Because the Tucson temperatures have been steadily rising over the last week or so, and we were getting a late start, we chose a relatively short 3.9 mile loop trail Friday through Saguaro National Park East. Unfortunately, we found a chunk of our loop was closed for renovation which left us winging it without a plan.
The desert was looking especially green and several types of yellow flowers sprinkled the trail side. We followed the Cactus Forest Trail, enjoying the wide, flat path. Eventually we reached the remains of the Cactus Shack. Originally a storage shed used by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) in the 1930s, it was converted into a ranger residence in 1936.
As morning slid into afternoon, we marched on, driven by the promise of historic lime kiln remains up ahead. This unplanned trail was rewarding us with an unexpected walk through bits of park history.
The trail continued on, but it was time for us to turn around and look for a shady spot for lunch. Eventually, we dragged ourselves back to the truck, hot, tired and running low on water. Reg pulled out his phone to check our mileage – 6.7 miles. Ugh!
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