Adventure 647: Casita Living/Post D

Deja Blue all over again: A nice breakfast. An uplifting hike. And a fine day of watching basketball. Go Zags! We hiked the first portion of the Hugh Norris Trail, which according to the information is the best hike in the park. The entire route is a 9.8 mile out and back that gains a little over two thousand feet on the way to Mt. Wesson (4687 ft.). We did the first third which gains the first thousand feet up to the ridge through a spectacular and incredibly dense stand of saguaros. For a large stretch the cacti are as thick as a pine forest. The trail is literally a granite stair case that carves back and forth up to the ridge line. Though quite even, some of the stairs require a step up over a foot. We summited the ridge, which afforded us panoramic views in all directions. We reversed course, totaling 4.4 miles in an hour and forty minutes. The granite stair case, obviously split and cut with pneumatic drills is clearly a prodigious effort. The desert surface is hard; rocks of all sizes protrude like the hard noses of fanatical ideologues. I admire whoever built the trail. They weren't discouraged by a few unreasonable attitudes. The pandemic doesn't seem to be hindering us tourists. We met several parties, mostly pairs, some families, including one couple with three children, two in backpack carriers and a boy about four. We met them at the bottom on our way out. I'd be interested to know how far up the trail they went. We also passed one young stallion who passed us running up and passed us again running down. Ah, to be young! The ridge climb is quite steep but the granite stairs are evenly spaced and the footing is excellent. Most people we met donned a mask (as did we) when passing. A few parties were mask-less. In other parts of the park, the RV campgrounds are completely full. It seems that life goes on in whatever way it can, even during trying times. We've been nearly news free on this trip, but if some nonsense happens on inauguration day, I'm sure it will leak through our self-imposed hiatus. Good news came from home: power restored; freezer goods saved; damage minimal. Libby held down the fort in admirable fashion, so no worries. So naturally, gifted as we were with another fine experience, we can report once again that life is good, especially today.

What isn't some sort of prickly plant is some form of hard rock-all the way down to grains of sand.

I wish these photos could capture the sheer numbers of cacti in this wash.

One lonely sentinel saluting the dawn.

Notice the tiny arms beginning to form at the top.

Who would think the desert would be so mountainous?

Here's some sense of how many saguaros live in this area. 

They seem to sprout from the rock.

They're not reliable in terms of pointing the way.

Hiker babe.

To cap the night, self lighting briquettes.  Nothing like a tinge of butane as a seasoning element.