd find a good spot to camp so decided to come back here where I knew I had firm ground to drive on.
Lots of dark, heavy clouds but no rain yesterday. Decided to stay an extra day and do the Hugh Norris Trail again. I hadn't done any walking and not much hiking for the past week because of the rain. The Hugh Norris Trail almost proved to be too much for me without some preliminary hiking to build myself back up. Sore legs were OK but experienced some dizziness and slowed way down and rested frequently on the steeper sections. Even so, somehow I managed to complete the trail in under 5 hours, faster, I think, than last week.