Everything in the desert is sharp and pointy. I guess that should be no surprise, but dammit, you really have to watch where you’re stepping. When hiking, I’m normally like a 5 yr old chasing butterflies, except I’m 33 and chasing birds and small lizards. You take one step off the trail to try and get a better look at a little grey fucker bouncing around in the brush, and BAM! Cactus in your goddamn knee. I guess when you’re hiking here, you have to stop and actually stand still to try and identify creatures. Such a waste of time.
As I head south from Dead Horse Ranch SP, I decide to stop at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, and then head farther south to ultimately end up at Tonto National Forest. The Natural bridge looks amazing in pictures. Apparently an early explorer was chased by Native Americans and held out under this bridge for 3 days. He liked it so much, he later brought his family over from Scotland to homestead under the feature. Can you imagine? “Hey honey, I found this super cool, extra moist piece of rock we can live under! No, we’ll need to carry everything in by hand or slowly rappel it down about 300 feet. It’s super safe for the kids….” Unfortunately, the trails leading to get under the bridge were closed while I was there. Apparently the snow melt had made the trails too slippery. Heaven forbid you get a little water Arizona…. We deal with that shit on the daily!
Natural bridge from above 
Group of Javelina near the parking lot
After walking what trails I could above the natural bridge, I decide to continue South and find a place to camp. I really want to see Saguaro cactus, and if I drive just an hour or so south I can finally see them. So I look up a campground, and head down. As I get into Tonto Basin, I get a bit of a shitty feeling. This place is a dammed lake that has what appears to be a large amount of trailers and trucks directly on the lake shore. Like camping/living in the dirt alongside the lake. I start to feel uneasy about my choice of camping spot, but I push on with the hope that the place I selected will be a smidgen better. When I finally get to Cholla Campground, I realize that no one is there! The $20 camping fee is apparently enough of a buffer to keep the riff raft out. Perfect. I hike a bit among the cactus, get some good views in of the lake, then take a delightful shower and prep for bed. These, I’ve decided, are the best kinds of campsites.
The next morning, I decide to get another hike in at Tonto, then head south to meet up with some friends that live in Scottsdale. I haven’t seen Joey or Emily since I lived in Venice, FL, and now they have a new nugget I need to meet! I roll into the greater Phoenix area around 2PM, and I am blown away with 1) the amount of people here 2) how much god damn money there is here and 3) covered outdoor parking lots. I find my way to Scottsdale Brewery and get easily talked into some amazing wings while waiting for my friends to get off work. Once at their place, I get to properly meet Olivia (aka nugget) and drink some wine with old friends. It felt really good to just hang out with like-minded folks and chat for a few hours. Around 9 I decide to hit the truck (they have work in the morning) and try to not raise any red flags climbing into my bed while in an apt complex parking lot.
Sweet cactus 
Tonto hiking
Getting up before the sun was my idea to avoid any awkward run ins with folks in the parking lot while I climb out of my truck. Once safely out, I headed south to Saguaro NP in Tuscon, AZ. I have a tip from a friend who did some work out there to visit Manning Camp on the eastern side of the park. So I plop down with a park ranger and figure out my back country permit for the next few days. I start at 3000 ft, then hike 7 miles up to 6000 ft for the first night, then another 7 miles up to 8000 ft for the night after. That means I need to hike about 16 miles straight down the last day. No big deal right? We’ve done 26 mile days on the AT in much worse terrain.
The hike up the first 2 days are beautiful. As I climb up in altitude, the desert is replaced with Juniper, then Ponderosa pine forest. At 8000 ft there is still snow on the ground, and the air is cold. Manning camp is a historic structure built in 1905 by a family that used it mainly for summer vacations. Get away from the Arizona heat I suppose. It was soon abandoned when the land was taken over by the government to become a National Forest in 1907. As cool as this is, and as pretty as the structures are, it’s still freaking cold. When I left yesterday it was 80, and I am not prepared for 30s at night… So I shoot off a few texts to the fiance telling her about impending doom through hypothermia, and get cozied up in my sleeping bag. To be honest, I wasn’t ready for bed, it was just so cold that I had to constantly rotisserie chicken myself with the fire to keep feeling in my extremities. I was just going to bed to try and not die.
Now that she’s good and worried, I realize my zero degree sleeping bag is more than adequate. I’m actually quite warm. After sleeping better than expected, I pack up and start the 16 miles back to truck. Going to be honest here, that hike was exhausting. Downhill kicked my ass, and my feet. Feeling especially thankful for the hiking poles I recently bought, as they helped me catch myself a half dozen times. Shout out to Amy and Kenny that talked me into trying them. Huge win.
After I’m off the stupid mountain, I look for an RV park to shower and spend the night. I smell like a dumpster fire, and I’ve got a crust of dirt attached to my skin that gives me a south of the border appearance. I find a few on the west side of town, and head out. As I drive, I’m dreaming of chicken wings, cold beer, and perhaps a cup of tea as the sun starts its decent down. As I get to my destination, I realize it’s for “Adults only (40+).” Well, maybe they won’t notice I look 21 still…. As I go to pay, I’m told RVs only. Well, I mean, I have a truck… Will that work? Apparently not. As I walk away in defeat, I start looking for a different place to stay. This one is 55 and up, this one is 50 and up, this other one is for incredibly rich people staying the entire winter… There’s nothing. As I come to the realization I will not get to shower, or get food or beer (as I’m in the middle of BFE), I find a BLM campground. That’s Bureau of Land Management for you non-biology people. Its a free site with no facilities. Fine. It’ll have to do.
It’s a dirt lot. Which is fine because it’s free. I have to wait until dark to take a piss, as there are folks on all sides of me. As I sit on the tailgate watching the sun go down, I realize I’m hungry, tired, and ready to be somewhere else. At least I can text Cas, which was the highlight of my night after being in the woods for the last 3 days. Everything was fine expect some asshole driving a dirt bike around at 3:30 in the morning. I count this as the second time I’ve had to unzip the shotgun…
The next morning I head to McDonald’s (to pee) and then to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This place is better than expected already. Plenty of campsites (out of season of course), Gila woodpeckers all over the damn place, and huge cactus at every turn. And as an added bonus, there is a ranger led astronomy program that I’ll be attending later tonight.
Tomorrow it’s off to Yuma, then to San Diego to see my sister. Excited to wash some clothes, because lord knows I need it. Oh. And to see my sis.
Organ Pipe hug, leave room for the Holy Ghost.. 
Warning to watch for folks crossing the border. I carried extra water just in case.
