Saguaro, Prickly Pear & Staghorn Cholla
03/20/2022: If you have never been to Saguaro National Park, then this is a great hike to take. You can make it as long or short as you want; there are all kinds of well-marked trails that crisscross the area. And there are all kinds of, you guessed it, Saguaros and other cacti. You will hear, and perhaps see, Gambel’s Quail and other birds. When we were there, there were both Gila Monster and rattlesnake sightings, but we didn’t see any ☹. There is very little elevation gain, but there is also the opportunity of extending the hike on the Three Tank Trail and Douglas Spring Trail.
Marg’s Notes: 3/19/2022: To Tucson. Left @ 9:05. Got gas at Costco, then hit the road. There was apparently an accident on I10, so Google navigated us to 86, then 78, 111 to I8. Very close to Mexico! Interesting, uneventful drive. Ended up on I10 into Tucson. Lots of traffic! Saw Saguaro cacti! Tiring drive for Rod. Best Western.
Barrio Brewing Tucson! Great!
Crested Saguaro
3/20/2022: Saguaro National Park. Got up fairly early. Had breakfast at motel. 😊 Then headed to Saguaro N.P.! I don’t think either of us had seen a saguaro cactus in real life! We went to the East side & entered the Scenic Loop. Parked at the Loma Verde trail. The plan was to take a shorter loop to Mica View Trail but…It was a nice day. Fairly cool starting out, so not too warm. There is an amazing network of trails, so we headed northeast taking a variety of trails. We were on Loma Verde, Wildhorse, Squeeze Pen, Douglas Spring & Mica View trails to name a few. Oh yea, also the Cactus Forest. We just kept wandering…Not too crowded except at the Douglas Spring area. Along the way we stopped at a wash for a snack. We saw lots of beautiful sights. Including a crested saguaro! Very pretty view at Mica View [Pink Hill]. Chatted with a nice couple from the bay area up there. As we headed back to the parking lot, we struck up a conversation with another couple. Turns out she was/is a Fiji Indian! Chatted about 30 minutes! Ended up walking 11.11 miles! I got a bit of an owie on my left heal. ☹ We were tired but not exhausted. Started out hike ~7:45. Took 4.5 hours.
Leftovers for dinner!
Rod’s Ramblings from the Trail: We are starting the trail about 7:55 and there six other cars here. Parking is really limited! It is 64° and we are ready to rumble. It is Sunday the 20th. We have not seen anyone on the trail yet, but we are sure that we will and there will eventually be lots of people on the trail. (I didn't hit the start navigation button until 0.92 mi in. So, add .92 to my final distance.) We’ve hiked over a mile and a have seen less than four people. It is a beautiful and peaceful hike, especially in early morning. We have seen at least four different kinds of cacti: saguaro, prickly pear, ocotillo and the other one that I don't know – the purple one. [Turns out it is one of the many Cylindropuntia – Staghorn Cholla] We have also seen the green one so that makes five. We got a nice picture of baby saguaros right before we got to the Garwood trail. Earlier I thought I heard some quail. Indeed, when I was peeing a couple of Gambel’s Quail walked out into the wash where I was peeing. I was unable to take a picture for obvious reasons. We met a couple that said they saw a Gila Monster. Now we are keeping our eye out. It would be really cool to see one. We did the Pink Hill Lookout which is short and worth it. Met Joe and Rachel, from San Francisco, at the top of Pink Hill and had a long conversation. We met Mark and Nancy near the end of the trail. They told us we should stay at Comfort Suites and eat at Zona 78 restaurant. They said both were great. We might have to check both out on our next trip…and there will be one. Mark and Nancy have been married for 42 years, as have we. We got to chatting for almost a half hour about all kinds of stuff and it was really enjoyable talking with them. Nancy is from Fiji originally which was just amazing in itself, since that’s where we were in the Peace Corps. It's cool the people you meet on the trail.
Crested Saguaro: Even when saguaro cacti grow in their normal form, they rarely grow symmetrically. Saguaros sometimes grow in odd or misshapen forms. The growing tip occasionally produces a fan-like form which is referred to as crested or cristate. Though these crested saguaros are somewhat rare, over 25 have been found within the boundaries of the park. Biologists disagree as to why some saguaros grow in this unusual form. Some speculate that it is a genetic mutation. Others say it is the result of a lightning strike or freeze damage. At this point we simply do not know what causes this rare, crested form.