Days 11 – 13: Saguaro to Mt. Lemmon

The last few days have been full of amazing views and tough climbs.

Two days ago we hiked through Saguaro National Park: from the low elevation Saguaro cacti forest, up through the higher elevation grasslands, and to the wooded pine summits of the Rincons. The total elevation gain was about 5,500 ft. We then dropped down another 2,600 ft to a camp spot a few miles outside of the park.

Mica Peak in the Rincon Mountains is 8,600 ft tall, an elevation that I do think is high enough to feel the effects of lower oxygen levels (or at least that’s what I told myself as I stood on the side of the trail and gasped for air).

I saw several antelope squirrels Ammospermophilus harrisii in the rocky grassland sections. They look like a rough-hewn Wild West version of a chipmunk. Every time one scurried off into a rock crevice I half expected to see a minnie revolver strapped around its waste.

I was also surprised by an Abert’s squirrel Sciurus aberti, who kept a close eye on my granola bar from a nearby tree. The ears on those critters are impressive. All I could think of was a rebel grey squirrel who defied society, grew out its hair, and ran off to join a 90’s boy band.

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The next night we camped on a saddle between two peaks, before making our way through a beatiful canyon and up to Mt Lemmon.

The hike to Mt. Lemmon was another 4,500 feet of elevation gain, with a beautiful section of trail that traversed through a canyon and up to the aptly named “Wilderness of Rock”.

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There were indeed a lot of rocks.

It felt like another planet. Huge spires of boulders rose up all around us. They looked like smoothed pebbles you might find on the beech, except they were absolutely massive and balanced on top of each other.

That night we camped in a high-use area within a Ponderosa Pine forest. Like most high-use areas it was a beautiful place, and I could see why many people are drawn there.

I woke up to Vance yelling something my sleepy brain couldn’t comprehend. I was a bit cold, even in my 15 degree sleeping bag, and didn’t want to unzip the tent to see what was going on.

“You okay?” I asked, hoping he could hear me through the cozy fabric which was covering my head entirely.

“THERE IS A SKUNK STEALING MY PACK”

I decided it was best to stay in my sleeping bag.

Hoping that Vance knew enough not to agitate the skunk too much, I listened to the scene unfolding outside.

From what I could gather, the skunk eventually gave up trying to drag his pack away and ran off into a ditch.

Vance stored his food in a “smell proof bag” (weather or not these work is questionable), and he had forgotten to take out a few granola bars from his pack.

I also suspect that the skunk had done something similar before, and successfully gotten food. Normal skunk behavior does not include approaching within two feet of a sleeping human.

It is important to store food properly in the backcountry to protect both your supplies, local wildlife, and in this case the scent of your gear.

It’s probably the only way a thru-hiker could smell worse.

The next morning all I could say was “Thank GOD that skunk didn’t spray”.

“Wait….” Vance sounded a bit alarmed as he looked at me. “Skunks actually do that?”

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