Elisabeth Wheeler When wildflowers bloom SaddleBrooke hikers take to the hills of Catalina State Park to find over 40 varieties of flowers. The fields of Mexican gold poppies were highlighted with white chicory, pink owl clover, purple scorpion weed, yellow janusia and purple desert lupine. It was delightful to discover an early blooming mariposa lily…
Walt Shields Catalina Hills Drive is beautiful again as a result of volunteer efforts of members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club. The club has participated in the Pinal County Adopt-A-Highway program for eight years to maintain 2.5 miles of Catalina Hills Drive from SaddleBrooke Boulevard to its entrance into the Preserve. Many thanks to the…
Going for a hike before the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club’s Spring Picnic at Catalina State Park is very popular! Twenty-three hikers explored the Ridgeline/50 Year Loop from the Equestrian Center in the park. Along the four mile trail hikers had fun discovering 29 different wildflowers including anemones, blue dicks, bladderpods, California suncups, white Easter bonnets and…
Dave Sorenson On March 6, 23 D hikers enjoyed the fine view of the seasonal poppies at Picacho Peak State Park. The group, one of the largest D hikes in memory, hiked the Calloway, Sunset Vista and Nature Trails on a sunny 60 degree day. D hikes are hikes of less than four miles with…
Elisabeth Wheeler Twenty members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club completed significant trail maintenance on the Oracle Passage of the Arizona Trail on March 15. Catclaw and dead tree branches were removed from the trail. The trail was widened next to natural drainages and water barriers were developed to prevent trail erosion. After three hours of…
Michael Reale On Ground Hog Day, Michael Reale and Walt Shields led 17 SaddleBrooke hikers on a search for Punxsutawney Phil along the David Yetman Trail in Saguaro Park West. Although we weren’t successful in locating the furry critter (it might have had something to do with being in the wrong state), we agreed that…
Elisabeth Wheeler The SaddleBrooke Hiking Club participated in six trail work events on the Arizona National Scenic Trail in 2016 totaling 511 volunteer hours. Trail co-stewards of the Oracle Passage of the Arizona Trail are Elisabeth Wheeler and Mary Croft. Elisabeth Wheeler was a recipient of a Volunteer of the Year award for promoting the…
On February 14 SaddleBrooke Hiking Club members did a key exchange hike in the Superstition Mountains. One group started at the First Water Trailhead and the other group started at the Peralta Trailhead. The hike offers fabulous views of Weaver’s Needle. The Peralta Trail intersects with the Dutchman’s Trail to the First Water Trailhead.
Elisabeth Wheeler Volunteers from SaddleBrooke Hiking Club are hearty. Twenty-one hikers joined forces with Zach McDonald and Shawn Redfield of the Arizona Trail Association and Gary Faulkenberry of Oracle State Park to improve almost two miles of the Arizona Trail north of American Flag Ranch TH. It took determined effort to hack out catclaw and…
Frank Earnest The SaddleBrooke Hiking Club has formed a group of members who are interested in hiking the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT). The AZT is 840 miles that extends from the Mexican border near Sierra Vista to the Utah border just west of the Paria Canyon/Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. The trail traverses all of the…