Elisabeth Wheeler On March 21 SaddleBrooke hikers celebrated the completion of over 450 volunteer hours (since October) on the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Volunteers under the guidance of Zach MacDonald of the Arizona Trail Association enjoyed a morning of putting the finishing touches on 1.5 miles of newly built trail on the Oracle Passage…
Randy Park Above SaddleBrooke, in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is a rock formation on the Samaniego Ridge called Mule Ears. From most of our community it looks like just another rock formation, but from the 16th or 17th hole on the Preserve golf course, one can see that there are, in fact, two separate…
Elisabeth Wheeler Discovering spring flowers on a hike is delightful. Nine SaddleBrooke hikers hiked the Oracle Passage of the Arizona Trail in March looking for signs of spring. Oracle is at a higher elevation than SaddleBrooke. Spring flowers arrive later. It took “eagle eyes” to discover early verbena, fairy duster, bladder pods, anemones, silver…
Karen Gray On a beautiful cool morning in late January, a group of hikers took off to hike in the Tucson Mountains. The destination was Brown Mountain – a hike with beautiful views in every direction. The trail goes up and down three times and is a nice aerobic workout in addition to the…
Dale Leman Locally owned Summit Hut has long supported the efforts of SaddleBrooke Hiking Club. Entering into the outdoor retail industry in 1967 by two teenagers, Summit Hut has grown over the last 50+ years and now has two retail stores along with an internet presence. Their business focuses on providing the finest gear…
Elisabeth Wheeler It’s fun to build new trail, especially when recent rains have softened the desert floor! Nineteen SaddleBrooke hikers braved 30-40 degree temperatures to develop a more user friendly re-route of the Oracle Passage of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Teams dug out shrubs and smoothed the trail tread for a better hiking, biking…
Karen Gray On a cool but sunny morning, 13 SaddleBrooke hikers left for a desert hike in Honey Bee Canyon in Oro Valley off of Rancho Vistoso Road. The day warmed up quickly and it was a lovely morning to hike. We decided to do the north route to the end at the dam. Along…
Geoffrey Schultz Have you ever wondered about how modern advances in technology can be used on the trail? Have you ever struggled to find quality and accurate information about a hike you wanted to do? Join us March 21, 2018 at 4:00 in the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center as local guide and technology expert, Geoffrey…
Frank Earnest Twelve members of SaddleBrooke Hiking Club hiked the Miner’s Needle Loop, otherwise known as the Lost Dutchman/Bluff Springs Loop, along the southern slopes of the Superstition Mountains on a beautiful day in early December 2017. The Superstition Mountains are a very special mountain range to our north, and the legendary location of…
