Day 10 Saguaro National Park

Day 10- Sagauro National Park

I got up and packed early knowing I had a long day ahead. Within .2 I crossed into Sagauro National Park. The gentle giants continued to surround me as I began my steady ascent up towards Mica mountain. I started the day in pants hoping the coverage would stop the ever increasing leg tan I was getting but within an hour the heat got to me and I pulled them off over my shoes and stuffed them into my bag. Looks like I’ll have to keep up with the sunscreen.

The ascent was steady but tiring. I knew I had 5000 feet of climb ahead of me so I took lots of micro breaks to get my heavy pack off for a minute or two. I climbed and made it to Grass shack camp ground which was very nice and tidy. I took a minute to fill up water at the little creek and use the pit toilet (so nice to have the privacy!)

I trudged and trudged, the feet turning into miles and suddenly I was in the pines. It was cool to see the landscape change and start to look more familiar. I passed several tree cutters taking down some of these tall pines. I made it to Manning campsite and knew I was almost there! By mid-afternoon I reached the turn off for the summit of Mica. I dropped my bag and ran up the half mile to tag Mica. There wasn’t much of a view but I was at elevation.

I gave a little dance and sent Eric a victory text message but quickly headed back to my pack. Now I just had to get out of the park and find a campsite. Luckily within a couple miles of the park boundary I found a spot and stopped. Tired but statisfied with my work that day. I was surprised at how few people I saw in the park, just a half dozen weekend hikers on their way down and some tree cutters. I was unfortunate not to have been doing this on a weekend. I also was surprised at how similar this felt to Miller Peak, the first day I had on trail. I fell asleep easily with minimal wind disruption.