The day started so early, our alarms sounded at 4:30, well before sunrise. We wasted very little time and were in the car shortly before 5. The west side of the park was a 45 minute drive away and the girls tried to snooze, but I kept demanding they look at the sunrise.
We were on the trail well before six and were immediately thankful for the early start time. The temperature was perfect, in the 70s, and we began the hike in a small canyon, which provided ample shade. More importantly than our comfort, the landscape had completely transformed from our high noon hike yesterday. The rising sun cast the most delicate light on the abundance of diverse cacti. The colors seemed brighter, more intense as we hiked the beginning of our five mile journey to the summit of Wasson Peak.
About a half mile into the hike, I realized I was drenched. My shorts were so wet I thought there was a possibility I had had an accident and didn’t know. (I am getting older and I’ve heard that’s a thing that might happen at some point.) Fortunately, my internal bladder was okay, but my external one had a hole and was leaking like crazy. On these big hikes we bring 11 liters of water for the four of us and I was carrying two 2 liter bladders, one of which had the hole. The other one was pressing against it in my pack and the pressure was causing a stream of water to pour down my leg. It took a long few minutes to resituate myself and my water, but then we were off again. I was worried this was a jinx on the hike and we’d be doomed. (My canned coffee also exploded in the car when I tried to open it. I was not off to a good start.)
But I was incorrect about my jinxing thoughts. We were all in a good mood, taking in the saguaros that went as far as our eyes could see. We admired the smaller, yet equally as magnificent cacti. We relished the shade and enjoyed watching small reptiles hunting for breakfast. The hike to the summit was relatively easy. Don’t forget we were climbing a mountain. In Arizona. In mid-June. Relative is the key word. But it could have been worse.
There were a number of false summits and for much of the hike up we couldn’t really see any summit, false or legit. We also came across four or five abandoned copper mines and only two other folks on our way up.
By 9:00 we reached the summit. The views of Tucson were stunning and the rest of the land was remarkable. Usually we like to hang out at a summit for a bit, making sure to get the perfect photo and stock up on some trail mix for the hike down. This one was different. We couldn’t wait to get off the peak. We we’re sharing the summit with hundreds of tiny flies or gnats. They wanted us to be their breakfast, so we quickly scampered off the top.
The hike down was tough. I’ve realized that it is hard to write about the physical challenges of hiking downhill. We have to carefully watch where we put each foot, as the path is made up solely of rocks. One misstep could easily lead to a twisted ankle. The concentration it takes is quite demanding. Also, Zak and I find that our knees hurt more going down, must be another one of those old people things. All of our bodies are certainly more tired going down and, in this case, the heat was nearly unbearable. There was no relief, no shade, no breeze, nothing. But we did it. And we did it well. We were fairly quick, made just a handful of 30 second pauses, and didn’t stop for pictures. We just did what we needed to do to get to the bottom.
Once we were back at Fred, hot, sweaty, and exhausted we felt we needed a reward. It was about 10:30 when we wrapped up and In N Out was just opening. Obviously, the only reward grand enough for hiking that hike, other than the views and sense of accomplishment, was a double double (or a hamburger.)
The rest of the day was spent at the pool. We had a pretty intense family pool handstand competition. It might surprise you to hear that Zak won with a 53 second gymnastic feat. We ended the night with yet another great Tucson restaurant, Serial Grillers and an early bedtime. Another great day is in the books.
