Monday, January 19 - With beautiful weather to brag about to those in the North (83 degrees today), we enjoyed a hike in Saguaro National Park. Here in Tucson there is a West park and an East park. We've hiked both, in previous visits to Tucson, as long-time readers may recall. The East park is closer to our campground at the Pima County Fairgrounds, so we decided to head there for our hike.
We stopped at the Visitor's Center to get input from the National Park volunteers on the best hiking trails. The trails in the East park are short and all interconnected so by careful planning you could put together a hike at just about any length. The only negative is the elevation gain is minuscule since the park is on fairly level ground.
We put together a hike of 5.3 miles which was enough to tucker us out. These trails were a little unusual in that they get so much use, that the trail is worn down below ground level. In some areas, the base is worn a couple feet below ground level.
The texture of the desert floor here is quite sandy with very small gravel mixed in. Almost "kitty-litter" texture, which probably leads to its wearing down.
Using the map we were given and the trail makers, we had a great long hike.
For about .6 mile, our route took us down the Javelina Walsh. This was a killer. Much like hiking on a sandy beach. Talk about a workout! Whew! We don't recommend that for anyone. Stay out of those sandy washes.
A killer. We would rather rock scramble any day than to do this again!
We enjoyed our hike again today and especially enjoy the magnificent weather.
Once again we enjoyed hiking among the Saguaro cacti and other types of cacti. Hope you have an opportunity to venture out on a hike in the desert sometime soon.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
Saguaro East is our favorite of the two parks. We go there about every two weeks to check on the changing cacti and love it there when the blooms are out. Late March and early April are great times to be there.
ReplyDeleteHave fun on your next move. We will be here until April and if you come back this way, give us a shout and we can meet you for lunch or dinner.
We took a hike with a ranger guide there a few years ago. Loved it. It was very informative.
ReplyDeleteAnother great day in the saguaro!! The weather has been very nice. You two look so happy in the desert:)
ReplyDeleteWe sure are missing the desert right now, but at least we enjoyed 3 months of it this year.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing you on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteYes, would much rather climb a mountain than slog through sand!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time now since I last see a saguaro! Glad you are enjoying them and the sunny weather.
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