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| Hiking | 16.70 Miles |
2,640 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.70 Miles | 5 Hrs 56 Mns | | 2.81 mph |
| 2,640 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Most of what I have to say about Madrona RS I said in the "Background" section of its hike description. It's one of those places that I looked at on the map as a kid and wondered what was there. Growing up, I had parents that were professors at the School of Renewable Natural Resources at the UofA, which includes the Park Studies and Recreation Planning units who assist the NPS and FS with trail planning, land use, etc. At parties and happy hours back then I would hear all of them talking about access issues, fighting developers, and the dirty things that went on that they and the NPS/FS (With their dwindling budgets) couldn't stand up against. Madrona came up once or twice, and I've included all of the background I collected from those folks in the description.
(One thing that wasn't fit to print is the rumor that one of the uber-wealthy land owners back there, an ophthalmic surgeon, routinely uses Madrona and the pristine pools as a site for debauchery and wild partying; this despite the fact that he and his neighbors are "helping the NPS" make sure it's "Closed to public use.")
What has been done with regard to access is done, and I can only hope that it will be reversed, someday. Madrona is a shining example of one of the most frustrating aspects of access; that being that we must protect it fully because if it is even partially lost, it will probably never be regained. The same fate may soon befall places like La Milagrosa canyon and the North Campbell trail head. The good news for Madrona is that renewed interest has become it, in the form of a possible AZ Trail connection there.
The route that the AZ Trail is considering on paper is essentially the one I've just laid down on land. I left large (2') cairns at most of the crossings and confusing spots, but a bushwhack is required for about two miles. Make sure you have a State Trust Land permit or hunting/fishing license and a Saguaro day use or yearly permit. The NPS staffer I spoke to about this said he wasn't too bothered by my plans as long as I stayed out of the buildings at MRS and didn't cross north into NPS territory along most of the route, as it's apparently a protected resource area of some kind (though it isn't marked as such). |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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