From the trailhead, the path leads gradually down to the Cienegas Creek Riparian Area. The sandy ground under a shady grove of giant cottonwoods which lined the banks of the flowing brook would have made a great place for cowboy camping had it been evening time. Climbing out of the creek bed, I walked under the railroad trestle and was greeted by the mournful whistle of a passing locomotive that was pulling a mighty load. I believe I counted more than sixty cars as it rumbled past. It was also nearby that I saw my first saguaro--- O King of Cacti!!! In this dry region they tower over pretty much everything else that is around, including AZT hikers.
Winding up and over a saddle, I was soon looking down upon La Posta Quemada Ranch with its buildings, corrals and stock. I guess they offer food down there since a sign with a crossed knife and fork pointed down a side trail that led to the ranch house. Wasn't sure if breakfast was on the menu, but even if it had been, I wouldn't have taken the quarter mile detour because I'd already eaten back at Cienegas Creek. Sure is a picturesque spot though, surrounded as it is by the desert hills and dozens of saguaros standing like sentinels to protect it. One small hill looks as if the rock is maroon, a color that really pops out when you see it.
Continuing the contour of the hills, I passed another riparian area, the bright green leaves of young cottonwoods in stark contrast to the waterless, rocky earth around. A couple of information plaques about Colossal Cave were placed appropriately along the trail and from one I had a view up to the buildings that had been constructed by the CCC nearly 70 years ago. A bit further on, I reached the La Sevilla Picnic Area, which, though not what I had pictured in my mind, was nonetheless inviting, especially the tables covered by a shady pavilion and encircled by a small wall of thick, cool rock. Shangri-La! With the idea of resting here until late afternoon, I had plenty of time on my hands. First item of business was a camp shower. Stripping down, I took water from the spigot, filled my tin cup, and poured it over my head. I could feel the salt washing off of my sweaty body and (oh, happy day!!) as I looked near the base of the spigot, saw that someone had left a bar of soap. I stood there for a good fifteen minutes, splashing water in my face, lathering up with soap and then rinsing off. When finished, I was squeaky clean.
The greater portion of the time was spent sitting atop the picnic table as a birdwatcher. I saw a falcon, wings spread, floating on air currents above the rocky escarpment to my left, hunting for food, a woodpecker tapping out wooden notes as it drilled for grubs in the surrounding trees, a gorgeous, iridescent green and purple hummingbird thrumming its wings while paying repeated visits to my red-topped can of peanut butter, perhaps mistaking it for a cactus flower, and, my favorite, a brightly colored cardinal with its red feathers and yellow-orange bill hopping about, looking for seeds. There were many others as well, but I couldn't identify them by sight or song.
Before I left, I had a couple of human visitors. The first was the picnic caretaker, who, before noticing me, was carrying on quite a lengthy conversation with himself! Lonely job or maybe just a lonely guy. The second was a fellow thru-hiker who had just come up from Colossal Cave. Phil Lund, a.k.a. Zigzagger, was an older gent from Florida. A triple-crowner, who had done and will do many more trails than I, although I found it funny that he hadn't done the Florida Trail. It helped to pass the time talking about his experiences before getting back out on trail at four.
The evening hike was mostly contouring on small hills, then out into a land of small cacti and brush, none of which was taller than myself. During this time, I had my second snake sighting, another rattler, which was both more alert and more aggressive than the previous one. I was warned of its presence well ahead of time by the shake of its rattle and saw that while its lower body was coiled up, its upper body was raised off the ground and held in a striking posture. I also noticed that this snake was much lighter in shading and slightly smaller than the first rattlesnake I'd seen. I stood for a time and waited until it slithered noisily off the path.
As the evening shadows grew longer, I saw lots of rabbits scattered around, big ones and smaller ones. Little cottontail babies think they're safe if they simply hunker down and don't move. There's a chance that works, but in some cases, I'm sure it just makes for easy pickings. A few rabbits in the mouth of a coyote certainly wouldn't put a dent in the population.
Rincon Creek was a surprise because it was dry as a bone. I had expected there to be water since other creeks were flowing or had pools. However, those creeks were near bedrock, whereas the bed of Rincon Creek was all sand, which must have sucked all the water up and taken it underground. While I was futilely checking for pools, Zigzagger caught up. We talked a bit more, especially about the CDT when I mentioned I was headed there after finishing the AZT. At the Saguaro National Park boundary, we parted ways, me going on to Hope Camp and a little closer to the next water source, Phil going back to the comfy sands of Rincon Creek.
Photo 1: Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead
Photo 2: Railroad Trestle and Passing Locomotive
Photo 3: Pair of Saguaros
Photo 4: Cacti Country
Photo 5: La Sevilla Picnic Area
Photo 6: Second Snake Sighting
Distance Hiked: 15.8 Miles
No comments:
Post a Comment