Ladybugs on Florida peak
Written: August 23, 2024
I left my house in Tucson at 11:00 AM, drove I-10 to Highway 83, then headed south to the Gardner Canyon (FSR 92) road turn off. Then it was on to the junction where the road to Aliso Springs (FSR 4084) appears on the right. We turn onto that road and drive 4 miles to where it ends at Aliso Springs.
This road is terrible and getting worse after every rain. It can only be driven with a serious 4x4. People with a not-so-serious 4x4 can probably drive 3 miles or so, then park before a particularly bad section that climbs steeply out of a drainage. Every person must be their own judge of all this. I drive it with a modified Toyota 4x4 and find myself on 3 of my 4 wheels on several occasions.
The driving takes me exactly 2 hours total. 45 minutes of this is spent driving the last 4 miles to Aliso Springs. If I was just driving to one of the Gardner Canyon trailheads I would get there in just over 1 hour and 15 minutes, which makes this area pretty convenient. In the future, when I hike this trails, I think I would be well served to take camping gear, camp at the trailhead after the hike, and drive home in the morning.
A note for some future trip. Tomasi says that if you hike about 1.4 miles up the streambed from Aliso Springs you will find yourself at a waterfall with Columbine and a 3 foot deep pool of water.
The trail is rarely used and overgrown in places. For a person with experience, this poses no issue, but neophyte hikers might be confused and somewhat anxious in places. Next time I may bring some pruning shears and maybe even a small pruning saw and do some work in some of the worst places.
I have hiked this trail at least 4 times in the past few years and I have never encountered another person. I have never even seen evidence that anyone other than myself ever hike this trail, though I doubt that this is true. The difficulty of getting to the trailhead discourages most people and few are likely to add the 2.5 miles or so to hike from Melendrez Pass. So, solitude is almost guaranteed. I do see bear sign, and the area seems like ideal bear habitat. I am surprised that I have not yet seen a bear.
From the trail junction at the 0.3 mile point, you hike around the right side of a small rocky hill that guards the entrance to this part of Sawmill canyon, then the trail contours along a good ways above the canyon bottom. Then when the canyon makes a turn to the right (heading west), the trail drops to meet the stream (which is often running) and changes character significantly. You are now hiking in nice forest, often alongside of a stream. When the trail crosses the stream to the left and begins switchbacking up the hillside, it is only a short ways to Sawmill Spring where you will encounter a cylindrical metal tub and a concrete box with a metal lid. The system is out of order and the tub only contains a small amount of water, perhaps only accumulation from recent rains. Another project for some ambitious soul.
In the nice forest before I got to the spring, the first drops begain to fall. I got my umbrella out, and in short order the sky let loose. I continued on to a flat area below the spring, then hunkered down under my umbrella. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled -- and at one point was close enough to make me jump. I felt fairly safe low in the forest, but lightning will do whatever it wants to do. I got one dose of hail and it rained good and hard for about 30 minutes. I was wet below my waist and a bit chilled, but had some extra clothese in my pack that I waited until the rain had almost stopped to dig out. The rest of the day was cloudy, but with no rain where I was.
Above the spring (at just below 7000 elevation), the trail switchbacks and climbs 1000 feet to where it circles around the south side of Florida peak. Along the way it passes through one almost level forested park-like area and a lot of nice forest besides that.
The peak is almost exactly 1/2 mile east of Florida Saddle. It is worth noting, for those who may not be paying attention, that Florida saddle is not on the main crest of the Santa Rita mountains. Florida peak is about 1 mile east of the main crest (which does in fact run nearly north-south). Florida saddle is between the main crest and Florida peak. All of this is important when you are admiring the places you have hiked to from locations down in the lowlands.
To get to Florida peak, you can depart from the Sawmill trail almost anywhere your heart desires and just "have at it" bushwacking your way to the top. The best place is probably the highest point on the Sawmill trail at 8000+ on the ridge west of the peak. With stamina and determination, any bad decision can be made to work.
The view from the peak was nice. It was also infested with ridiculous quantities of ladybugs. I have seen them in the Santa Rita summit areas many times before and have yet to hear a good explanation for what that is all about. I didn't linger on the summit too long. It was 4:00 PM and some nearby lightning started up shortly after I got to the summit. I headed down straight west to where I expected to meet the trail and was not disappointed. I was back to the "car" by 7PM. So my time each way was 3 hours. 6 hours total.
6 hours of hiking and 4 hours of driving. It all worked out fine, but next time I will camp at the trailhead after the hike.
Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org