Mt Wassen hike, Tucson,AZ

Howdee all,

Last week, while still camped at Gilbert Ray, we hiked to the top of Mt. Wassen.

We started at the Kings Canyon Trailhead, which is on the right, just beyond the Sonoran Desert Museum.

Distance Round Trip
7 miles

Trailhead Elevation
2850 feet

Elevation Gain
1785 feet

Avg Time Round Trip
5 - 6 hours

   We didn't intend to hike to the peak since we will be doing a sunset hike there this week.

So we started our hike thru the wash..listening for birds.

Cactus

Wrens, Gila woodpeckers, Curve bill thrashers, Black throated sparrows were the predominate birds.

A spider web sparkling in the morning sun

Hiking the wash..…Cactus nestled into a rock creviceSaguaro Cactus forestBarrel type Cactus growing out of Rock..

How the heck do they do that?As we approach this dryed up water fall area..we see small seeps of water..

where a lone Junco goes to sip..       We find Petroglyphs

And this Jasmine scented plant in the same area.Another Cactus growing out of Petroglyph rockA Costas hummingbird hangs out nearby     The view behind us…

As we climb higherAnd higher..

and finally in front of us the path looks as though its at a peak…maybe we will see Tucson views from there.And we do…

Tucson from the crest of the trail   From here we decided to take a different trail back …and since it pasts the short trail to Wassen Peak.

We went to the Peak..

for more Tucson Views

And views to the West We hike down another trail..passing lichen covered rock

We watch White throated swifts fly around us…As we take the trail back down…we see distant views of the Sonoran Desert museum.

And we dream of the Ice tea we will get there when we finish the hike..Another Barrel type cactus..growing on rock..

We see many Ladderback woodpeckers on this trail..

this ones head glistens in the afternoon sun..The final approach to the car..

and refreshments..Another beautiful Hike in Sonoran National Park West..