Trailheads: Gateways to "The Face of God"
Were we to list all the aspects of Southern Arizona for which we are grateful, somewhere near the top would be the natural world around our cities and towns.
You might point out that Phoenix has deserts, or that Flagstaff has mountains, but we have both. Phoenicians may claim to have both deserts and mountains, citing the Superstitions, but with the highest “peak” at 5,057 feet they do not qualify as mountains, beautiful though they may be.
We who reside in Tucson are set on a desert plain nestled against the Rincon and Catalina Mountain ranges (they are actually one crescent shaped range created by the same geological event).
These two ranges together give us the best of both worlds regarding government land. The Catalinas are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, while the Rincons are Managed by the National Park Service.
These agencies have different missions. The Forest Service manages its lands for a wide variety uses including grazing, timber, extraction (mining), recreation, and wildlife habitat to name a few. The Park Service is more preservation oriented. There are trails for hiking and backpacking with designated sites for camping (permit required), but you will have to move over to the Catalinas for your four-wheeling, hunting, and mountain biking.
I mentioned the Rincons and Catalinas first because they are almost at our door steps. However, if you don’t mind a bit of a drive (one hour, mas o menos), the Santa Rita Mountains have much to offer. The tallest peak is Mt. Wrightson coming in at 9,456 feet. The trailheads for the peak are at the end of the road up Madera Canyon. There are, in fact, two trails leading from the end of the road to the peak - the Old Baldy Trail and the Super Trail. The Super Trail is three miles longer than Baldy, but not as steep. They cross each other near Josephine Saddle, and Baldy Saddle, so you can mix it up if you like.
These resources are great for recreation, and they are nice to look at while driving around town, but they are more than that. They represent our origins as a specie, our original home from which we now are far removed. They are both our home and our wilderness, our refuge and our challenge. A place where we cannot live, but to which we must go.
Recently, I celebrated my birthday. I thought, “Where would I like to go on my birthday that is special, reasonably attainable, and preferably someplace local?” After some contemplation, I realized it was the summit of Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Ritas. Actually, that is not true. The summit may be the focal point, but it is the experience of the hike, from trailhead to summit and back, that is the treat.
That may seem odd to some, but consider, the hike has all of the things. By “all the things” I mean the things that bring us joy, fear, risk, beauty, mental challenge, physical challenge, learning, success, and failure - all things that make one a man or woman in full. It can also kickstart the maturation process of the adolescent.
Now, I know that beauty is subjective to some degree, but I always find the vistas from mountain trails to be spectacularly beautiful. I do have to credit the summit with the most spectacular views - at all points of the compass. Looking due North the Rincons and Catalinas are visible in the distance. To the East, past the grassland north of Sonoita, lie the Whetstones and the Mustangs. Turning to the Southeast, the Huachucas near the border are visible .
The views are breathtaking and awe inspiring. I am reminded of the famous quotation of Dom Robert, a Benedictine monk and artist who said, “Nature is the face of God”.
My friend Robert (not Dom) joined me on this trip. While I like to hike alone, I freely acknowledge that there are advantages to having company. Alone, you tend to focus on yourself much of the time - how tired am I, do my feet hurt, how heavy is my pack - instead of checking with your fellow hiker about the hike, or just having a conversation with him about politics, religion, and favorite film directors (Peter Weir and Sam Pekinpah were both high up on both of our lists). We both enjoyed the trip (I was kidding about religion and politics).
Closer to home, there is bad news. Pima County has permanently closed the trailhead at the end of North Campbell Ave. Pima County gave the following reasons for the closure:
Lack of connectivity and compliance with NRPR trail standards; resources required to achieve compliance were unrealistic and unattainable.
Current trail led to unauthorized trails that conflicted with Coronado National Forest’s vision and were in direct conflict with the species management plan for a sensitive habitat area.
I determined that the NRPR (Natural Resources Parks and Recreation) is a committee involved with parks and natural resources, but try as I may (searching the Pima County website) I could not find any written standards having anything to do with trails. Do committee members have any written standards, or do they make them up case by case? I also could not find any information regarding the members of the committee.
Regarding “unauthorized trails”, this is the first time I have seen “unauthorized”, or wildcat trails, cited as a reason to eliminate an access point to an authorized trail. In the past, I have seen a few large rocks and signage used to curtail the use of problem wildcat trails, though it is hard to gauge their effectiveness.
I’m pretty sure that the primary wildlife concern is the Bighorn Sheep that live in the Pusch Ridge area. This has been the case since I started hiking over forty years ago. In fact, it was the Finger Rock trail, easily accessible from midtown using Campbell Avenue, on which I would develop my hiking skills.
The Bighorn Sheep management program was in full effect back then, as it is today. The sheep in the Pusch Ridge area declined and disappeared altogether at one point, but in 2013 they were reintroduced by Arizona Game and Fish.
The trails and the sheep have been around for decades. There has been lots of traffic on the trails and trailheads, though no major erosion problems, or spate of injuries, have resulted from their “substandard” nature; and Arizona Game and Fish will continue its effort to establish a self sustaining herd of Big Horn Sheep in the Pusch Ridge area whether they (the sheep) like it or not. So why close access points now? Of more concern at this point, which will be next, and when?