Hello Again!

Well, a bit longer hiatus than anticipated.
Briefly, we moved and adopted a dog, my brother got married and graduated from Law School, and I've been dealing with some illness that had significantly decreased hiking and other physical activities. I am now dealing with identifying some food allergies that I'll detail in a post soon...the process of finding the right doctor and going through the various tests/procedures is hopefully information that may help others. While not directly related to 'hiking', it has affected my quality of life over the past year and addressing the food allergies and intolerances that I have is helping me to feel better and get going again, in addition to preventing any long term damage! We'll be hitting the asphalt trail next week to take a road trip to Illinois to visit my parents and introduce the new puppy, Belle. While there isn't a lot of cactus in Southern Illinois I may post some interesting pictures and stories of the town my parents call home..."Little Egypt."

Hiking the Arizona Trail: Molino Basin Campground

Date Hiked: 9/1/07
Total Mileage: 3 miles
Elevation Change: Campground is at 4,500'

Last Saturday we decided to get back into hiking with a relatively easy hike along part of the Arizona Trail, starting at Molino Basin. This trail was at a much lower elevation than our usual hiking adventures and also benefited from being fairly level. What we did not take into consideration was the increased sun exposure - about halfway in I started to feel really tired and dizzy, probably a combination of the sun and not enough water or sunscreen. Our original plan to hike to Prison Camp and continue along Soldier Trail was scrapped and we turned around about 1.5 miles in.

Despite our sun-difficulties (I should know better!) we enjoyed this hike a lot and will be back to explore further! Getting started on the trail...Look for the signpost for the Arizona Trail at the south end of the parking lot, it's a bit confusing keeping on the trail out of the campground...try to stay to the left at the first few forks. In addition, the recent monsoons mean that much of the grass and vegetation has overgrown the trail so keep an eye out for more signposts to show you the way. Once you hit a few hills it gets easier to follow.

Despite being so close to the Catalina Highway this trail takes you into some interesting landscape and we didn't feel like we were at all close to civilization! No noise from cars, no 'city smells', nothing...and keep in mind this was Labor Day weekend!

Temporary Hiatus...

We apologize for the lack of activity the past few weeks! Between work trips (me), new jobs (Bill), and Monsoons (mother nature) our regular backpacking activities were interrupted. We're getting back into the swing of things though!

Mt. Lemmon/Meadow Trail Loop

Date Hiked: 6/30/07
Total Mileage: 3 miles
Elevation Change: 8,000' - 9,100'

This hike consisted of 2 different trails:
Mt. Lemmon Trail #5: 2 miles
Meadow Trail #5A: 1 mile

A good friend of mine from college, Steph, visited Tucson at the end of June. Since it's so hot in the valley during the summer months we figured a brisk hike in the mountains would be a much more pleasant activity. I'm happy to say we're still on speaking terms:)

We drove up the Catalina highway towards Ski Valley to get to the very summit of Mt. Lemmon. This is the first time I'd been up this ways and for awhile we wondered if we were still on the road (it's not maintained by the county). We made it OK and headed on down the Mt. Lemmon Trail.

This trail had some fantastic scenery on the way down...you can also still see a lot of the damage from the forest fires years ago. We followed Mt. Lemmon down to the intersection with the Sutherland Trail, where we briefly debated continuing on the Arizona Trail and walking to Utah, before heading back up...

And up...

and up...

You don't realize it quite as much on the way down but this is one really steep trail. We took frequent breaks to hydrate and bitch and moan. We eventually connected with the Meadow Trail and took that back to the summit. It was still a pretty steep climb but this trail was more shaded and had more switchbacks so it didn't feel quite as steep.

We finally finished and I have never been quite so glad to see a parking lot (and bathrooms!). This was a pretty challenging trail, even with just doing 3 miles so I'd recommend doing a few easier ones first...sorry Steph!

Aspen Trail Loop

Date Hiked: 7/7/07
Total Mileage: 6.9 miles
Elevation Change: 7,410' - 8,400'

This hike consisted of 3 different trails:
Sunset Trail #8: 1.6 miles
Aspen Trail #93: 2.5 miles
Marshall Gulch Trail #3: 1.2 miles

We parked at the Sunset Trailhead off the Catalina Highway and hiked Sunset to the Marshall Gulch picnic area. To get to the trail, follow the sign in the parking lot and walk about 1/2 mile, at this point the road splits you'll need to head right through some boulders (this is unmarked) and continue following the road past cabins until the trail really begins. Sunset is a fairly easy hike towards the Marshall Gulch Trailhead. The trail descends about 500 feet through forests and rocky outcroppings which can present a bit of a challenge to hikers. However these also provide a scenic vista from which we observed a family of hawks!


Once you get to the creek at the bottom it's a short walk to the Marshall Gulch picnic area where both Aspen and Marshal Gulch trail meet.

We headed up Aspen trail...and up and up and up. We climbed most of the 900 feet in elevation during the first two miles. This is a tough trail and will tire out inexperienced hikers. There was not anything noteworthy along this trail except that it brings you to an intersection of several trailheads:
Aspen (continuing), Wilderness of Rocks, Mint Springs, and Marshall Gulch Trail.

We left the intersection on the Marshall Gulch Trail headed back to the Marshall Gulch picnic area. Shortly after starting along the path you will come to several fallen trees which totally obscure the trail - it picks up on the other side so keep on going! This trail is moderate and mainly follows along a creek, criss-crossing it 7 times. It takes you back to the picnic area (and bathrooms!)

Once back at the Marshall Gulch picnic area it was time to head back down Sunset and to the car...Sunset is a bit tougher after a full day hiking!

All in all, this trail loop was a challenging and enjoyable hike that we'll return to. For an easier version you could stay on Marshall Gulch (and avoid Aspen Trail).

Welcome to Cactus Country!

Welcome to our new blog, Cactus Country Hikers!
We have decided to log our hiking and outdoor adventures online so that others can learn from our mistakes ;) It also seemed like a great way to share pictures and stories from Tucson's Cactus Country.

We'll be posting summaries of each hike, including elevations, length, and our overall impressions. During the course of this blog we may extend our hiking outside of cactus country - those will also be included. You can expect reviews of gear and equipment as well. We'll tag each hike with the forest, park, wherever it's located so you may sort hikes by location.

We hope that this will eventually be a resource for people looking for information on Tucson area hikes and a means of sharing our hobbies with friends and family.

Thanks for reading!