Agua Caliente Hill

Calling this 5000+ peak a "hill" is a misnomer. It only looks small because it's straddled between two much taller peaks and lies inbetween the Rincon and Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson. I had heard about this hill and what a challenge it is to hike it. All reports to that are true. It's steep, with an elevation gain of just under 3000'. There is very little shade on this eastern hill, but the views over Tucson are worth it. From the hilltop other peaks are visible: Mount Wrightston, Mount Lemmon, Babocavari and the distant Mount Graham and Bassett Peak.

Steve, John and I met in SV at Steve's house. I arrived a little early (overestimating the time it would take to get there) and had just enough time for Sadie to leave several small piles of poop on his driveway. What a lovely way to greet his mother by holding a warm bag of poop for her to take away!

We drove to Benson to meet up with Rod. He was already there. Again we drove in my truck, but Sadie seemed more content with the men around her than last time. She didn't whine at all, much to my relief. We got to the trailhead without getting lost just before 9am. There were around five cars in the parking lot. A woman passed us to jog this trail. We were on this steep trail by 9:04am. The climb began almost immediately as we followed the rim trail overlooking stately homes.

The trailhead starts off Camino Remuda in a nice, expansive development area. It immediately climbs and switchbacks, past saguaros both dead and alive, chollas, palo verde trees and other low desert flora. John entertained us with his vast trivia on Beer History as we lumbered up the trail.

This is the more southern canyon between the Rincon and Catalina mountains. We saw no running water and what pools we did see were stagnant and surely not safe to drink. Milagrosa canyon was to our north and the Catalina Highway was clearly visible. This is a breath-taking area to wander around in when there's water running in the dry creek beds. Today, however, it was hot enough for Sadie and too dry for us all. The grasses were dry and golden, resembling swaying fields of wheat over a prairie.

The cool breeze and warm skies gave us a refreshing start. Expected highs were to hit the 70s and I had two cool-max shirts on. I took the other one off and never missed it all throughout the hike. My dense winter pants, however, were overkill. Both Steve and John wore shorts. Rod, too, wore denim and later regretted it as well.

Saguaros dot the southern slopes of this trail. Why so many dead ones, though? Did a deep freeze kill them, or was these victims of a wildfire from long ago? Even dead these cacti remain majestic, as their fibrous stalks remain upright as if pleading for mercy. Steve also pointed out tops of saguaros that had suffered freeze damage, most likely from our February freeze.

At the 1.7 mile mark we hit the cattle pond, a murky little pond clearly frequented by wildlife. We didn't see any cattle prints, though, but plenty of what looked like mountainlion, javalina, deer. We rested here so Sadie could drink, but she didn't seem interested in this water. We moved on, as the trail pushed deeper up the Canyon with a steeper grade. Two women with two dogs (one was a German Shepherd Dog named Sheeba) were coming down, having forsaken their attempt to get to the peak because the dogs were too tired. We don't think they had enough water for themselves and the dogs. I always carry twice the water, so that there's a gallon each for me and Sadie. She used plenty of that water later one as we struggled that last steep and loose-rock grade to the hilltop.

John was now in the lead followed by Steve, but then Rod went ahead while Steve waited for me and Sadie. My lack of conditioning once again showed. John and Steve have been hiking peaks 2-3 a week and my last peak was with them ten days ago. Steve even conquered Mount Wrightson last Friday and showed no signs of fatigue. I made it to the top at 12:27pm.

The hilltop is worth a visit. It's a small mesa with one lone mesquite in the center that provides some shade for the short-of-breath hiker. Two survey markers are nearby. Golden grass sways in the breeze. It's a pleasant enough destination. After we sat at the peak for a while we walked over to the northeastern slope to gaze into the valley, see the ranch house below, and admire what looked like a bald eagle glide on a thermal. This was one big bird!

The descent was as dramatic. We finally went back down almost an hour later, spreading out as the loose slab rock was difficult enough and we didn't want to pull each other down if one fell. Sadie was also showing fatigue and rested under what little shade she could find. The exposed sun had her tired out faster than up and down Bassett Peak, which provided more shade for her. She was a tough one, though.

Thoughts of making this hike a loop into Agua Caliente Canyon and down into Horsehead Ranch was quickly nixed once we got to the intersection. It was 2:30pm by now and that loop would have added twice the mileage to our hike and required another major hill to climb. We were no longer interested. We made it back to the lone-standing truck by 4:30pm with the sun still above us. We only saw one man on the trail, a local neighbor who hiked up to the trail intersection and back.

Our hike ended at the Magoly's Mexican Restaurant in Benson, a small but decent little place popular with locals. "The only time we go out to eat," said Rod, "is when you're leading a hike!" It's an activity I learned to appreciate while in Germany, when a hike always finished off with a beer at a local Gasthaus.

I came up with this hike Sunday early evening. I hadn't hiked last weekend and needed a good challenging hike before the holidays. I proposed this one for the location and challenge and wrote to the hiking club president and treasurer about this proposal. My response from the treasurer was that he wasn't going to distribute this proposal to other members because of the short notice. What? Other hikes were disseminated on a short notice with no problem. I was miffed. I told the guys who came with me today that I was going rogue. Call me Connie "Going Rogue!" Scammell. Ha! I simply can't plan hikes 90 days out as if the hiking schedule were an army training plan. Too many hikes get cancelled that way, or end up being changed at the last minute. That's how the longterm members want to handle club policies. Let that bite them in the collective butts down the road. It's easiest and less stressful if I only have a week to a few days out to plan as I never know what my schedule will be. There are too many distractors in life. I won't let a hiking group derail me.

I downloaded my photos as soon as I got home, noticing a sharp difference in IQ between the Canon XS with Sigma kit lens versus the more compact Canon S90. The S90 pictures were clearly of much better quality.

Once I logged back online, I learned about the small aircraft that crashed in the Supersitition Mountains around 6:30pm tonight. All passengers, three adults and three children, perished. The pilot was the father of the children on the plane. He had flown in from Safford where he lives and owns an aviation business to Mesa where his ex-wife lives. The children were to spend Thanksgiving with him. The Rockwell AC-690A had missed clearing the 5000-foot mountains by a few hundred feet. Among the dead are Shawn Perry, 39, his two sons and his daughter, Morgan Perry, 9, Logan Perry, 8, and Luke Perry, 6. I grieve for the mother who lost all her children at once so tragically.