Day 1 – The Wasson Peak Trail

Today’s Blog Entry

Cindy and I started our western adventure Friday morning with a great hike on the Wasson Peak Trail in Saguaro National Park (near Tucson).  Wasson Peak was almost exactly due west from our VRBO on Sweetwater Drive, but due to a minor obstacle known as the Tucson Mountains we had to take a circuitous but scenic loop to the south and up over Gates Pass to get there.  We parked at the King Canyon Trailhead, which was coincidentally right across the road from the excellent Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a possible destination for later in the trip.

The Wasson Peak Trail took us 7.9 miles round trip over well-marked but rocky terrain with 1,863 feet of elevation gain.  The scenery was grand, as expected, but the variety of plant life along the trail really blew us away.  We only saw seven people on the trail from start to finish, so that was a pleasant surprise given some reports that we had read about heavy usage.

We finished the loop in right at four hours for an average of 30 minutes per mile – not bad given the terrain, trail conditions, and numerous photo delays. We also had to watch out for cactus encroaching on the trail as well as rattlesnakes, so every step was carefully planned!

Today’s Map

Today’s Photos