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Joel and I hiked Picacho Peak in Picacho Peak State Park yesterday, which is a tall and pointed that sits
adjacent to I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix. |
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There are two routes to Picacho Peak. We took the Hunter Trail, which is a shorter
and steeper route to the saddle of the mountain before a climb that included some scrambling and use of metal ropes. |
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A shot of Joel ahead of me near the beginning of the Hunter Trail. |
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This trail has quite a few steep areas, including this stretch about halfway in our journey. |
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As we continued to hike upward, I turned back to get a good
perspective photo of people walking, saguaros and the massive cliff to the right. |
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Past the saddle, we had some really beautiful views of
Arizona's desert beauty and mountains to the west. |
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There are plenty of saguaros on this trail. Here are three! :)
My other saguaro pages:
Saguaro Photo Gallery (Tucson)
Tall Saguaro
Saguaros Around Tucson
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As we hiked along some cliffs, we noticed saguaros
and barrel cacti growing perilously close to the edge ... sometimes even on the side of
cliffs! (Right photo: A large red-thorned barrel cactus.) |
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Closer to the summit, I got a shot of Joel amidst
these saguaros. By now, you may have noticed he was usually ahead of me during the hike! :p) |
| Near the top, a few areas required the use of metal ropes and fences. This hike is not for the faint of heart, but it can be done! |
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Summit Of Picacho Peak
My visit to Arizona this winter was a great one and this adventure had it all: Saguaros,
Arizona desert scenery and the opportunity to stand on a mountain's summit. What a day!
The adjacent photos were all taken at the summit.
Photo #1 is myself with the Santa Catalina Mountains
and I-10 (heading towards Tucson) in the background.
Photo #2 is the view looking down towards the Picacho Peak State Park grounds.
Photo #3 is a great one of Joel looking out towards the sun to the west.
Photo #4 is the view to the north;
Note the grayish hue where the sky meets the land, which is the smog of the Phoenix area.
Photo #5 is the view towards the west while doing my best to block off the sun.
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Two final photos. One is me coming down ...
And Joel, a good guy and tough 40-something who loves the desert, hot weather and the Arizona Cardinals. Special
thanks to Joel for his generosity in putting me up while in Tucson and for taking me on some great Arizona adventures.
A few other Arizona pages:
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Chiricahua National Monument (Snow in Arizona)
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