Colossal Cave Mountain Park

My morning began with a screaming puppy in the backyard at around 330, just before my scheduled wakeup. The screaming sounded serious, so I threw on some clothes and ran outside. It was Gretel on top of her son Fritzi, whom she had pinned down. When Gretel let him free, he continued to wail in a panicked fashion, scurrying around my potted plants looking for a place to hide. According to Kevin, this is not the first time either Hansel or Gretel have attacked their puppies.

Situation resolved, I got ready for my hike with Steve. I refilled water bottles, packed snacks for Zeke, and drove off at 420, not realizing that I had left my backpack on the driveway and my water bottle in the kitchen.  I had a few empty bottles in the back of my car for back-up. A quick stop at the Benson truck stop remedied that problem. Steve carried my bottles for me once we started the hike.

We were nine people. Heddi led this hike again, the same hike from 21 November of last year. We met by the park gate, waited for two more people who never came, and then drove to the back side of Colossal Cave road to park and walk to the Agua Verde trailhead. We began at 6:13am. It was 66F and clear.

This is a pretty section of the Arizona Trail as it gradually ascends along a saguaro-studded ridgeline in Paso Quemodo canyon.  I wanted to see blooming saguaros on this hike, and I saw plenty of them, first in the morning shade and then as we got the full sun on our hike back.

Steve and I stayed in the back with our dogs.  Another dog-walker, Lily, brought her little pitmix foster dog Topaz along.  This was the dog's first hike and she did very well.  All three dogs got along very well.  We kept them on leashes as Heddi warned us that there will be no "butt-sniffing" from the dogs of other people! 

We were only 1.4 miles into the hike when Heddi stopped to point out a side trail should either Steve or I need to turn around.  She showed us three more side trails later on, much to our annoyance.  "I may be slow" said Steve, "but I'm not dying!"  After our break at the La Sevilla picnic area, he spoke to Heddi privately and she stopped being condescending.  She also explained to me why she was so concerned about Steve needing to turn around, as she told me she has had recent bad experiences with hikers bring guests on her MeetUp hikes and these guests complain, come unprepared, or are a total nuisance. 

There are many unsigned trails in this area.  Without Heddi guiding us, I would not have known where to go, or how to loop back.  From the La Sevilla picnic area we returned via the old park road, then cut off via a small drainage that led behind an airhole to the Colossal Cave and the old ranch house before coming out at the corral and historical part.

We came across a crested saguaro here, one of at least two in the park that I know of. We were now in the last half-mile and now in full sunshine.  Heddi planned this hike very well, intending to finish this before the heat of the day.

We got back to our cars just before 9am.  It was already in the 80s and I was feeling the heat.  Everyone departed.  Steve and I stopped by a taco shop in Vail, Fito's, where we had an early lunch of chicken tacos and enchiladas, eating our meal in the cramped Honda with two dogs looking on.