Picacho Peak

When traveling along I-10 near Tucson you cannot miss the prominent 1,500 foot Picacho Peak.  It has been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times. One of the first written records was in the 1700s by the Anza Expedition as it passed through the area.

Since we had one more day to kill before our reservations in Tucson we decided to stay an extra night at the campground.  In the morning Bill said we should go to the visitor's center and pay for another night, check out the historical markers in the park and take a "short hike".  We headed off on the motorcycle, took care of the "rent", and headed to the markers. 

On April 15, 1862 the westernmost battle of the civil war took place all around Picacho Peak.  It was fought between a 12 man Union cavalry patrol from California and a 10 man party of Confederate pickets from Tucson. The Union troopers commanded by Lt. James Barret were conducting a sweep of the area looking for Confederates reported to be nearby.  He was ordered not to engage them, but to wait for the main column.  However, Lt. Barrett led his men into a dense thicket single file and the Confederates attacked and then moved deeper into the thicket.  Barrett followed and captured three of the Confederate soldiers but was killed in the process.  The battle continued for 90 minutes with two more Union fatalities and three troopers were wounded.  The Union troops without their leader eventually retreated and the Confederate soldiers returned to Tucson to warn of the approaching Union army. 

Every year in March they reenact the battle at Picacho Peak campground (which is this weekend) and it is quite the event.  We were a little under impressed with the pagentry of this particular battle (22 men, 90 minutes?) but we have since discovered that they reenact several of the battles of the southwest at the same time.

After our history lesson we headed to the trail head.  Our short hike turned into Hunter Trail with the description of  "2 miles; difficult; begins on the north side from Barrett Loop to top of peak; steep and twisting, with steel cables (gloves are recommended)." We did not bring any water with us and decided we would just hike until we got thirsty and then come down.  About 1/2 mile up the trail two very nice men on there way down gave us a bottle of water, so we continued on.

The flowers were beautiful and provided a good excuse to rest stop and admire them on the steep trail. After talking with the hikers coming down the trail we decided to hike just to the saddle and skip the cables and catwalks on the last climb of 500 feet in elevation (over about 3/4 mile) since we were only prepared for a "short hike".

We visited at the saddle with a young couple from Philadelphia who were enjoying the weather.  They headed on up and we turned to hike back down the trail.  I am happy to report that my knee did very well on this hike.

Today's 3 Fun Facts:

     1.  The Confederate troops withdrew from Tucson soon after this battle and the Union troops took control without firing a shot.

     2.  We should avoid any trail that has a section called the "Death Chute

     3.  Don't believe Bill when he says we are going on a short hike.