Saturday, January 10 - We've been anxious for the weather to warm-up and the wind to slow down so we could go on a hike. Finally, Mother Nature cooperated, and we had an opportunity to head to the hills. We headed to Sweetwater Preserve on the Northwest side of Tucson.
The Sweetwater Preserve is a 703.26 acre preserve located in the eastern foothills of the Tucson Mountains. It is a beautiful area and some amazing trails allowing one to hike among the towering Saguaros. We even found three more crested Saguaros.....cool! Hiking among the Saguaros is so weird. It's like we are on another planet. It simple brings a smile to our faces!
Paul looks like a midget compared to these Saguaros.
We hiked the trails that make up the outer perimeter of the preserve. The trail is not rated, but we would guess it to be easy to moderate. The change in altitude is only about 450'. One of the bothersome, if not difficult, aspects of the trail is the "marble" condition of the gravel on much of the trail bed. A little rough on the feet!
The trails are fairly well marked with signs at intersecting trails. The maps on the signs are a little confusing giving us a chance to test "who knows best" where we should go between the two of us. Marsha was usually right which is amazing because she has absolutely NO sense of direction. There are also arrows pointing out the trails which we actually found the most helpful.
There are many different cacti families represented on this Preserve. 
There are some really odd looking cacti along the hike.
Little babies are all over the place.
The last mile of the hike gave us a great view of Tucson.
By the end of our hike we had traveled a little over 5 miles and where happy with the workout we had received.
If you want to hike among the Saguaros, this is the trail for you. We truly enjoyed our day and look forward to our next hike here in the Tucson area.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
Marsha did you see any wildlife (snakes) during your hike?
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to see sunshine and cactus. Happy that you've found a nice place to get out and about.
ReplyDeleteI seemed to have missed three of your blogs. I guess that's because we have been busy, doing what? and you have been blogging more often. Tubac is crazy expensive. Nice to look but not much in our price range.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to do Sabino Canyon while you're down there.
ReplyDeleteawww. . .now we're talkin'. . .sunshine and a hike. . .fabulous!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics. . .
That's the type of hike we're hoping to do in a few more years.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Nice hike, I did not know cactus hugging was a thing:)
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful area love the Saguaros, enjoy the area.
ReplyDeleteActually Marsha we were there quite a few years ago, loved it!
DeleteI love all the different saguaros. They are pretty and just so ... Arizona.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to get back to AZ and hike with the saguaro!! I LOVE that crested beauty you found. It looks like it is having some trouble with deciding what it wants to do with the top. You two look great in the final photo:) Can't wait to see you in person!!
ReplyDeleteTake a day off you two :-)
ReplyDelete