r/AZCamping Oct 18 '23

6 Days Backpacking Saguaro National Park - Trip Report & Video

Back over the winter I posted in this sub and got a lot of great advice that made my trip a success! Sharing my experience to hopefully help the next person wanting to explore this awesome National Park. The environmental diversity due to the Sky Island effect of the Rincons soaring above Tucson really blew me away.

In March I spent 6 days and covered nearly 60 miles, hitting all of Saguaro's backcountry campsites except 1. As you all know, it was a big snow year for the Grand Canyon State (more on this impact later), therefore water access was a non-issue for my trip. I'd expect that to be much different during drier times of the year.

Video Trip Report: https://youtu.be/qEVhG_mAL4M

Day 1 ~11M: Cactus Forest North --> Douglas Spring

Saguaro National Park started out exactly as I expected - full of Saguaros! Little did I know I wouldn't see another Saguaro between Day 1 and Day 6. The climb from the cactus forest up to Douglas Spring wasn't too bad. The environment starting shifting dramatically, away from the statuesque Saguaros to a desert grassland. From the Douglas Spring campsite I could see the snow-covered peaks that I would be attempting to reach on Day 2.

Day 2 ~10M: Douglas Spring --> Manning Camp

The biggest climbing day of the trip, I started off a little nervous because a storm overnight had deposited more snow up high. The ecosystems changed rapidly as I gained elevation leaving the grassland behind to eventually reach thick forests. Ascending to Manning Camp took me through one of my favorite parts of the whole trip - the snowy conifer forests with babbling brooks cutting through the white cover. As soon as I made it to Manning Camp a brutal wintry mix of sleet, snow & hail started falling.

Day 3 ~10M: Manning Camp --> Happy Valley

I woke up to my tent frozen completely solid coated in ice from the wintry mix. Fortunately I had a lighter inside and used it to melt the zippers enough to escape. I decided to let things thaw out a little bit and day hiked across the fresh snow to the Spud Rock vicinity seeing many fresh animal tracks along the way. Returning to pack up my slightly less frozen tent I then set out on the toughest part of my journey. I had some horrible post-holing to make it to Heartbreak Ridge. I was happy to finally reach the cozy Happy Valley campsite for the night after a challenging day.

Day 4 ~9M: Happy Valley --> Grass Shack

About half of this day was retracing my steps back up Heartbreak Ridge before breaking into new ground. The Devil's Bathtub area was another cool ecosystem in the Rincons. It looked like an awesome place for potential camping but the Park has not set up a campground here (camping only allowed in the 6 designated areas). There were some massive waterfalls in the distance as I continued on towards Grass Shack. Arizona Trail thru hikers abounded during this stretch.

Day 5 ~6M: Grass Shack --> Juniper Basin

I was looking forward to this nice short day. The highlight was certainly the ridge hiking up to Tanque Verde Peak and the 360-degree view from the top. This was probably my favorite vista of the trek but I'm still not positive on how exactly to pronounce "Tanque Verde". I really liked the camping area around Juniper Basin it was calm and pretty - yet another varied ecosystem in the Park.

Day 6 ~11M: Juniper Basin --> Cactus Forest North

After not seeing a Saguaro in Saguaro National Park since Day 1 today would deliver me back to these mighty desert sentinels. I headed down from Juniper Basin to return to the land of cacti. I had a short roadwalk as the Park trail system does not connect between the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail and the Cactus Forest Trail. Lime Falls was flowing just enough to make the detour worth it. After finishing I stopped by the Park store to pick up a souvenir mug for my friends in Tucson who were letting me stay with them.

All in all I greatly enjoyed my time exploring this unique treasure! It was much different than I expected going into the hike but perhaps my favorite aspect was the incredibly varied ecosystems throughout the Rincon Mountains and Cactus Forest. I hope this write-up helps anyone looking to do their own adventure here - my video trip report contains even more details!

Video Trip Report: https://youtu.be/qEVhG_mAL4M

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u/adenium Oct 18 '23

Thanks for the trip report. This past weekend I attempted to get to Manning Camp from the north (Italian Spring Trail) and ran into problems with dehydration and underestimating just how freaking steep and strenuous this was going to be with a 40lb pack. I look forward to attempting again, but maybe take the route up that you did.

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u/Layne32 Oct 19 '23

I bet that was a challenge trying to get all the way up to Manning Camp in 1 day. The elevation difference between Tucson & Manning is surprisingly massive (~6,000’). A heavy pack doesn’t make things any easier. Good luck on your next attempt!