Riding instead of Hiking
We decided to switch up our usual mode of adventure - hiking - and get on our mountain bikes.

After our epic Grand Canyon rim to rim in one day journey a few weeks ago, we noticed the beauty around Jacob Lake and GC's north rim in northern Arizona.  Only a few hours drive from St. George, Utah, we got out of the heat to explore the cool, aspen-filled forest on the Kaibab plateau.  So many aspens that it reminded me of Colorado high country.

We stayed at Kaibab Lodge, five miles from the entrance to the north rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in a spartan "hiker's" cabin, the last place available there.  Maybe a rim-to-rim hiker had cancelled at the last minute.  The dinner and breakfast buffets were a bit spendy, but then again this is a pretty remote location.

The Arizona National Scenic Trail links Mexico to Utah through 800 miles of prime Arizona deserts, mountains, and canyons.  It's divided into 43 sections, or "passages."  At the Mexico border, it begins in the Huachuca Mountains, trekking through grasslands to gain 3,000 feet to a ponderosa pine forest.  The final passage is through Buckskin Mountain to the Utah border, where you can see the Vermillion Cliffs.  It's open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.

We rode a gorgeous section of this trail through pristine forest and meadows in the Kaibab National Forest on a splendid single track to a viewpoint of the east rim of the Grand Canyon, making a loop by riding back on perfect gravel roads.  No other vehicles - we had it to ourselves.

The day before this, we just picked gravel roads to explore and ended up at an old cabin, possibly a line shack for ranchers.  

Our friend Jeff is an avid mountain biker.  We hiked the rim to rim trail with him.  When I showed him photos of this single track, he said, "Looks great.  Let's go."  That's the spirit!

Looking forward to another northern Arizona adventure!

Epic Adventure
We did it!  Three months of training on southern Utah trails, in St. George and Zion National Park, and on the Skyline Trail in Palm Springs helped Jeff, Fred and I conquer the Grand Canyon rim to rim hike.  Two things helped us:  training for distance and at least 4,000-foot of elevation gain, and we were lucky with weather.  It was cooler than usual!

To observe the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world from its rim is a memorable experience.  But to walk all the way through the depths of it - almost 24 miles from north rim to south rim along the clear and roaring Bright Angel Creek is epic.  Your ability to tolerate a 50 or 60-degree temperature variation, drink enough water, and climb steep, relentless switchbacks will be tested.  

We took longer to do this hike this time (just shy of 11 hours), compared to our last time 13 years ago (9:50).  I felt really tired the last mile up to Bright Angel Trailhead.  I think I slowed Jeff and Fred down a bit!
​
North Kaibab Trail → Phantom Ranch 
Lindy dropped us off at North Kaibab Trailhead on the north rim at 6:00 a.m.   As we descended from a fir, spruce and ponderosa pine forest into a rocky color-layered paradise, she drove around to the south rim, descended 4 miles on the Bright Angel Trail to meet us later in the day.   In the shadow of the north rim, we walked along verdant Roaring Springs Canyon to the bright yellow light below, reaching Supai Tunnel, the first restroom and water stop, at 1.7 miles.  Wild roses bloomed against yellow and red walls.  We didn't need a water re-fill until 5.4 miles down the trail at Manzanita Rest Area, a beautiful spot past Roaring Springs.  

We powered our way down the steep portion, through the wide Bright Angel Canyon, tracing the clear and loud Bright Angel Creek with its occasional waterfalls, hiking through Cottonwood Campground.  The prickly pear were so full and healthy; it seemed the creek was flowing much more than we remember from our rim to rim hike 13 years ago.  It appears the southwest has had more rainfall in the past few years.  We hiked rim to rim 23 years ago and then again 13 years ago and it seems Bright Angel Creek was higher this year.  

We were happy to see Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon where we re-filled our water and made sure to drink electrolytes.  The temperature was 85 degrees.  We took 20 minutes in the shade to eat and muster the energy to start the long, warm and steep hike to the south rim.

The dark red, brown and grey Vishnu Basement rocks are one of my favorites of this hike, as you enter the core of the Grand Canyon.  It forms the rough, contorted, massive base for the prettier rock layers above.   It's not often that you get to walk in some of the Earth's oldest rocks; in this case the Vishnu schists, gneiss and granite are 1.7 billion years old. 

You get to see the rapids of the green Colorado River through the mesh floor of the long suspension bridge as it passes a huge swirling eddy near the shore, delivering you to the Bright Angel Trail and a long, arduous hike out.

Water stops along the North Kaibab Trail:  distances from North Kaibab Trailhead.
Grand Canyon Critical Backcountry Updates

• Supai Tunnel:  1.7 miles from trailhead
• Manzanita Rest Area:  5.4 miles
• Cottonwood Campground:  6.8 miles
• Phantom Ranch:  13.6 miles
• Bright Angel Campground:  14 miles

Phantom Ranch → Bright Angel Trail 
Water stops along the Bright Angel Trail

• ​​Havasupai Gardens
• Three Mile Resthouse (water off as of 5/30/24)
• Mile and 1/2 Resthouse (water off as of 5/30/24)

The Bright Angel Trail at the river bottom begins sunny, hot and dusty.  We paused where we could find shade.  We stepped to the left, leaning against Vishnu rocks to let a long mule train transporting equipment pass by.  We caught up with a trudging hiker that had started at the north rim at 4:30 a.m.  "It's about six more miles, right?" he asked.  "About 6.5 more miles!" I said, trying to sound encouraging.  

We finally reached Havasupai Gardens, our last water stop (we knew the resthouses above did not have water) with 4.7 more miles to go!  Dousing my hat in the cold water from the "community" faucet and letting it drip down my head felt so good!  Shortly after eyeing the south rim's steep cliffs above that will be our trail, we resumed and were excited to see Lindy, who had descended 4.5 miles to meet us.  

Climbing higher, along Garden Creek, legs are tired, yet the terrain gets more challenging.  We step over countless old juniper logs and rock bars used to stabilize the trail on forever switchbacks.  We are trying to make it in under 11 hours.  Dozens of short-distance south rim hikers congest the last half-mile.  Don't want to lose momentum.  Endure and grow stronger!

All Fired up!
As Pat Benatar's song goes, we're "All Fired Up" for next week's Grand Canyon rim to rim hike!  Her song is a fitting accompaniment to the goblet squat video below.  Fred and I needed elevation training, so we went to Palm Springs, my old stomping grounds, and hiked the Skyline Trail for a gain of 4,700 feet, the same Bright Angel Trail gain on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. 

​We encountered too much snow at 8,000 feet in the Pine Valley Mountains just to the north of St. George, preventing a good elevation gain.  My last post, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim In One Day:  Training in St. George, Utah, explains how we got creative with emulating distance and elevation.  We did great on the Skyline; we're now ready for the big hike!

New goal:  hike to the tram this October with some of our hiking buddies.  Oh, the nostalgia and the beauty of this mountain!
I'm grateful that I can still be hiking it 31 years later - let's say that the Advil this time was very helpful!

La Verkin Creek Trail to Kolob Arch - Zion NP
This long hike features attributes found in Zion National Park's main canyon, including an arch, sandstone cliffs and a river but without the throngs of people.  It's in the northern Kolob Canyons section, has a spur trail to impressive Kolob Arch, and also meets up with the Hop Valley Trail, a route to the main Zion Canyon.  We hiked 7 miles in to Kolob Arch and back for a total of 14 miles, the same distance as Grand Canyon's North Kaibab Trail.  It drops down from the parking lot at Lee Pass Trailhead into the La Verkin Creek drainage.  The same mileage as our Skyline Trail hike, but not nearly the same elevation gain.  

We've got one more training hike on Zion's West Rim Trail this week with Lindy and Jeff, and then we should be good to go for the Grand Canyon.  We are lucky to have such inspirational places, some of the most beautiful on Earth, in which to train!

Strengthening exercise for powerful hill climbing:  Goblet Squats 
I have found that since I started doing CrossFit and working on strengthening my legs, I have more stability and power for steeper hiking.  Goblet squats can be done with a kettlebell as well as two dumbbells, each resting on your shoulders.
Strengthens your core (trunk) muscles, glutes and hips.  Points to remember:

• Feet hip-to shoulder-width apart with toes pointed slightly outwards.
• Hold dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest with your elbows pointing down.
• Pull in and "zip" up your abdominals, raise  your sternum up, squeeze shoulder blades together.
• Look forward:  inhale as you squat, holding weight against chest - don't lean forward - keep trunk upright.
• Lower hips to below knee level, then squeeze your glutes as you push to stand through your mid-feet and heels.
• Keep your knees tracking over your toes.
• Exhale, repeat and know you are that much stronger to climb hills!

​​The First Cactus to Clouds Challenge - October 1993
Summit of Mt. San Jacinto, 10,804'.
From left to right:  Sue Birnbaum, (don't remember his name), Roger Keezer, Maria Keezer, Ray Wilson, and Vickie Kearney seated in the middle.

​On May 23, we will be walking Grand Canyon from its north rim to its south rim in one day - again.  Fred and I first hiked this 23 years ago, to celebrate birthday #40 for both of us.  We hiked it on our 50th.  We talked about doing it for our 60th, but it wasn't until our friend Robin asked us to go that we got our motivation to train for rim to rim #3.  Jeff will do it too, and Lindy will train with us but when it comes to the big day, she has generously offered to drop us off at the north rim and drive all the way around to the south rim to pick us up.

Since January, Fred, Jeff, Lindy, Robin and I have been hiking the most challenging trails near St. George, Utah and in Zion National park.  Creative planning like linking trails together ensures optimal distance and elevation training.  We need to be able to cover 23 miles and a 4,500' gain for rim to rim.  Just when your legs are tired from descending 14 miles on North Kaibab Trail, you face the biggest challenge:  climbing up Bright Angel Trail for another 9.4 miles.  And temperatures on the climb out can be hot, which was the case when we did this hike 23 years ago.  We ended up soaking our hats in streams on the way up to cool off.  Fred drank 9 liters of water!  The next day, we hiked back to the north rim.

Some of Our Training Hikes

• Snow Canyon south to north
• Wittwer Canyon/Land Hill - Santa Clara River Reserve
• Zion NP - West Rim Trail
• Red Mountain Traverse in Red Mountain Wilderness
• Zion NP Kolob Canyons section - LaVerkin Creek Trail to Kolob Arch
• Suicidal Tendencies Trail, Barrel Roll Trail and Ivins "badlands"

Planned training:  Skyline Trail in Palm Springs, a portion of Cactus to Clouds hike, a 10,300-foot gain challenge that Ray Wilson and I created in 1993.

Strengthening for Hill Climbing - Walking Lunge with Overhead Weight
Climbing out of the Grand Canyon requires strong glutes!  The most important function of your gluteus medius during hiking is to stabilize your pelvis to keep it level while standing on one leg (stance phase of walking).  The stronger they are, the better protection for your knees, and the more efficiently they work, the less energy you waste.  Walking lunges challenge your glute and core strength.  Holding a weight over your head adds more challenge to your core musculature including abdominals and back extensors, as well as your shoulder girdle stabilizers (rhomboids, trapezius, serratus).  Good training for scrambling hikes where you have to use hands to propel up rocks.
Action:
Hold dumbell or kettlebell overhead with elbow straight, next to your ear. Or, you could hold the weight in a "goblet" position next to your chest.  Take a large step forward, that knee should not go ahead of your foot.  Opposite knee taps the ground.  Squeeze glute on stance leg to raise to lunge with opposite leg.

Snow Canyon from Bottom to Top and Then Some:  Berm Trail to Joan's Bones (12 miles RT,  ~1600' net gain)
Berm Trail → Padre' Canyon Trail → Red Sands Trail → West Rim Trail → Lava Flow Trail → Whiterocks Trail →Joan's Bones → car at Whiterocks Trailhead.   
Living near Utah's Snow Canyon State Park sure has its advantages.  Each time I hike in this Navajo Sandstone paradise, I love it more.  We started near where we live, caught the berm trail and walked to the Whiterocks Trail on the north side of the park, then walked east to almost the top of Joan's Bones.  This route features gorgeous pools in cross bedded sandstone, soaring orange and red towers, petrified sand dunes, and pristine white sandstone slickrock strewn with black basalt boulders. 
Joan's Bones hike is on AllTrails (misspelled as "Jones Bones").

Ivins and Santa Clara, Utah:  Suicidal Tendencies Trail and the "Badlands."
The "badlands" is my nickname for the landscape west of Land Hill in Ivins, and east of the Beaver Dam Mountains because it reminds me of South Dakota's badlands.   A spectacular view of this formidable-looking red and white striped land cracked by crooked canyons and washes and plateaus with well-established biological soils can be savored from the top of Land Hill.  We hiked Wittwer Canyon, a major tributary that washes into Santa Clara River. 
Fred and I put together a 10-mile hike that linked the petroglyph trails on Land Hill to cross the Santa Clara River, to wander through the "badlands" to find a way to link to the Barrel Roll Trail in the Cove Wash Trails.
​In just one hike, Fred and I saw all the "cool stuff on this trail," (see photos below) and then some.  A conglomerate boulder hanging on the steep wall under Land Hill looks like it has embedded dinosaur tracks.  I called the local paleontologist; stay tuned!​

We're fortunate to have Colorado Plateau hiking to the east of us and Mojave Desert hiking to the west.  One day we hiked the 11-mile Suicidal Tendencies, a popular mountain bike trail with scary drop-offs.  The more we hike this part of Utah, the more we find to explore.  Not only are the views magnificent - black lava flows blend with red and orange cliffs, signs of past cultures and geological events adds a lot character to this part of southern Utah. My next post (rim to rim training, part 2) will highlight another Zion hike and Red Mountain Traverse.

One of the characteristics I look forward to with Tucson hiking is the wide flora variety and diversity.  Along this 2,500-foot gain, Esperero Trail passes through three biomes, or habitats identified by their dominant life forms:  Sonoran desert scrub, desert grassland, and Madrean evergreen woodland.  The most obvious change happens after the steep climb to Cardiac Gap, at 4,400 feet, when saguaros and creosote have given way to oaks and grass.

We arrived at Esperero Canyon's Bridalveil Falls after six miles of warm hiking and enjoyed the cold water dripping and spraying off the rocks.  The falls must look like a veil during run-off after a storm, but at the end of April, they were reduced to small rivulets.  The canyon here is wildly picturesque with huge rounded and dike-streaked boulders, pinyon pines and oaks, wildflowers and towering rock formations above.  Yuccas are interspersed among junipers.  If you keep climbing up-canyon, in another mile, you reach Cathedral Rock Trail, which heads northeast.  Esperero Trail continues west toward Window Peak.

Heading up toward Cardiac Gap.

The Finger Rock Canyon trail to Mt. Kimball, one of the highest in the Santa Catalina Mountains, treks through gorgeous Sonoran landscape, meandering through wash and canyon lowlands, close to saguaros, gaining 400' in the first mile.  That easy grade ends abruptly at mile two, when you encounter the first of many rock steps on a steep trail that climbs an average of 950' per mile to the summit.  The south summit slope bestows a birds-eye view of Tucson, the north side a perched outcrop view of canyons below your feet and the rugged peaks of the western Santa Catalinas.
​
Fred and I have been hiking this mountain ever since we started visiting Tucson to get out of Idaho high country's somber and snowy springs.  This established Class 1 trail was a welcome change from the past few months of non-trail, route-finding, scrambling  ascents in Utah and Nevada.  Great to not have to navigate or continuously hunt for a route or the trail, but instead let the trail take us to the top.  On this trip, we first stopped near Kingman, Arizona to attempt Mt. Tipton, but the unmarked 3,500' gain entailed miles and of shrubby terrain clogged with scrub oak and junipers, so we turned around.  

Islands in the Sky
The ability to see the changing scenery of multiple life zones is one of the great features of southern Arizona hiking.  The rewards are saguaros and yuccas at the beginning and end, and pine and juniper at the top of your hike, if you are willing to make the thousands-of-feet elevation journey.  The Santa Catalina Mountains are but one of the many "sky islands"  that rise above the desert. From the Chiricahua mountains in southeastern Arizona to the Sierra San Luis Mountains in Mexico's  Chihuahua mountains,  these unique, rugged environments support some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world.  Below is a summary of what I learned about biomes and sky islands.  I also wrote about this in my Tanque Verde Peak - Saguaro Wilderness post.

Southern Arizona mountains are a hiker's paradise.  With waterfalls, rugged gneiss and granite rock outcrops to climb over, and wildflowers in spring that represent all of the color spectrum, this desert is surprisingly lush.  It is a spectacular land where all elements work together in harmony through monsoons, rains, and killer heat waves, and cool winters.  On Mt. Kimball's descent, the other side of the canyon is strewn with hundreds of saguaros clinging to rocky ledges, illuminated by the setting sun.  This sight makes you forget about your tired legs.

References
Bezy, J. V.  2016. A Guide to the Geology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona:  The Geology and Life Zones of a Madrean Sky Island.  Arizona Geological Survey.

Mt. Kimball.  Summit Post website.

Dimmitt, et al.  2015.  A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert.  Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press and University of California Press.
​
The Sky Islands.  From website:  Sky Island Alliance.

The First Inhabitants.  From Mt. Lemmon General Store and Gift Shop website.

Related:   
Tucson Mountains Tour:  Golden Gate Mountain, Bobcat Ridge, and Little Cat Mountain
​Elephant Head Peak - Santa Rita Mountains, Southern Arizona
Desert Plants

We started on the Yetman Trailhead, not far from Golden Gate Mountain, instead of the Sarasota Trailhead which is closer to Cat Mountain so we could spend as much time as possible walking through this beautiful Tucson Mountain Park encompassing much of an ancient caldera, and weave around thorny saguaros and jumping chollas.  We had also started at the Yetman trail a few days before, when we hiked three high points in this park:  Golden Gate Mountain, Little Cat Mountain and Bobcat Ridge.  All four peaks could be summited in one long day.

Reach the saddle between Golden Gate Mountain and Bren Peak at 0.4  miles from Yetman trailhead, an excellent place to get a perspective on three high points:  Bobcat Ridge, Little Cat Mountain and Cat Mountain.  A textured green carpet sweeps down valley and up the slopes of these brooding, rugged mountains.  The only thing that distracts from this scene is the housing development in the valley to the west.  

​This pleasant view makes it difficult to imagine the sudden event of a magma chamber spewing the searing ash that formed this ancient caldera landscape.  Tucson Mountain Chaos is the term given by geologists to the valley rocks that underlie the Cat Mountain Tuff, the compacted ash that forms these peaks.  There is no definite answer to the thousands-feet thickness of this Cretaceous-age tuff.  Were these rocks below the Cat Mountain Tuff rafted from deeper levels by the rising magma?  Or, was this rock caused by a landslide in a caldera that had accumulated the tuff?  To make the geologic puzzle even more complicated, spreading of the Earth during Basin and Range faulting makes the geologist's task of identifying the age relationship of the rocks more difficult.

Cat Mountain from Explorer Trail on its north side.  We went up low saddle to the left of the summit block to gain lower ridge.

From our vantage point on the Explorer trail, we could see the gentler rise of Cat Mountain's east ridge. The three-trail intersection (Starr Pass, Explorer and Sarasota) is well-marked as are other intersections in this well-cared-for park.  We continued on the Explorer trail for 0.6 miles until we saw a manageable route to the ridge, leaving it earlier than the standard cairned route (1.0 miles past 3-way junction), making our own path.  A sea of detached teddy bear cholla branches, those little mobile yellow ovals armored with extremely sharp spines made us pick our footsteps carefully.  However, I wasn't careful enough; one jumped up and stuck my pant leg to my calf.  I remembered a hike many years ago when we used a metal comb to remove a cholla piece from a dog's leg.  Scott and Fred somehow got the prickly thing off me and we resumed our cross-country hike with no serious injury except for a few red spots on my skin.

​The day grew colder and cloudier.  The broken dark red and tan rocks deposited on the slopes from the tuff cliffs above crunched under our boots.  The occasional cactus spine scraped against our packs and in some cases grabbed on.  

After getting off Explorer, we looked for the best way up.  Rocks formed a natural staircase.  Four or five Coues Whitetail deer perched far above on steep cliffs stopped to watch us, curious at three humans stumbling through the cacti.   The ridge walk was straightforward and it felt good to follow its natural route and rhythm, using hands when needed.  We came upon cairns marking the final ascent to the summit and a complete change of view of the open sky and the sprawl of Tucson far below us.  There's just one Class 3 crack with mild exposure to navigate, with just enough ledges to place feet and hands.  Frequent rock cairns mark an obvious path.

Every ridge scramble, every summit has its own unique personality.  The scramble up Cat Mountain's east ridge is challenging yet not scary, exposed but safe, with the right amount of rocks and cactus gardens making it aesthetically friendly.  You're never bored with looking at saguaros and chollas because with each one, there is a different size or form.  This summit has one very unusual feature - a plastic white boulder that houses a radio repeater.  Looking at Cat Mountain from Tucson area, you would not suspect the spacious flat areas on its summit.  A steady cold  wind cut short our time lounging on the top, but we got a good look at Golden Gate Mountain to the northwest and the steep drop-off to the south.

As we walked down, the clouds closed again, the temperature dropped, and the wind chilled.  We hiked back via Sarasota Trail at the three-way intersection.  We added another summit to our "three friends who like to hike" resume', and more stories for reminiscing.  This will go down in the books as one of our more mellow hikes together.  Never stop climbing mountains!

This elevation is too high and cool for saguaros to grow.  This hike travels through the transition between desert grassland and oak grassland biomes of Arizona's Sky Island region.  The ocotillo "forests" are remarkable and so are the mature Santa Rita Prickly Pears; they tolerate the cooler winters. Their pads can turn purple during the winter.

​So many things make this a repeat-hike in the future:  solitude, desert wilderness, route-finding, fun Class 2-3 climbing, and views.  Plans:  Elephant Head Peak plus Little Elephant Head (Peak 5,149').

References
An Archipelago in a Cordilleran Gap - The Sky Islands of Arizona and Sonora.  Brusca, R., Moore, W.                                     
https://www.rickbrusca.com/http___www.rickbrusca.com_index.html/The_Sky_Islands.html

Ganesha:  Hindu Diety.  Doniger, W.  Encyclopaedia Britannica.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ganesha

Geologic Map of the Mt. Wrightson Quadrangle.  https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_9405.htm

Mesozoic Stratigraphy of the Santa Rita Mountains, Southeast of Tucson, Arizona.  Drewes, H. 1971.  https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0658c/report.pdf

​​Plutonic Rocks of the Santa Rita Mountains, Southeast of Tucson, Arizona.  Drewes, H.  1976.  Geological Survey Professional Paper 915.  https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0915/report.pdf

Quantrell Mine Trail.  Coronado National Forest.  U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service.  
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recreation/recarea/?recid=25770&actid=50

Golden Gate Mountain
At the Yetman trailhead, we set out to discover a new area with hike directions from Earthline.  At the saddle between Golden Gate Mountain and Bren's Benchmark, 0.4 miles from the trailhead, we oriented ourselves and looked southeast to mountain summits, not yet knowing which ones we would be climbing.  We took a right 0.1 miles past the saddle at the cairned trail that gains the Golden Gate through a break between cliffs, and began our climb to Golden Gate Mountain, our highest summit at 4,288 feet (see photo below).

The golden color of the rocks perhaps gave this peak its name.  Cat Mountain Tuff, a thick layer of consolidated ash, makes up the bulk of these peaks.
​
Tucson Mountain Chaos is the term given by geologists to the rocks that underlie the Cat Mountain Tuff, seen in the valleys.  There is no definite answer to the thousands-feet thickness of this Cretaceous-age tuff.  Were these rocks below the Cat Mountain Tuff rafted from deeper levels by the rising magma?  Or, was this rock caused by a landslide in a caldera that had accumulated the tuff?  Of course, when you throw in the geometry of faulting that occurred later when Basin and Range was spreading, it makes the geologist's task of identifying the age relationship of the rocks more difficult.

Dodging teddy bear chollas and barrel cactus spines, we marveled at a rare cristate saguaro thrusting up from a steep, south-facing slope under orange cliffs.  Theories for the abnormal crest growth range from genetic mutations to lightning strikes.  The trail threads between welded tuff towers and tops out, weaves to the left following cairns to the summit.  Tucson spreads below, mountain ranges surround on the horizon.  Below us, a white cloud moved across the valley and swept over us, briefly covering the peak with fog that created a rare, softly illuminated desert scene.  Light rain produced vivid oranges, yellows and greens.  Return to Yetman Trail via the same path.

Little Cat Mountain
From Peak 3,380, continue southeast on Bobcat Ridge Trail 0.7 miles to intersection with Explorer Trail; total mileage = 5.0 miles.  Turn left (southeast) to climb to saddle in a short distance.  At top of saddle, at arrow sign for Explorer Trail, hike up to saddle of Little Cat Mountain to the right (south).  Fewer cairns than those of Golden Gate mark this off-trail approach which climbs a quick 400' to the summit, passing a relatively flat grassy area once the trail tops the saddle.  From this summit, look to your left;  an outrageous view of dark orange and black volcanic Cat Mountain appears as you stand on a cliff overlooking Tucson.  The lowering sun and long shadows made this scene even more dramatic.  

We returned via our ascent to Explorer trail (signs with pink arrow), then made a loop around base of Bobcat Ridge by following Sarasota Trail (signs with maroon arrow), then finally on Yetman Trail to trailhead.  Total distance:  9.25 miles.  We vowed to climb Cat Mountain, then returned to its summit a few days later with our friend Scott, to celebrate the New Year and plan for hikes together in the beautiful southwestern deserts.

References:
Lipman, P.W.  1994.  Tucson Mountains Caldera:  A Cretaceous Ash Flow Caldera in Southern Arizona.  USGS Research on Mineral Resources 1994:  Part B, Guidebook for Field Trips.  U.S. Geological Survey.

​Tucson Mountains Geology:  Complex and Controversial.

Lipman, P.W.  Geologic Map of the Tucson Mountains Caldera, Southern Arizona.

Tucson Mountain Chaos.  Arizona State Geology: Blog of the State Geologist of Arizona.  Retrieved from internet. ​http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2009/04/tucson-mountain-chaos.html

Related: 
Thimble Peak - Pusch Ridge Wilderness, Tucson
Breakfast Ridge out of Sabino Canyon, Tucson

Definition
Biome - "A large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region.  A complex biotic community characterized by distinctive plant and animal species and  maintained under the climatic conditions of the region."
-  Dictionary.com

If I had to pick only one word that best describes the essence of the hike to Tanque Verde Peak in the Saguaro Wilderness, I would choose "diversity".  This nine-mile portion of the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail that begins at the Javelina trailhead in Saguaro National Park east of Tucson and ends 4,000 feet higher at Tanque Verde's summit treks through four biotic communities, each containing its characteristic plant and animal species.  These "life zones" -Sonoran desertscrub, semi-desert grassland, Madrean evergreen woodland, and temperate forest overlap, so that prickly pear cactus grows alongside bunch grasses in transition zones. 

An evening of April thunderstorms and light rain the previous night had created a chill and freshness to the morning air.  Fred and I had hiked this trail 6.9 miles to Juniper Basin the year before.  This year, we were determined to hike the full nine miles to the peak.

The trail, initially hard and rocky, winds through stately saguaros, barrel cactus and prickly pear cacti filled to the brim with new flower buds (in April), straightens and gains elevation through tall bunchgrasses, bear grass, and finally oak trees.  Leaving the desert scrub behind, the trail rises and falls through an ever-increasing amount of oaks.  It goes through lovely Juniper Flat,  through the cool shade of Ponderosa and Pinyon pines along with Alligator juniper toward the summit of Tanque Verde Peak where the tread is soft with accumulated pine needles.   Grasping the rough and weathered granite on the last few feet of the summit block, you hoist yourself up a huge boulder to see the dark, immense summit of Rincon Mountain on the south ridge and the breathtaking view of southern Arizona's mountain ranges.

The only bad part is the sore feet after this 18-mile hike; however, a small price to pay for this unique experience.

Tanque Verde, or "green tank" refers to the green algae present in a large tank of water used for stock in the 1800's.  It is now the name given to the valley east of Tucson that is bordered by the Santa Catalina Mountains to the north and the Rincon Mountains to the east.  The Pima Indians lived there in the 1600's, and Tanque Verde Ranch was established in the 1800's.

Semi-desert grassland
As the trail climbs just past 4,000 feet, a noticeable change in vegetation occurs:  saguaros become scarce as the ridge is dominated by ever-increasing fields of bunchgrasses, oak and juniper.  Calming, muted and soft neutral grey/greens replace bright primary colors of the lively, unrestrained desertscrub.  Sotol, creosote and agave mix with a diverse array of grasses.  As the trail gradually climbs, junipers become more prevalent.  Tanque Verde Peak is still six miles away and not visible.  The manzanita and oak species are prevalent in the oak savannah community as the trail ascends, transitioning into pine/oak woodland.

Temperate Forest
A unique characteristic of the Sonoran temperate forest biome, officially beginning at around 6,000 feet elevation, is the cohabitation of lower-elevation desert plants, such as the yucca with spruces, pines, firs and maples.  Species diversity reigns, although seemingly not to the degree of the desertscrub biome.  Temperate forests are very cold-hardy and confined to cooler sites above the Madrean evergreen woodland.

We catch glimpses of Tanque Verde Peak as we climb on a well-traveled path through the shade, scent and rough texture of this forest.   Emerging out of the dense forest into an open wide ridge, Tanque Verde's many columnar rocks and crevices comes into sharp view at about 6,500 feet.  The trail weaves around large boulders and manzanita:  the metal summit sign is seen to the east at about 8.7 miles.  Reach an old signed intersection that points the way to Cow Head Saddle which is  another 2.5 miles on the ridge; continue straight ahead to Tanque Verde.  Somehow I forget my tired legs when we reach the summit, where the spectacular scene doesn't reveal itself until you scale a looming boulder that stands in your way, a short climb that feels like the final test for this summit conquer. 

The view is spectacular.  It takes a few seconds to fully comprehend how high this peak rises above the surrounding desert floor and the layers of mountain ranges visible.  Mexico is to the south,  the Santa Rita and Galiuro Mountain ranges to the southeast.  The Santa Catalina Mountains thrust up rocky prominences to the northwest.  Rincon Peak is just across the valley to the east, its massive hulk in the shadow of clouds.

We relish the view and accomplishment and the wonder and beauty that the Sonoran desert brings.  The wind is brisk and cool, but by the time we get down to the desertscrub and walk through the saguaro stands, seven miles away, it will be warmer, even with the sun setting.  There are about four or five hills to climb on the long walk out, scaled with a bit more determination than on the way in.   Glad we are getting back at sunset, for above the golden Tanque Verde Ridge slowly becoming covered by shadows, a nearly full moon is rising.

References:
Buckley, Steve, ed.  2011.  Common Plants of Saguaro National Park

Levengood, Betty.  Tucson Hiking Guide.  2012.  West Wind Press, Portland, Oregon.

Natural Resources Monitoring at Saguaro National Park. https://www.nps.gov/im/sodn/sagu.htm

Sonoran Desert Network Ecosystems. https://www.nps.gov/im/sodn/ecosystems.htm#CP_JUMP_5423053

USGS - Southwest Biological Science Center. 2006.   Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Saguaro National Park, Rincon Mountain District  rincon_vegetation.pdf.

​​Tanque Verde Ranch website, ​https://www.tanqueverderanch.com/

U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Saguaro.  Geology of the Rincon Mountains.  https://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/upload/Geology%20of%20the%20Rincon%20Mountains.pdf.