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…
Elisabeth Wheeler A premier place to enjoy the beauty of a saguaro forest is Sweetwater Preserve, an 800 acre preserve located in the eastern foothills of the Tucson Mountains. An hour’s drive from SaddleBrooke, the preserve provides about 13 miles of trail, arranged in loops. SaddleBrooke hikers explored over seven miles of trail that featured…
Ed Melnick The SaddleBrooke Hiking Club’s March 15 presentation takes on an international flair when Ed Melnick shares his photographs captured while traveling to Uganda and Mongolia. Ed traveled with his wife, Judie Shyman, and friends Darlene and Lockwood Carlson to both countries and all are excited about sharing these experiences. The Ugandan show entitled,…