“All I do is win win win no matter what.” – DJ Kahled
It’s only 8:30 here in Tucson, but the girls are all in bed and I’ll be right behind as soon as I type up today’s adventure. The reason for the early bedtime was our early alarm this morning. At 4:30 we were awake and we were out the door before 5. We began the day’s hike at the King’s Canyon Trailhead about 5:45 in an attempt to beat the heat that was forecast for today. We were largely successful thanks to the advice from a volunteer that I mentioned yesterday. We were able to hike up a shady wash for the first mile or so and even once we left the wash we were still in the shadow of the smaller peaks until about a mile or so before the summit. For an 1,800 foot gain over the course of 4.5 miles it was actually a pretty easy hike. Hopefully that means we’re all getting in hiking shape and the rest of the trip will go just as smoothly.
Unfortunately, the actual summit was a bit disappointing since it was in the full, hot, sun and overridden with flies. We took just a few minutes to take in the view over all of Tucson and snap some pictures before beginning the descent. We took the express route back, covering the same 1,800 feet in about 3 miles. I’m glad we hadn’t attempted to climb up the way we went down since we would have been in full sun the whole time and would also have been negotiating some steep switchbacks.
As we were hiking Molly mentioned to me how different this mountain was from others we’ve climbed. She’s right, for sure, each one has its own personality. While I’m proud of what we did today, and did enjoy the flora, fauna, and views we took in Wasson isn’t a peak I’ll be looking to return to any time soon.
We also managed to squeeze in one more In-N-Out stop on the way back to the hotel. Then spent the afternoon playing in and lounging by the pool. Tomorrow we’ll head out of Tucson. While Wasson wasn’t the peak for me, I enjoyed our time in Tucson tremendously. There’s a National Park surrounding the city, we ate at several great restaurants, and Molly approved of the hotel. Hopefully we’ll be able to return some day and explore more of the corners of the city and Saguaro.