Picacho Peak is a unique geological formation in Southern Arizona that has been used as a navigational landmark throughout history. Some of the first written records that describe the formation were made in the late 1600s by the Father Kino and in the 1700s by Juan Bautista de Anza.
As Southern Arizona developed, two main routes passed Picacho Peak - an east-west route from St. Louis to California and a north-south route from Tucson to Phoenix to the Pacific Coast. The north-south route later became part of the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route.
During the Civil War, the South proclaimed Tucson the Capital of the Western District of the Confederate Arizona Territory and the Confederate Army wanted to control the trails around Picacho Peak to keep the Union from moving supplies through the area.
On the other hand, the Union wanted to capture Tucson and drive the Confederates back eastward.
While an army of Union soldiers was being assembled in California, an advanced cavalry troop was sent to scout the area around Picacho Peak to determine if there were any Confederate Outpost in the area. The Union troop was given specific instructions not to engage any Confederate soldiers that they may encounter.
On April 15, 1862, Lieutenant James Barrett and twelve men of the Union 1st California Cavalry were conducting a sweep of the Picacho Peak area when they discovered a small Confederate outpost. Disobeying orders, Lt. Barrett charged the outpost without dismounting, only to ride into an ambush. Lt. Barrett and two other were killed and three others were wounded before the survivors could withdraw and eventually make their way back to California. This blunder cost the Union any chance for a surprise attack on Tucson.
One month later, a 2300-man column of Union soldiers advanced on Tucson and the Confederate soldiers surrendered without firing a shot. The Union soldiers then continued on eastward, only to be attacked at Apache Pass by Cochise and 500 Chiricahua Apache Warriors. This battle was one of the first times that the Army used heavy artillery (cannons) against Native Americans, causing Cochise and his warriors to flee into the hills. Cochise and his warriors had never witnessed cannon fire before and Cochise later told an Army Officer that "we were winning the fight until you fired your wagons at us."
Various monuments and markers have been installed at the base of Picacho Peak to commemorate the westernmost battle of the Civil War and to recognizes the men that died in the fight.
Today, most people visit Picacho Peak to see the proliferation of wild flowers in the spring, or to watch a reenactment of the westernmost Civil War Battle between the Union and Confederate Armies.
However, I came to finish a climb that I started about 40 years ago.
I first had the idea to climb Picacho Peak when I read a vague article about a trail to the peak. The article mentioned that the trail was not well marked or maintained, but if you were not afraid of heights there were some cables installed in the steepest sections of the trail toward the top of the mountain.
So, early on a Saturday morning I started the climb and reached the saddle without any problems, but then I lost the trail and after several attempts I could not figure out how to reach the described cables or the trail to the top. Reluctantly, I gave up and went down the mountain vowing to return someday and finish the climb. (At that time, little did I realize that it would be about 40 years before I returned!)
This time as I hiked up the mountain I was amazed at how well the trail was marked and I noted that cables had been installed in several locations before I reached the saddle. Along the way the views were spectacular and the flowers were just starting to bloom along the trail.
After reaching the saddle, I found that the trial went down the other side of the mountain, not up as I had previously assumed. After descending a steep incline several hundred feet with the aid of cables, the trail turned eastward along the side of the mountain that contained a number of large Saguaro Cacti.
Then, the fun began! The trail to the top was very steep and fortunately there were cables installed in the really difficult sections of the climb. (The pictures are not an accurate representation of the trail steepness.) I met some hikers at the first really steep section of the trail and they told me that they had decided not to attempt the climb and they planned to follow an alternate trail back to the parking lot.
Arriving at the top, I was surprised that I was the only one there, along with a Rock Wren that kept following me around hoping that I would share some of my lunch. From the top I had a good view of the campground where I left the trailer and I could also see the suburbs of Tucson to the south.
Going back down was much easier and it was a great feeling to finally complete Bucket List Item #00003!
No comments:
Post a Comment