HIKE OF THE MONTH

hike of the month Looking to Trek amidst Giant Saguaros? Try the Easygoing Pink Hill Trail

How could I have missed a pink hill in the desert? I had hiked and backpacked in the Rincon Mountains for many years, almost always starting out in the desert and climbing through oaks and junipers into the cool pines at the top, and I had never encountered a pink hill except in the last half hour before sunset. But now I found myself on the trail to Pink Hill in Saguaro National Park East, one of several routes off the Cactus Forest Trail, which begins at the east end of Broadway in Tucson. I scrutinized the desert vegetation giant saguaro cactuses, creosote bushes, paloverde trees, and the ubiquitous clumps of desert broom and watched the soils: hard-packed sands colored like an infant lion or a spadefoot toad, everything muted and not a hint of pink. I walked this trail on an afternoon in January, which is the best time of year to be outdoors in the thick forest of giant saguaro cactuses that gives the park its name. On most days in the summer, temperatures in that area would exceed 100° F.,but on this day the mercury barely nudged 70°. The trail was practically flat, and as I walked through the landscape of diminutive plants, I thought of a couple I had met a year earlier hiking in the Cerbat Mountains in northwestern Arizona. They were from Florida and, hearing that I lived in Tucson, the woman remarked, “Oh, we've been there. That's where the trees are only as high as the houses.” As I walked to the Pink Hill Trail, I found myself looking at each mesquite and paloverde along the way thinking, “Hmm, that one might reach my roofline, that one might go halfway up.” Hikes are great for pointless thoughts. After walking a third of a mile on the Shantz Trail, I came to a marker for the Pink Hill. I turned east another .8 of a mile, still barely gaining any elevation, and came to the junction of the Loma Verde Trail. The top of Pink Hill was a half mile to the east and still I saw nothing pink, which led me to believe that whoever gave the route its name had been there at sunrise or sunset when all the colors were deeper. From the top of Pink Hill, I could look out across Tucson to the Tucson Mountains on the west and the Santa Rita Mountains to the south. Pink Hill not only didn't look pink, it wasn't much of a hill by Arizona standards, and to tell the truth I preferred its old name. It used to be called Coffee Cup Hill because cowboys working their cattle in the area often stopped on the rise for a coffee break. Cattle are no longer permitted in the park, but the hill still makes a nice spot for a coffee break or a bite to eat, which was how I spent a peaceful half hour. Urban Tucson was just a few miles away on an easy trail, but the desert tranquility on Pink Hill provided a delightful buffer and left me feeling so relaxed I no longer cared whether the trees ever got much higher than the houses.

(LEFT) Paloverde and mesquite “nurse” trees shelter young saguaro cactuses while paperflowers and barrel cactuses dominate the foreground in this view from the Pink Hill Trail. (RIGHT) Nature's artistry shows itself in the curling ribs of a deceased saguaro near the trail.

along the way thinking, “Hmm, that one might reach my roofline, that one might go halfway up.” Hikes are great for pointless thoughts. After walking a third of a mile on the Shantz Trail, I came to a marker for the Pink Hill. I turned east another .8 of a mile, still barely gaining any elevation, and came to the junction of the Loma Verde Trail. The top of Pink Hill was a half mile to the east and still I saw nothing pink, which led me to believe that whoever gave the route its name had been there at sunrise or sunset when all the colors were deeper. From the top of Pink Hill, I could look out across Tucson to the Tucson Mountains on the west and the Santa Rita Mountains to the south. Pink Hill not only didn't look pink, it wasn't much of a hill by Arizona standards, and to tell the truth I preferred its old name. It used to be called Coffee Cup Hill because cowboys working their cattle in the area often stopped on the rise for a coffee break. Cattle are no longer permitted in the park, but the hill still makes a nice spot for a coffee break or a bite to eat, which was how I spent a peaceful half hour. Urban Tucson was just a few miles away on an easy trail, but the desert tranquility on Pink Hill provided a delightful buffer and left me feeling so relaxed I no longer cared whether the trees ever got much higher than the houses.

WHEN YOU GO

The Cactus Forest Trail is in Saguaro National Park East. It begins on Tucson's Broadway Boulevard a quarter-mile east of Freeman Road at an altitude of about 2,700 feet. The trailhead looks like a V; if you're headed to Pink Hill, take the path on your left (east) toward the Rincon Mountains, marked as the Shantz Trail. The Pink Hill Trail is easy to follow and physically undemanding for someone in good health. However, there is no water available, and it is necessary to bring some along regardless of what season you make the hike. Dogs - leashed or otherwise are not permitted on the trail. For more information on visiting and hiking in Saguaro National Park East, call (520) 733-5153.