The very long awaited second installment of the Rincon Peak hike. Why so long? Well - it can be hard to update your blog when you're constantly on one crazy adventure or another.
Last time on Around the Next Corner...
"There's this peak in Southern Arizona..." and this year, I swore it would be mine. The final photo - an eerie campfire shot of Sirena and I celebrating after conquering the peak and returning to our camp at Happy Valley Saddle. We had only to get back to civilization in order to call the trip a total success.
Less awesome hiker chicks might have gone back down the way we came up, on the short and very sweet Miller Creek trail - only 4 miles to the trailhead.
Somewhat more awesome, but still pretty routine, would have been to hike out the well traveled Arizona Trail route through Manning Camp and Italian Trap - around 9.5 miles of good trail and relative civilization.
And, heck, a big adventure would have been to take one of the west-bound trails out to the foothills nearest Tucson, such as Tanque Verde Ridge or Douglas Spring. Both of these options would have topped 13 miles of hiking for the day.
But Sirena and I had a plan so audacious that we could only call it pure pro style. Hike down the Rincon Creek trail - a route forgotten by time and the hiking community for the last 40 years. From there, connect with the new piece of the Arizona Trail, then finally the Hope Camp system, to reach our ending trailhead over 17 miles away. With packs on. Without real beta on the 7.4 miles of the Rincon Creek Trail.
Oh yeah!
We had no idea what to expect from the condition of the RCT, but we had run into a day hiker who was coming out Miller Creek as we were going in the day before, and he described it as "overgrown". Knowing that this definition can vary widely from individual to individual, we just made sure our pant legs were zipped on and our gear was well-secured against cat-claw attack. Turns out, we needn't have been so careful. Though there is plenty of grass growing on the trail route, and places where a few cat-claw and woody bushes get in your way, overall the trail is amazingly good shape. It is a real tribute to the construction techniques of NPS trail crews that this neglected trail is still so clear.
So why all the hubbub about this trail and it being so underused? It certainly wasn't always so. Beginning in the 1940's, the Madrona district (of which the Rincon Creek Trail is the crown jewel) was set to become the Rincons' version of the Catalinas' Sabino Canyon, complete with access to perennial water, picnic facilities, a ranger station, corrals and trails leading into the park. The road to Madrona went across land owned by the X-9 ranch, and for a number of reasons - including positive relations between the park and the ranch - an access easement was never obtained. In 1965, however, that relationship began to deteriorate, leading to repeated conflicts between ranchers and Madrona visitors. This included, according to ranchers, difficulties with gates and corrals being left open and active hunting on X-9 land. As a result of these problems, the owners of the X-9 lands placed a locked gate on the entrance road to Madrona in May of 1967, permitting only park personnel to cross their land. By June, the monthly visitation at Madrona dropped from over 470 to only 17.
There were rumors that the park superintendent conspired with the X-9 owners to prevent public access to the Madrona area. Others argued that the corral and picnic areas had a negative affect on the natural resources in the area, and that the closures were necessary to save the saguaro population. In 1971, the park acknowledged in it's master plan the need to buy land from the ranchers to help resolve the matter, but before it could be implemented, the X-9 land was subdivided into 36 acre residential lots and sold off to private holders. The ease of dealing with a single landowner was lost. The current landholders include doctors, lawyers and authors with million dollar houses and extensive political influence, and there is little chance that negotiations to re-open Madrona will progress in the foreseeable future.
The Rincon Creek Trail is left floating in a nearly inaccessible wilderness. One must hike for miles just to reach either end of it - and there are many other trails now that reach the same major destinations more quickly.
What better place to get lost and have a great adventure?
We wet ourselves down well and put the umbrellas up for the last 2 miles of the RCP trail, which was on the desert floor and quite hot. It was the only portion of our entire trip where the weather was even close to uncomfortable, and we were so well prepared that it was really just a nice blast of hot to make us feel at home!
We made it to the Madrona Ranger Station at about 3pm and the clouds started rolling in again. We took another break in the shade, and though there was water running here, the pools were actually quite a bit lower than we'd anticipated. The sycamores were brilliant green and the ashes were beginning to display their beautiful little seed pods. Only 10 miles left to go!
From Madrona, we hiked up the Manning Camp trail to the Quiter Trail junction, a 2 mile, 1000' climb. The clouds returned around and kept us from getting too hot, and the trail is well graded enough to keep it easy. We reached the junction at about 4:30, hoping we were close to what Sirena kept calling the "low saddle". It was a surprising 40 minutes further to the saddle itself - up and down over the desert foothills. But the Quilter trail is so beautifully built and travels such amazing country that we couldn't help but enjoy ourselves. Once we made that "low saddle" we took one more sit-down-break knowing it would be mostly down hill the rest of the way.
Now, in my 20 some years of desert hiking, I've seen a lot of pretty crazy stuff. Snakes, mice, tarantulas - you name it. But the one thing I've always wanted to spot, but still hadn't managed to encounter, is a gila monster in the wild. Sirena kept saying that the Quilter Trail was thick with them, but I had my doubts. Maybe it was a curse. Maybe I was not destined to have my own wild beaded lizard encounter. I didn't let my hopes get up.
So when I came around the corner and was face to face with a big ol' fat Gila Monster, I let out a little yelp of surprise. The curse is lifted! This fellow was quite the exhibitionist, and we followed him through the brush for a good 10 minutes. He strutted and shook his tail and hissed at us a-plenty. Totally awesome and the perfect way to put a lift back in our step.
We had counted on finishing in the dark, and indeed, the entire Hope Camp trail was done with headlamps. I was holding out for getting mine on when I came within millimeters of stepping on a poor little snake. Not a rattler, but any snake on the trail gets your heart thumping pretty good! I put my headlamp on and was thrilled not to see any more unexpected slitherings for the rest of our trip. The wide road bed of Hope Camp was very easy to follow in the dark, and our sore feet and tired backs were glad of the smooth walking for the last couple of miles.
We took one more break in the dark, and made it back to the car at almost 9pm. No speed records set here, but a wonderful 13 hours of hiking!
To read more about the Rincon Peak Trail or our hike, visit the description I wrote for hikearizona.com or my subsequent trip report.
Last time on Around the Next Corner...
"There's this peak in Southern Arizona..." and this year, I swore it would be mine. The final photo - an eerie campfire shot of Sirena and I celebrating after conquering the peak and returning to our camp at Happy Valley Saddle. We had only to get back to civilization in order to call the trip a total success.
Less awesome hiker chicks might have gone back down the way we came up, on the short and very sweet Miller Creek trail - only 4 miles to the trailhead.
Somewhat more awesome, but still pretty routine, would have been to hike out the well traveled Arizona Trail route through Manning Camp and Italian Trap - around 9.5 miles of good trail and relative civilization.
And, heck, a big adventure would have been to take one of the west-bound trails out to the foothills nearest Tucson, such as Tanque Verde Ridge or Douglas Spring. Both of these options would have topped 13 miles of hiking for the day.
But Sirena and I had a plan so audacious that we could only call it pure pro style. Hike down the Rincon Creek trail - a route forgotten by time and the hiking community for the last 40 years. From there, connect with the new piece of the Arizona Trail, then finally the Hope Camp system, to reach our ending trailhead over 17 miles away. With packs on. Without real beta on the 7.4 miles of the Rincon Creek Trail.
Oh yeah!
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| Rincon Peak from the head of the trail |
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| Yes - small cacti are cute. No doubt (Rainbow Cactus) |
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| Rincon Creek falls very quickly through the tough granite of its canyon |
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| The tread is grassy, but not a problem for the experienced eye |
There were rumors that the park superintendent conspired with the X-9 owners to prevent public access to the Madrona area. Others argued that the corral and picnic areas had a negative affect on the natural resources in the area, and that the closures were necessary to save the saguaro population. In 1971, the park acknowledged in it's master plan the need to buy land from the ranchers to help resolve the matter, but before it could be implemented, the X-9 land was subdivided into 36 acre residential lots and sold off to private holders. The ease of dealing with a single landowner was lost. The current landholders include doctors, lawyers and authors with million dollar houses and extensive political influence, and there is little chance that negotiations to re-open Madrona will progress in the foreseeable future.
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| Madrona District |
What better place to get lost and have a great adventure?
The trail crossed a high saddle with amazing views opening up to the north and east, then plunged down into another arm of Rincon Creek. This area is geologically very interesting, with many different colors of granite, bands of quartz in the rock and incredible waterfalls, pools and grottoes.
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| Snack at the saddle |
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| Creek area far below |
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| Banded Granite and Gneiss in amazing patterns |
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| Rounding a bluff before descending to the creek bottom |
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| A wonderland of pools and falls below |
Sirena and I enjoyed every step of the descent, then stopped for a quick break at the granite slabs and pools near the X-9 road access. The quick break turned into over an hour - but to have rushed it would have short changed one of the best lunch spots I've seen in a very long time.
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| My own private island paradise |
We made it to the Madrona Ranger Station at about 3pm and the clouds started rolling in again. We took another break in the shade, and though there was water running here, the pools were actually quite a bit lower than we'd anticipated. The sycamores were brilliant green and the ashes were beginning to display their beautiful little seed pods. Only 10 miles left to go!
 |
| The abandoned buildings at Madrona Ranger Station (Hantavirus Danger!) |
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| Perfect place to rest |
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| Rincon Peak now seems very far away indeed! |
Now, in my 20 some years of desert hiking, I've seen a lot of pretty crazy stuff. Snakes, mice, tarantulas - you name it. But the one thing I've always wanted to spot, but still hadn't managed to encounter, is a gila monster in the wild. Sirena kept saying that the Quilter Trail was thick with them, but I had my doubts. Maybe it was a curse. Maybe I was not destined to have my own wild beaded lizard encounter. I didn't let my hopes get up.
So when I came around the corner and was face to face with a big ol' fat Gila Monster, I let out a little yelp of surprise. The curse is lifted! This fellow was quite the exhibitionist, and we followed him through the brush for a good 10 minutes. He strutted and shook his tail and hissed at us a-plenty. Totally awesome and the perfect way to put a lift back in our step.
 |
| Light was low, and I was slow with my camera - so I only got a couple of blurry shots. But, he was an awesome sight! |
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| Sirena was on the crew that built much of this new trail - and such an amazing piece of trailbuilding it is! |
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| One weird saguaro off the side of the trail |
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| Mind-blowing sunset views |
We had counted on finishing in the dark, and indeed, the entire Hope Camp trail was done with headlamps. I was holding out for getting mine on when I came within millimeters of stepping on a poor little snake. Not a rattler, but any snake on the trail gets your heart thumping pretty good! I put my headlamp on and was thrilled not to see any more unexpected slitherings for the rest of our trip. The wide road bed of Hope Camp was very easy to follow in the dark, and our sore feet and tired backs were glad of the smooth walking for the last couple of miles.
We took one more break in the dark, and made it back to the car at almost 9pm. No speed records set here, but a wonderful 13 hours of hiking!
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| Sorry little dude! |
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| Oh yeah, we made it! |
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| We covered most of the map! |
To read more about the Rincon Peak Trail or our hike, visit the description I wrote for hikearizona.com or my subsequent trip report.
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