Back in December, we headed down to Tucson, Arizona. We planned on backpacking in the Saguaro National Park. Hikes in Saguaro are best done from October to March, so, a great place to do some winter hiking. It was also a good mid-way point between Albuquerque and the Palm Springs area where our friend Dan was coming from. Friday night, we met up with Dan, Denise (a high school classmate of Dan’s), and her husband for dinner in downtown Tucson at the HUB restaurant. The dinner conversation was great as Will got to talk RV’s with John, but we did have issues with the service. Somehow, enchiladas ended up being fish and chips and then Denise was doused with ketchup by another server. But the food was decent and the company was good.
We got up the next morning to hike the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail. This trail is listed as strenuous and is 11.4 miles one-way. Our original plan was to hike to the Juniper Campground seven miles in, set-up camp and continue to the peak. Well that plan quickly changed as we were struggling with our backpack weight and the 3,000 foot elevation gain. We were each carrying 6 liters of water that we hoped would be enough water to last for our overnight trip. That is one of the main difficulties with hiking in Saguaro NP as there are no guaranteed water sources while hiking so you must carry it in. For those that don’t know, water is heavy. Six liters translates to an extra 13.2 pounds of weight.
The scenery was beautiful and the weather was just perfect. We had probably gone about 4 miles when we ran into someone that told us there was water flowing in the stream near the campground. Woo hoo! We were really struggling at that point and quickly dumped most of our water now secure in the knowledge we’d be able to filter water for the night and the next day.
It took us almost 6 hours to hike the 7 miles to the campground with lots of breaks the whole way up. The campground is very primitive with a few campsites, each with a bear box and a shared privy. The privy was not designed with short people in mind and I really had to grab one of the side walls to get a leg up to the actual toilet. It also was one of the most non-private privy’s that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. There were only 3 walls leaving your backside totally exposed to be snuck up on by the bear pissed that you used the bear box and didn’t leave food out for them. Got our camp setup and dinner ready to go. Will was very proud of his coke can stove. He made the stove and it worked great heating up our food. It’s extremely lightweight which is great, but there is no temperature control and once you light it you just have to let it go until the fuel burns out. This was also our first time using our ultra light tent. Not too sure how I feel about the tent for cold weather use. I think too much of the wind gets in as it doesn’t zip up, but ties closed. But at less than a pound it saved us about five pounds in weight from our other tent. It gets dark early that time of year. Even though, we were allowed to make a fire we couldn’t get one going as it had rained the day before and all the wood was wet. So, we called it an early night and were in bed by 7 as it was dark and cold.
The Privy
The next morning was another great day and we headed back down to the trail head after breaking down camp. The trail down is tiring and the rocky terrain really beats up your feet. But we made it down in about 4 hours in spite of getting off the trail once. Our friend Dan did great. This was his first actual backpacking trip and it was a tough one. I’m not sure Dan will ever take a trail recommendation from me again. There is a reason that my friends refer to vacationing with me as Casey Bootcamp. For those that want to give this trail a try, its best done October – March because it is very exposed and even in December we were hiking in 60 degree weather. Also, the amount of water that is needed really adds a lot of weight. Most people do a portion of the trail just as a day hike, which is really evident because after about 4 miles the trail is over grown and you really need to keep an eye out of the cairns to keep on the trail.
Will and I headed down to Green Valley closer still to the Mexican border to spend the night at the home of a former co-worker of Will’s. Will and I had a great visit with Simon and Jennifer, a couple of very active seniors. We can only hope to be as active as they are when we get their age. On the way back to Albuquerque we found a great lunch spot called Tacos Marisol. I had the tacos carnitas and I highly recommend a stop at Marisol’s if you are ever in Deming, NM.