Located just a couple hours south of our home, Saguaro National Park is by far the most accessible of all of our planned Treks. Knowing this, I was able to gently coax Terry into celebrating the 29th Anniversary of our first date (November 5th) trekking around the desert just east of Tucson. A twofer! Anniversary Celebration at the Hilton! Park #22 checked off the Bucket List!
The Anniversary celebration was outstanding. The Park...not so much! Saguaro offered not much more than what we have just a couple of miles from our house. The largest Municipal Park in the world, South Mountain Park, is every bit as scenic as Saguaro.
Nonetheless, a Trek is a Trek and no matter how it rates compared to South Mountain or the other National Parks, Saguaro provided us the opportunity to escape civilization for a couple of day. We were able to penetrate deep into the Saguaro forests, stretch our legs, breath semi-fresh air, hike undisturbed trails and generally enjoy the heck out of each other.
The mornings are incredible in the desert; however, you must be willing to rise early. This shot was taken at 5:10 am. Terry was sleeping. I was exploring!
She's up and hiking! Saguaro National Park is divided into two districts - Saguaro West - Tucson Mountain District and Saguaro East - Rincon Mountain. These districts are separated by about twenty some miles with the city of Tucson standing between them. The eastern section hosts 128 miles of trails that wind thru the desert flats and well up into the mountains. Here, Terry and I began our exploration of Saguaro.
Our destination - Garwood Dam - an 8 1/2 mile hike round trip along the Loma Verde Trail. We saw a lot of saguaros! Not much else. We didn't another soul...which speaks volumes about this Park's popularity!
Although the Park did not impress us as much as others we've visited, we are still amazed by the grandeur of the Saguaro cactus. When we came across this monster Saguaro, we couldn't help but stand in awe of these majestic symbols of the southwestern Sonoran Desert. Saguaros live to be 200+ years old and will grow to heights exceeding 60 feet. This fellow had to be closing in on the max height limit!
Thriving in the desert requires the Saguaro to develop an intricate network of roots that are capable of swallowing up vast amounts of water whenever the stingy desert yields any precipitation. The root system of these monster cacti lay a mere 3 inches below the surface and will extend out as far from the main trunk as the cactus is tall. The roots of a mature Saguaro is capable of soaking up as much as 200 gallons of water during a single downpour - enough water to sustain the cactus for an entire year. Just one good drenching a year is all these thirsty devils ask!
Unlike the modest Visitor Center at the Eastern district, the Western side hosts an excellent Center and an impressive stand of Saguaros...but not much in the way of hiking trails! If you want to hike...head east. If you want culture...visit the West! If you want all of the above...visit the Binkele's. We'll treat you like Royalty...take you on a very nice hike up South Mountain...show you beaucoup Saguaros and feed you a gourmet meal you'll long remember!
Each Spring, the Saguaro produces a creamy white flower that blossoms in the cool of the evening once the sun sets. And when el Sol rises...the flowers curl up...so if you want to get a glimpse of them...you've got to hit the trail early! By noon, the flower has wilted and has closed up shop. That is, until the sun sets, when it again exposes its delicate petals to the moonlit evening.
As many as 100 flowers sprout from the Saguaro producing tens of thousand of seeds over the lifetime of the cactus. As nature would have it, only a few of these seeds will actually take hold and produce a new growth.
Sadly, the reproduction rate of the Saguaro is not keeping pace with those who are dying out.
If a Saguaro seed does take root, it will grow at a glacial pace! A year old seedling will measure about a 1/4" tall - barely breaking the surface. When the Saguaro celebrates its 15th birthday, it will stand about a foot tall! A thirty year old Saguaro will begin to flower and by the time it reaches the 1/2 century mark, it will stand about as tall as the average NBA Player.
Before it begins to sprout arms, the Saguaro will have lived at least 75 years! Hmm. The one we've planted in our back yard is about 8 feet tall. No flowers. No arms. So its got to be somewhere between 15 and 30 years old! Crap...we will never see arms on our Saguaro! Maybe flowers though!
Confession! Not all of the photos taken for this blog were from Saguaro National Park! This one was shot on April 30th in Hidden Valley located atop South Mountain Park. If you look closely toward the bottom center of the picture, you notice a couple of Coyotes keeping their eye on us as we trekked thru their neighborhood. They didn't seem to mind the invasion of their habitat and after staring us down, trotted off to hunt bunnies on the north side of the trail.
Coyotes are plentiful atop South Mountain. I happened upon a pack of eight of them early one morning when hiking with my buddy Roy.
The day following our exploration of the Rincon District -East, Terry and I ventured over to the western side of Saguaro to experience the Red Hills Visitors Center - the Park's main facility. Here you'll find a nicely appointed, well staffed Visitors Center filled with everything you'd ever want to know about Saguaros. Much to our dismay, there is but a single modest hiking trail adjacent to the Center. The main hiking trail - the Hugh Norris Trail - is a short drive from the Center. We had run out of time to hike this one, so it looks like we'll be heading south again one day to experience this section of the Park.
This rare view of a well preserved Saguaro skeleton was spotted along the National Trail on South Mountain. Most often, once these cacti die, they topple over due to their shallow root structure and heavy weight.
End of the Saguaro Trail
I loved the way the sun illuminated the Saguaro's needles as it crept up over the hillside!
This blog is being composed on the eve of our next Trek! Tomorrow we venture off to Big Bend National Park in south Texas. Then off to Guadalupe, Carlsbad Caverns and Great Sand Dunes. Back to Blogging! I'm in heaven! Happy Trails friends.
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