Hike of the Month

ike of the Month Saguaro-friendly Norris Trail Offers a Moderately Demanding Climb to Grand Views from Wasson Peak

I always start up the Hugh Norris Trail in Saguaro National Monument early in the morning, and the first view always reminds me of the guy who sets up occasional shop on a Tucson street corner selling neon saguaros. The sun has just struggled over the Tucson Mountains, and the saguaro spines are filtering the backlight into glowing golden outlines around the cacti. The effect is magical and comical at the same time. Comical? Well, saguaros are the stand-up comics of the desert, the giant green mimes that beg for handouts, signal touchdowns, and imitate ballet dancers with seven arms. They do seem to express mood; saguaros can be snobbish, supercilious, menacing, or friendly. And this trail provides a terrific venue to see the whole show.

Saguaro National Monument is split into two pieces that are 30 miles apart. Saguaro East, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, is better known but much thinner in saguaros. Miners and grazing cattle stripped a lot of its brush between the 1880s and 1950s, depriving saguaro seedlings of their shading "nurse plants" and leaving them to burn up in the summer sun. Saguaro West, sprawling over the Tucson Mountains to the west of the city, never had a reliable water source, so its saguaro forest was spared the depredation of man and cow.

the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, is better known but much thinner in saguaros. Miners and grazing cattle stripped a lot of its brush between the 1880s and 1950s, depriving saguaro seedlings of their shading "nurse plants" and leaving them to burn up in the summer sun. Saguaro West, sprawling over the Tucson Mountains to the west of the city, never had a reliable water source, so its saguaro forest was spared the depredation of man and cow.

The Hugh Norris Trail is the best hike in either section of the monument, although it is moderately demanding. It rises through a deep draw, then follows a series of ridges 4.9 miles to 4,687-foot Wasson Peak, the highest point in the Tucson Mountains a 2,100-foot elevation gain from the trailhead. The trail is never steep, but does demand some determina-tion, and there is one really aggravating episode. Just as you lurch to the summit of what you're certain is Wasson Peak, you see Wasson Peak, another ridgeline up and away But that last one-third mile is easy, and the 360-degree view from the peak is worth the effort. Still, the summit is not necessarily the peak experience of this hike. The saguaro forest en route is at least as provocative.

WHEN YOU GO

I find myself appreciating, oddly, the occasional dead saguaros along the trail. In death even more than life, these desert giants form a gallery of sculptures. Some stubbornly remain standing, their ribs arcing into the desert sky like wooden water spraying from a fountain. Some lie prone, not sacrificing any of their beauty or dignity. The skeletons are a complex of smooth, graceful curves, almost like human sinew and muscle sculpted in wood And I admire the saguaro's crazed determination, also on exhibit here. One individual is literally growing out of a boulder, somehow mining enough nutrients from a small patch of decomposing granite to make a living.

And, of course, there's the endlessly entertaining cast of characters silently standing on the mountain slopes: the referee, the dancer, the twins, the giant green guy waving an arm in your direction. It's probably silly to anthropomorphize saguaros, but it's also inevitable. Just don't go slapping high fives with one.

To reach the Hugh Norris Trail, take Kinney Road one mile west of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum into Saguaro National Monument, turn right onto the Monument's unpaved Bajada Loop Drive, and watch for the trailhead sign. This is a cool-weather hike, but at least one quart of water per person will be needed. Expect some rain January through March.

For more information, contact Saguaro National Monument, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730-5699; (602) 883-6366.