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#159411 - 01/01/12 02:21 PM Saguaro N.P. (Redux)
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
Mark ended up wrapping up his trip with me and flying out of Phoenix. Had a great time with him and since this is just a part of HIS trip, I thought I would let you all know he got out fine and give a taste of what I experienced with him.

Monday December 26

I ended up getting parking my Jeep at the Gordon Hirabayashi T.H. and getting a ride to the area near Rincon Cr. I had hoped to meet Mark around 3pm, but a leaky valve stem and trouble finding the right spot to jump on to the Arizona Trail caused some delay. I ended up finding a T.H. about 1.5 miles down Pistol Hill Road and at 4:20pm, with about 3.5 miles to cover, I started hoofing it to Rincon Creek. Not knowing what to expect, I started with about 12 pounds of water (5 liters) When I got there, nobody was around...so I yelled "Mark" and got a response. Somewhere around 5:30pm Mark showed up and we introduced ourselves to each other and spent the night on the bench above Rincon Creek.

Tuesday, December 27

Woke up to a COLD morning. This ended up being the coldest night of the trip with the tent screen being completely frosted over and the canteens frozen almost solid. Apparently all the cold air from Rincon Peak and Mica Mountain come down Rincon Creek at night. Been to a few other places like that, but with all that snow, it was pretty cold. Rincon Creek was dry near our camp, but did have signs of recent flow.

Sign post just inside Saguaro N.P.




Hope Camp



One of the seasonal water sources we found on our way up.



Still morning of the first day, climbing out of the Rincon Creek valley.





After a while on trail, it became clear that we were the first people up here after the snow storms. Animal tracks in snow and mud were abundant; bobcat, cougar, javalina, coyote, bear, elk, and deer. I saw more bobcat prints than I have seen in my entire life on that section of trail (1.5 to 2" range). Saw one set of cat prints in the 4 inch range. Cat prints are generally wider than "dog" prints, and have a "double peaked" pad. Also found two paw prints the size of a small house cat's; possibly Ocelot or maybe a cat cub?

Picture of trail in front of us covered with tracks.



More shots on the way up. Rincon Peak.






Wednesday, December 28

A "snow day". Maybe six miles of snow covered trail. We capped out at the top of Mica Mountain (no real view as it is well forested). Much of the way had over 1 foot of snow with much of it being 18" deep fluff w? 0.5 inch crust. This was the most challenging day; needed good trail finding skills and to set the right pace. Lots of switching leads to cut trail. Could have used rough terrain snowshoes.

Ice on the trail up.



Manning camp.









Sorry...still a work in progress. That is all for now. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year!


Edited by skcreidc (01/02/12 12:30 PM)

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#159426 - 01/01/12 08:37 PM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: skcreidc]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
Thanks for the pictures! I am overcome with a huge case of nostalgia...

When you say - tracks the size of a small house cat...possibly Ocelot - could be, but why could tey not simply be a small house cat. Idon't know for sure, but I would not be surprised if there are not feral kitties about the place. Tucson would be too good a source, and there are residential areas right up against the boundaries.

I assume that was a picture of Manning Camp in your last picture. It looks like it has changed a bit since the 1950s. Did the old cabin collapse?

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#159459 - 01/02/12 10:51 AM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: oldranger]
Pika Online   content
member

Registered: 12/08/05
Posts: 1814
Loc: Rural Southeast Arizona
OR, I think that the old cabin is still standing but has had additions grafted on. I also think that the lower logs of the old cabin have been replaced. There is a radio tower there now with meteorology instruments attached and a fairly large horse/mule corral just south of the cabin. There is a concrete dam and a small pond east of the cabin but I don't know how long they have been there. I have never seen the building with that much snow around; I mostly hit Manning Camp in the three-season part of the year; my winter visits have been when only small amounts of snow were lying in shady areas.
_________________________
May I walk in beauty.

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#159518 - 01/03/12 05:11 AM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: Pika]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
Looking carefully at the picture, I think I can spot the older cabin at the far end of the structure - the part with the stone foundation. I understand it is listed on the National Register of historic Places; it would be close to 100 years old now

The concrete dam was there in 1957; one of our chores that year was to muck it out to improve capacity. I imagine they have abandoned the phone line which we kept in repair back then; our radio system was not to be relied upon entirely.

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#159522 - 01/03/12 09:28 AM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: oldranger]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
OldRanger, all I can say about the cabin is that it looked like it had a new coat of paint on it. This would be a great spot for a horse packing trip; corrals and hitching posts at Manning and Grassy Shack Camps respectively. I would not mind spending more time on top exploring, but with the mileage (about 42 miles in 3.5 days) and the amount of snow on top, we needed to keep moving.

Also, as far as the cat prints are concerned, we hit heavy concentrations of cat prints after the Grassy Shack Camp and before Manning Camp. It was obvious people had not gone past the Grassy Shack since the storms; I love it when that happens. The only set of small cat prints I saw were in the mud and I was struck by how round the toe pad prints were. To my eye not very feral cat like. But that is just probably wishful thinking.

I enjoyed the trip loads. Thanks to Mark for getting me out there, and to Pika for suggesting it to him. Arizona truly has a lot of jems to visit.

sK

Our Picasa computer is having conniptions so...I may post a few more late when the dust settles on that.

Note to Heather: I would think about the Superstition Mountains in late Feb/Mar. In a good rain year they are supposed to be beautiful. Never been, but they are near the top of my list.


Edited by skcreidc (01/03/12 09:32 AM)
Edit Reason: note to Heather

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#159527 - 01/03/12 10:04 AM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: skcreidc]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
The top of Mica Mountain is pretty neat country. When I was working there, we would do an early morning patrol that ringed the summit, from Manning Camp to Reef of Rock, the fire tower, and Helen's Dome.

That summer taught me that I was a hiker, not a horseman, among many other things.

Just curious about ocelots - are they present in the area? I mentioned feral cats, because when I worked there, there were supposed to be feral cattle lurking around Rincon Peak, allegedly very stealthy. Must have been true, because we never saw any.....:)

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#159530 - 01/03/12 12:14 PM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: oldranger]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
OR, definitely a cool area to hang around in. As far as Ocelot's are concerned, they are apparently found in Southern Texas and occasionally in Southern Arizona:

Rare Ocelot sighting in Arizona

All the cows were stealthy; there were the usual signs...but we only saw one and it left the scene in a hurry. They must get branded regularly laugh

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#159540 - 01/03/12 01:44 PM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: skcreidc]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
Cool! Thanks for the information. Sounds like vigilant retired NPS people should mount an ocelot patrol in the Rincons....

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#159596 - 01/04/12 01:32 PM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: oldranger]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
OR, after searching further for GOOD photos of Ocelot footprints, I don't think that is what I found. The round toe pad shape doesn't jive. I will have to continue looking. Interesting stuff though; jaguars and ocelots in Southern Arizona. Pretty cool stuff.

Ocelot sighting youtube video

A little long, but interesting. These are beautiful cats and I would love to see one in the wild.

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#159599 - 01/04/12 01:55 PM Re: Saguaro N.P. [Re: skcreidc]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
Southern Arizona is interesting country biologically (well, actually it is interesting all kinds of ways). Quite a few Mexican/tropical species make it over the border, especially in the Huachucas or Chiricahuas - thick billed parrots (which centuries ago were as far north as the Verde Valley) and scarlet macaws.

I have excavated a really nice basket at Canyon de Chelly that contained scarlet macaw feathers around a ceremonial ear of corn - traded there from points to the south...


Edited by oldranger (01/04/12 01:57 PM)

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