Description: We love flowers and raise orchids, iris, verbena, lilies, and other varieties of gorgeous blossoms at our home in California. However, since we are now living part-time in Arizona, we’ve learned to appreciate and respect the cacti, succulents, and other gems which comprise the flora of the Southwest high desert. Therefore, Picacho Peak seemed a likely destination for a short stay during our
Christmas runaway -- a place to enjoy the desert flora and fauna in December!
Picacho translates from Spanish into "peak or point;" it is, therefore, evident how this prominent landmark, visible for miles in the Sonoran Desert, received its name. Located at an altitude of 3,400 feet and about 35 miles northwest of Tucson, the peak rises 1,500 feet straight up!
The summit of Picacho Peak contains a large block of Pre-Cambrian granite, and the peak itself appears much like a volcanic neck. However, it is actually the tilted, eroded, and faulted remains of a sequence of lava flows.
We were looking for a good exercise session and chose the 3.1 mile
Sunset Vista Trail for our hike. This 3.1-mile trek to the peak (elevated at 3,374 feet) provided marvelous vistas and good examples of the beauty of Arizona’s winter desert. Actually, there are five trails to choose from, with varying degrees of difficulty and length, from a half-mile round-trip loop to the 3.1-mile trail we enjoyed. Jack rabbits, coyotes, javelina, deer, lizards, and snakes all inhabit the area, but the only wildlife we saw was a few ground squirrels.
We saw good specimens of acacia, mesquite, and
paloverde trees, as well as lots of Ocotillo,
cholla, Crucifixion thorn, prickly pear, and Saguaro Cactus. The trail was excellent – well-maintained and marked clearly. We are
not young, but we did not find the trail terribly difficult.
I’m told that each March the park sponsors a reenactment of the
Battle of Picacho Pass, complete with individuals who wear the clothing and live the lifestyle of soldiers of the 1860s. Since it was December, it gave us a good possibility for a spring visit -- maybe an
Easter Runaway!!
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