Kathleen Bell In 1974, two explorers went looking for a cave “no one had ever found” and discovered a massive cavern on land owned by James and Lois Kartchner. To hear the rest of this modern story of discovery and learn more about what today is Kartchner Caverns State Park, you are invited to the…
Ken Wong Staying in our home state, the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club traveled up north in April for the first offsite trip of the calendar year. The destination was Prescott with three days of hiking from April 14 to 16. The trip started inauspiciously with unforecast heavy rains falling on the Prescott area on the eve…
Lori Anderson The SaddleBrooke Hiking Club has been picking up litter along Catalina Hills Drive for more than 15 years as part of Pinal County’s Adopt a County Road program. The weather was very accommodating for the ten Club members who enthusiastically got down to business on April 28th. Much of the debris was not…
Dale Leman On Thursday, May 7, at 5:30 a.m., six members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club met at the MountainView parking lot to depart for a hike in Pima Canyon. Dianna Wilson, the Club’s Chief Hiking Guide, organized the outing. She set the early start time to prepare hikers for the hot summer soon to…
Dale Leman Each Spring SaddleBrooke hiking club honors a very special member of the club with the highest distinction given by the club, its trailblazer award. This award started ten years ago in 2016 by then-president, Randy Parks. To date, 19 members have received the honor of being named a SBHC “Trailblazer.” The hiking club…
Hiking in the Heat Diana Smith Please join us on Wednesday, April 22 at 4 p.m. in the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center for the Saddlebrooke Hiking Club’s final program of the 2025-2026 season; “Hiking Safely and Comfortably in the Desert Heat.” Jeff Merten, general manager of Tucson REI,will share information on choosing the right gear…
Janet Fabio Arizona offers a broad mix of breathtaking scenery as well as some weird and unusual sights, a variety of culinary and cultural experiences, hiking trails, well–known and little-known road trips, history, science, sports and much more. For many of us, it’s not our home state and we want to learn more and explore…
Diana Smith Please join the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club on Wednesday, March 18, at 4 p.m. in the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center for the return of our popular “My Favorite Hike” program featuring: • Jeff Love’s trek to Lake O’Hara in the alpine area of Yoho National Park in British Columbia, part of a larger UNESCO…
Heather Davis and Maria Szentirmai In hiking lingo, a “sweep” is the person at the end of the line of trekkers on a hike—the caboose. A sweep has the duty to stay alert and be observant. Since the leader has many things to study in order to “stay on course” and cannot see what is…
Diana Smith Born and raised in Wallingford, Conn., Leslie Hawkins began taking annual camping trips with her family. She vividly remembers her first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains soaring on the horizon on a trip that took her to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Dinosaur National Monument, Devils Tower, and the Badlands. Leslie attended Hood College in…