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| Hiking | 7.64 Miles |
2,451 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.64 Miles | 7 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.18 mph |
| 2,451 ft AEG | 53 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Compared to many of the wilderness areas in Arizona, this one is not at all lonely. Although it is far from metropolitan centers, the wilderness is inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, so the road is good enough for a car, parking is plentiful, and there is a restroom at the trailhead. I saw about 10 hikers and 10 trail crew on my trek.
Before dawn, it was 28 degrees and breezy, so I put on my windbreaker for the first part of the hike. By midafternoon, as I hiked out, I was too warm in my long-sleeve poly shirt.
I was surprised how lush the vegetation is here. Especially as you hike up the Bull Pasture Trail, you notice the dense growth. Throughout the walk, I noticed all kinds of cactus; the namesake organ pipe cactus is not the only cactus here, perhaps not even the main cactus. There was lots of saguaro and ocotillo. Several kinds of cholla were rampant: teddy-bear, chain fruit, and cane cholla. There were occasional prickly pear, agave and yucca as well.
The path beyond the end of the maintained trail at Bull Pasture is pretty easy to follow, although I got off track a couple of times when I wasn’t paying attention. Follow the official GPS route, and you will not go wrong. The climb up the ravine in the field of scree is not especially fun, and after clearing it, it continued to gnaw at me as I headed for the peak. To save energy for the climb back down the scree field, I stopped my climb about 400’ short of the summit. My climb down the scree field was slow and careful, and it worked out fine.
I highly recommend this hike, although I think the Estes Canyon trail is not worth the additional half mile it adds. |
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Wildflowers Observation None
None yet, but should be spectacular when the cacti are in bloom. |
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