My brother Rus retired two years ago and moved to Green Valley, AZ. One of his goals was to hike routinely for maintaining his health, and because he enjoys it. Last year, he exceeded his 2022 goal of hiking 2,500 miles. His 2023 goal is also 2,500 miles; however, he admitted to us in late June that he was behind schedule at only 1,125. By comparison, with my two surgeries and associated rehabs over our winter stay in Carrollton, TX, I had only hiked about 35 miles in the previous 7 months and was woefully out of shape.
Once his carport project slowed down, Rus suggested we hike the 2.8-mile Hunter Trail in Picacho Peak State Park. I quickly and wholeheartedly agreed! MFI and I had driven by this mountain many times while Sarah attended ASU (go Sun Devils) and subsequently lived in Scottsdale. The Peaks, easily visible from 15 miles away, were always an impressive sight as we sped by on I-10. In fact, prior to Rus’ suggestion, MFI and I had agreed to camp at the State Park next, specifically so I could hike its highest peak before leaving AZ.
Before our hike, I searched my AllTrails app for details. This up-and-back trail had an elevation change of 2,112 feet over 1.4 miles and summited at 3,374 feet. While noted as being a very popular trail, the app rated it as hard/challenging due to the rugged terrain, steep climbs, a few technical cable sections, and potentially hot temperatures. Here were some of the posted reviews: “Best summit in AZ,” “Extremely hard but so so satisfying,” “Definitely pay attention when they say it’s a difficult/technical hike…This isn’t for the feint of heart,” “If you scare easy this trail is probably not for you,” and “The views and experience are insane.” Sounded to me as if it might be both the best and worst of times.
Rus picked me up at Arthur shortly after 6 am and drove 75 miles north to the park. We entered the main gate slightly after 7 am and took pictures just before starting at 7:31. The temperature was already in the low 80’s, and we later concluded we should have started at least an hour earlier. The trail climbed upward immediately and consistently until we reached the shaded foot of the cliff running left of the saddle. We rested for few minutes, hydrated, and took pictures before passing over the saddle. Rus had hiked the trail 17 years prior but admitted not much looked familiar.
In Background
After crossing the saddle, the trail descended dramatically, and we encountered our first cable-assisted section. We transitioned to the west side of the peak, and this fortunately put us in the shade. Wasn’t long though before we again began to climb using the second cable-assisted section.
The third cable section was the shortest but steepest. There was a young hiker backing down when we arrived, and we waited our turn to ascend with a group of three other hikers. She was with them but decided not to go further. We ascended first and half way up ran into a swarm of bees interested in water seeping through the rocks. Very unnerving when added to the two-handed concentration needed on the cables. At the top of the section, we saw one of the three hikers attempting to free climb the cliff. Idiot!
We encountered one more cable section followed by a cable-catwalk before reaching our final climb to the summit. Later on our way down, I took a picture from a side trail to provide a better perspective of the cliffside cable-catwalk. The views from the top were spectacular as promised. We photographed a 0.3-mile side trail, added it to our descent, and tried without luck to find enough shade to rest and eat lunch.
We continued our descent after lunch. I had regained some energy, but once we got started my quads had already begun burning with every step. You can hear the growing fatigue in my voice in the video below. Hell, I even described this piece of terrain as a barrel when clearly I should have referred to it as a bowl.
The next video filmed Rus hiking down over a steep precipice where the trail across the bowl ended. The steepness and danger of this section reminded me of another trail review I had read, in which a hiker commented that his 9-year old son had completed the hike. He was implying to readers that the trail wasn’t really that difficult. When I caught up with Rus I asked him whether he would allow an adult-accompanied 9-year old to make this trek. He quickly responded with a definitive “No,” and I agreed. We saw a number of places along the trail where a slip or misstep would have easily sent you off a cliff or down a steep rocky incline. Curious, I googled days later how many deaths had occurred in the State Park. Four were recorded, but none had ever happened on the hiking trails. This was surprising based on what we experienced.
We reached the car at about 11:15, and despite periodic stops and drinking 2 liters of water, I was very close to being completely spent. I always find the descent to be much more taxing on my body than the ascent. My feet and knees were sore, and my hips ached from the downhill jarring. For the next four days, my quads throbbed and made walking painfully difficult. Rus said he was a bit sore too, but two days later he hiked a 4.8 mile loop on Mount Wrightson with his friend Joe. I bowed out because I was fairly sure I’d either not make it or would slow them down too much.
Somewhere during our hike, Rus mentioned that Picacho Peak had an historical connection with the Civil War; however, he couldn’t recall many details. I googled it and found a thorough explanation of the Battle of Picacho Pass on Wikipedia . This engagement occurred on April 15, 1862 and was the western most battle involving fatalities of the Civil War . During February 1862, a Confederate force of 120 cavalrymen arrived in Tucson and declared the city the capital of the western district of the Confederate Arizona Territory. These soldiers hoped there would be a flood of California sympathizers who would join them and create a Confederate foothold on the Pacific coast. But here’s what happened.
Lt James Barrett of the 1st California Cavalry led 12 calvary troopers on a search for Confederate soldiers reported in the vicinity of Picacho Pass. His orders were to locate the enemy but not engage. However, acting on his own and in violation of orders, Barrett encountered 10 Confederate cavalrymen under the command of Sergeant Henry Holmes and decided to take them on with disastrous results. The fighting lasted 90 minutes and was reported to be fierce and chaotic. Barrett along with two of his men were killed, and three more were wounded. The Confederate soldiers retreated to Tucson, but without reinforcements they couldn’t expect to hold the city. Subsequently, Union reinforcements from California pushed into Tucson unopposed. Interestingly, the two union enlisted soldiers killed in the battle were buried at the Presidio National Cemetery, while Barrett was reportedly interred near the present-day Picacho Pass railroad tracks. His gravesite location remains unknown and unmarked. It could be said Lt Barrett was buried in disgrace for disobeying orders.
Rus was wise enough to have one of the other hikers on top of Picacho take a picture of us. I thought that picture was a fitting end to this blog, and I had a great experience and hike with one of my brothers.
