{"id":29194,"date":"2025-12-10T20:44:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T03:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=29194"},"modified":"2025-12-20T17:58:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T00:58:42","slug":"urban-wilderness-interface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=29194","title":{"rendered":"Urban-Wilderness Interface"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

I’m in transition between major phases of my life \u2013 in shock, depressed, functioning at a minimal level. Needing solitude, peace, and quiet to plumb the depths of my loss, not knowing how or when I’ll emerge and the next phase will begin \u2013 expecting only that it will come slowly and gradually.<\/p>\n

A physical therapy appointment had been made long ago at a stand-alone facility in Tucson. I was hoping to do a challenging hike before the Tuesday appointment, with some pain afterward so the therapist would see how bad it can get. Expecting crowds on trails near the city, I waited until Monday for the hike.<\/p>\n

I’ve visited Tucson regularly since moving to southwestern New Mexico 19 years ago \u2013 but knowing the trails would be heavily traveled, I’d never hiked there. The nearest trails start in the foothills of the Santa Catalina range on the northern edge of the city, via about 10 different trailheads established from east to west. Tucson would be nothing without this spectacular, 6,000-foot-tall wall of rock at its north, constantly changing color throughout the day.<\/p>\n

I chose a trail that my brief online research suggested would be less popular. A glance at the map showed that it starts in a canyon at just over 3,000 feet, then climbs up the east ridge to a saddle before traversing farther up the ridge into the high country. I paid no further attention to distances, elevations, or neighboring trails, assuming that urban trails would be well signed, and I would just go as far as possible in the available time. My hope was to reach pine habitat \u2013 ideally ponderosa \u2013 but starting at 3,000 feet there really wasn’t much chance of that.<\/p>\n

The high in town was forecast to reach the mid-70s, with clear skies. Trailhead parking, in this affluent neighborhood of contemporary mansions on gated streets, was the most deluxe I’d ever seen, with freshly marked spaces for about 40 vehicles and a brass drinking fountain at the entrance. At 9:45 on Monday morning it was almost 90 percent full, so I assume on weekends most hikers have to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"Driving <\/a>
Driving north through Tucson toward the Catalinas, with rock formation left of center <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The city ends abruptly at the back yards of these mansions, which directly abut the National Forest. But it’s not just open space \u2013 it’s a federally-designated wilderness area, right next to these rich folks’ homes, where a sign claims that bighorn sheep populations are declining due to home building, and gas-powered leaf blowers and other implements spread stressful noise deep into supposedly wild habitat.<\/p>\n

I’d never seen such a sharp, stark border between the natural and the artificial. The dissonance increased as I climbed the canyon and both military and commercial airplanes roared overhead. Our homes, our pets, our transport, our recreation \u2013 everything we do is at war with the wildlife in our natural habitats.<\/p>\n

\"Sign <\/a>
Sign a few yards from nearest mansion <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2783\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Urban-wildland <\/a>
Urban-wildland interface, wilderness on left <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Nearest <\/a>
Nearest house behind wilderness sign <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Saguaro <\/a>
Saguaro forest <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

My hikes in Arizona near home range between about 4,000 and 10,000 feet. At the low end it’s similar to the Mojave Desert, and at the high end it’s similar to my local mountains, but with subtle differences I appreciate more and more over time.<\/p>\n

In this lower Sonoran habitat, farther west, the giant saguaro cacti represented the most dramatic difference, but I also quickly found unfamiliar acacias and riparian plants as the trail meandered between boulders up the lower canyon. The trail is named for a rock formation high on the western ridge, and eventually I spotted it looming thousands of feet above, as I passed a pool of water and a tall, solitary cottonwood, and the trail began climbing out of the canyon bottom. By that point, I’d passed four or five other hikers heading back from their short morning walks \u2013 none of them talkative.<\/p>\n

\"Some <\/a>
Some kind of tree acacia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting annual that would follow me everywhere <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2800\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Crossing <\/a>
Crossing the wash <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2802\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"IMG_2804\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Only <\/a>
Only cottonwood I saw <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Zoomed <\/a>
Zoomed in on first glimpse of Finger Rock <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Almost everything I do now evokes painful thoughts \u2013 rock formations evoke painful thoughts, writing a dispatch about my hike evokes painful thoughts. This was an incredibly spectacular landscape, and I tried to enjoy it, but ultimately couldn’t. I was just going through the motions to stay in shape.<\/p>\n

Climbing out of the canyon bottom, the trail fell under the shadow of the rimrock cliffs above, and stayed in that shadow for most of the way up. I’d taken off my sweater below in the sun and was cold now, but from here on, the trail became incredibly steep and rocky \u2013 basically a series of mostly natural rock steps alternating with long, steep slabs of tilted bedrock. I passed a talkative guy and we exchanged multiple confirmations about what a beautiful day it was, what a beautiful place, how lucky we were, etc.<\/p>\n

But the steep traverse below those gloomy cliffs was brutal and seemed to go on forever, rounding outlying shoulder after shoulder, with me hoping each would be the last.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/a>
The dark, chilly climb begins <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"One <\/a>
One of hundreds of switchbacks <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"One <\/a>
One of many steep, tilted slabs of bedrock <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View from trail in lower canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2820\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching the first of many shoulders below the ridge <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Finger <\/a>
Finger rock at upper left <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Brief <\/a>
Brief stretch of easy, sunny trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2830\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Just <\/a>
Just keep climbing and traversing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A few flowers in the cold shadows <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yep, <\/a>
Yep, that’s my trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2839\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2840\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"If <\/a>
If there wasn’t trash, it wouldn’t be Arizona <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2846\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yep, <\/a>
Yep, that’s my trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Closer <\/a>
Closer to Finger Rock, but still more shoulders to traverse <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2860\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Finally I got high enough for oaks, and eventually I reached a sunny ledge overlooking a funnel-like interior basin where side canyons converged with the main one. I stopped for a snack, and another guy caught up and passed me.<\/p>\n

\"First <\/a>
First oak of the day <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2867\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More and more like Lord of the Rings <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sacred <\/a>
Sacred datura <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bears <\/a>
Bears using this trail? <\/div> <\/div>
\"Beautiful, <\/a>
Beautiful, forbidding rimrock cliffs above <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More bedrock slab trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ledge <\/a>
Ledge overlooking interior basin <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2880\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sheer <\/a>
Sheer dropoff of hundreds of feet below ledge <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Continuing on the trail, I saw my first juniper of the day, then a tall pinyon pine above in a north-facing alcove. These, which you’d normally find above 6,000 feet at this latitude, emphasized how low the trailhead had been. I lost all hope of reaching ponderosas.<\/p>\n

The trail curved back into a shady, semi-forested cove where I had a good view of the opposite slope, across which\u00a0 I assumed my trail would continue traversing up the canyon. The hiker that passed me had worn a bright blue shirt but I couldn’t see him ahead and wondered where he’d disappeared to. And soon I was at an unexpected trail junction.<\/p>\n

The canyon trail continued left, but a branch trail went right to a saddle, only a hundred yards and a few dozen feet higher. I thought I remembered the name of the branch trail from the sign at my trailhead, hours ago. Could this become a loop? I sure hoped so \u2013 I’d been dreading that steep, rocky return on my hurt knee.<\/p>\n

\"Finally <\/a>
Finally high enough for junipers <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"And <\/a>
And a very tall pinyon pine <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
<\/a>
West wall of canyon I just ascended, with Finger Rock hidden at top <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interior <\/a>
Interior basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Main <\/a>
Main canyon continues <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail cuts back into shady cove <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2896\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2898\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Branch <\/a>
Branch trail continues to saddle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

At the saddle, the trail surface became smooth, packed dirt, and on the open grassy slopes below I could see it making long, gentle switchbacks. I decided to chance it being a loop back to my trailhead. At worst, if it led to a different trailhead, I might have to walk a few miles on city streets to get back to the truck.<\/p>\n

I shortly met a young woman who confirmed this would return to my trailhead. She asked me about the trail in the other canyon, and I warned her \u2013 I wonder if she continued that way after reaching the saddle?<\/p>\n

I met several others on the way down, including a stocky, crusty woman about my age who warned me that this trail also got steep and rocky toward the bottom. At least it was all in the sun. She was easily the oldest woman I’ve ever met doing a hike this difficult, alone.<\/p>\n

\"City <\/a>
City from saddle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Outcrop <\/a>
Outcrop above saddle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View north from outcrop above saddle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"My <\/a>
My new trail meandering down open slopes <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2910\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View over the new canyon I’m descending <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2922\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Many, <\/a>
Many, many more switchbacks <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2924\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pretty <\/a>
Pretty grasses <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail crew stash? <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2934\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2935\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Encelia <\/a>
Encelia farinosa, friend from the Mojave <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Reaching <\/a>
Reaching the saguaro zone <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2943\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ocotillo\" <\/a>
Ocotillo <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2945\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2946Pano\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Dozens of switchbacks later, and more than 1,500 feet lower, I reached the steep and rocky part. At this point I was favoring my hurt knee and lowering myself slowly over each rock step. I’m calling them steps \u2013 mostly it was stepping down from embedded rock to embedded rock \u2013 but trailbuilders had put a huge amount of work into this urban wilderness trail, building steps in many places where natural slopes were just too steep for human feet.<\/p>\n

I assumed I’d already gone at least four miles to reach the saddle, and my overall distance would be about eight miles. I was exhausted and sore when I found myself only a few hundred feet above the foothill mansions. The trail dropped into the level sand of a broad dry wash, and all the bootprints appeared to lead down the wash.<\/p>\n

\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back up a steep stretch of trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2949\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2953\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2955\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2961\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"IMG_2963\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View through a low point in west ridge, toward Finger Rock in next canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2967\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mansions, <\/a>
Mansions, left of center <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2974\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail descending toward wash <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Standing in the wash, I didn’t see a continuation of the trail on the other side, so I just followed the tracks. And of course, like in the Mojave, I was soon clambering over boulders and forcing my way through dense riparian vegetation. But the tracks continued to lead me on.<\/p>\n

Eventually the boulders became car-sized, then house-sized, and I had to make detours through patches of riparian jungle and lower myself over dry waterfalls. Then I saw a mansion, a couple dozen feet above me, then a bridge crossing the wash, with another mansion above the opposite bank. What the hell had I got myself into?<\/p>\n

The retaining walls below the houses and the bridge were all vertical and twenty feet high, so I crept under the viaduct. There was a crumbling, mesquite-choked bank on the other side that I could just barely climb, so I forced my way up it and found myself in someone’s driveway, on a street lined with contemporary mansions. I was looking pretty shabby, and recalled the cleaning lady who’d knocked on the wrong door in a suburban neighborhood back in Indiana, and was shot and killed by the homeowner. He was released, because they have a law allowing homeowners to use lethal force when feeling threatened. I knew this was a gated neighborhood and wondered how deep I was inside the gate.<\/p>\n

As I trudged west up the street, totally exposed in this expensively xeriscaped neighborhood, I was approached by a car that slowed down to check me out. I smiled and waved, and the driver continued past. A few hundred yards further, I spotted the gate in the distance. It was opening, and an elderly couple walked through. They crossed the street in front of me, pointedly avoiding my eyes, as the gate began to close behind them. It was closed long before I reached it, so I darted furtively into someone else’s side yard and dropped over their retaining wall into the public street. Ah, the urban-wildland interface!<\/p>\n

It turns out the trail did resume across that track-filled wash \u2013 I was just misled by all the bootprints in the sand. Either way, this hike was at the limit of what I can do now with my knee injury, so I’m still facing a lot of rehab work ahead.<\/p>\n

\"Following <\/a>
Following tracks down the wash <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2980\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Too <\/a>
Too high, must detour around <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wash <\/a>
Wash getting tricky to descend <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Denser <\/a>
Denser and denser <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mansion <\/a>
Mansion above left <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bridge <\/a>
Bridge ahead <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_2987\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s route <\/div> <\/div>
\"Urban-wilderness <\/a>
Urban-wilderness interface <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m in transition between major phases of my life \u2013 in shock, depressed, functioning at a minimal level. Needing solitude, peace, and quiet to plumb the depths of my loss, not knowing how or when I’ll emerge and the next phase will begin \u2013 expecting only that it will come slowly and gradually. A physical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166,49,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catalina","category-hikes","category-southeast-arizona"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2784.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29194"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29583,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29194\/revisions\/29583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}