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PICACHO PEAK State Park

Yet another peak we failed to bag the first time around! We left too late, got off at the wrong exit, and drove around in the boonies for miles - passing the same State Prison several times. :O
By the time we started hiking, it was hot. An hour up the bugger, it was really hot. By the time we got to the halfway mark, (aka 'the saddle') it was too hot. Down we came - and scooted off to the nearby Dairy Queen to drown our sorrows in junk food.

Wander Women on the Saddle
Photo: Derek Habermas

Picacho being about half-way between Phoenix and Tucson, we had invited our friend Derek to meet us. How disappointing for him to ride his motorcycle all the way there in the heat only to watch us wuss out... :( Sorry about that, Derek! We did get some cool pictures, though... so it at least looks like we did something...

Derek and Carolina...
claiming victory anyway

June 29th we gave it another go and got up at 3am (Aaaaaack!) to be on the road by 4. We began hiking at sunrise and had a marvelous trek up to the saddle where we stopped for a bit of breakfast and to shlop on more sunscreen. After the saddle, things became very steep and rugged with many intimidating steel cables and nets lining the trail.

Much to our amusement, we were overtaken by a crew of hyperactive octogenarians about 3/4 of the way up... trekking poles clinking, leathery skin showing only two drops of sweat per person, they practically ran by us... and had rested and eaten by the time we met them at the summit.

just after sunrise (the second time)

Our pictures came out so well that Carolina came back the next week with, Bill Wrobel, Kathy Higham, and Kathy's son, Jacob to snag a few more shots for the site.

Photo Gallery:
Pretty Picacho Peak Pictures

LINK TO:

Picacho Peak
State Park

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