A few petroglyphs to admire:
A few cactuses to admire:
Laura among the cactuses:
Transcription:
Saturday, April 24, 2021
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK
I already waxed rhapsodic about saguaro, so let’s talk about getting lost in the desert at night! (Spoiler alert: “lost” is an overstatement.)
We meant to spend the whole day in Saguaro NP. We were just going to make the littlest, tiniest stops at Tumacacori NHP and Casa Grande NM, but “little” and “tiny” are hard to accomplish when want to read every interpretive sign and then quiz the interpretive ranger for half an hour.
And so we rolled into Saguaro NP after 4:00, resigned to only get to see the west side of the park, and once again at a trot.
A week later, the saguaro have lost none of their fascination for me. Every time I turn around I spot one that’s bigger, more awesome, or in a funnier shape than I’ve yet to see. Ballerina cactus and chandelier cactus and mama cactus and Nixon Cactus…
We drove the scenic loop and got out for a couple short paved hikes. The petroglyphs at Signal Rock are awesome, and petroglyphs have a special place in му heart since grad school, where a mysterious talent for discerning and deciphering ancient Mediterranean petroglyphs saved GPA.
Then it was time to hike. We’ve done lots of nice walks around the historic National Monuments, but with the exception of our painful foray up Black Mountain, we’ve yet to do any real hiking. Inexcusable on a National Parks adventure!
Unfortunately, without having done any advanced research on our hiking options and with the visitors center still closed for COVID, I was left to choose a hike with only a paper map and weak phone signal for assistance. This is a skill Dustin has. It is not a skill I have.
But I tried! I settled on a 3.2-mile loop involving the Cam Boh, Prophecy Wash, Picture Rocks, and Ironwood Forest trails. What variety! Perfect length! Maybe more petroglyphs! Ideal in every way.
We set off along the Cam Boh section of the trail, as it appeared to be the least interesting and also ran closest to the busy road. Fortunately, it was also the shortest section, intersecting with Prophecy Wash after only .6 miles.
After a mile, we still hadn’t come to an intersection, and the road was so loud. Dustin had found many things to take beautiful pictures of, so that was nice, but something was clearly wrong with my scheme. Dustin got involved in the navigating and quickly (and all too easily) discovered where I’d gone astray. The loop I’d chosen was based on an online map that did not match my paper map. I’d never considered that possibility, so I was following a similarly shaped but much larger loop on the paper map.
It’s not fair that Dustin has to do all our trail planning, but there is a very obvious reason why he does.
We turned around and headed back the way we’d come, aiming to get back onto the intended trail. I’d just turned our 3-mile hike into a 5-mile hike, but pressing ahead would have been an 8-mile hike, so that was the lesser evil.
As soon as we got back on track the trail headed away from the road and the beauty of the park got to take center stage. By now, the sun was well on its way down, and the saguaro absolutely glowed in its light. At the moment the sun actually set, we were about two miles in. There seemed to be plenty of light left, so we decided to press on.
We made it to about 3.5 miles before the light disappeared. Our good fortune here was that the moon was nearly full, shining brightly enough that we cast distinct shadows on the path in front of us. The trail was obvious and we were at no risk of getting lost. We were well supplied with water and calories and layers of clothing, because while I cannot route-find to save my life, I can 100% pack to save my life. Literally. Not – obviously – that it was going to come to that. All we really lost in the dark was the scenic view, but the stars were out, the world was quiet, and a loveliness of a different kind kept us company for the last mile and a half.
There is so much more to see in this park. We will certainly plan to come back.
Thither & Yon 