Sandra Sowell; photo by Maureen Spence.
Mary Croft and Elisabeth Wheeler
Sandra Sowell was hiking the trails of the Tucson area well before the formation of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club in 1999. She hiked every hike led by a former guide in SaddleBrooke in the late ‘90s.
Sandra was influential in getting the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club going and was the chairperson for the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the club in 2009. With assistance from others, Sandra brought the history of the club alive in displays, stories and commendations of past club officers and volunteers.
Over the last 15 years she has organized special trips to the Chiricahuas, Ft. Bowie, Tonto National Monument, Florence Historical Days, the observatories of Mt. Hopkins, downtown historical walks and many other unique hiking club adventures. Sandra also is a keen birding enthusiast and knows the wildflowers of the desert and readily shares that knowledge with interested hikers.
She is comfortable doing a conversational hike as well as much more challenging hikes as noted by her near completion of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) at the young at heart age of 76. And she has been a faithful worker along with Jim Strickler in doing trail maintenance on the AZT.
As a guide through the years, Sandra has been supportive and encouraging of new hikers and other guides. She has contributed significantly to the club through the years with little fanfare. We are grateful for her years of support to the hikers of SaddleBrooke.