Saguaro uncompleted portion of trail

imported
#1

Hey there, one more question, does anybody know the status of the flagged portion of the unfinished trail through Saguaro? I talked to a park ranger that said it would be completed in April, does anybody know if it’s hikeable yet?

Tamra

#2

It was a cake walk in December when I went through. There was trail north of Rincon creek that I didn’t see last year. Then you just walk through some big sandy washes. Then a little dirt road, then sandy washes. It’s private property though and there was one camera on the trail that was motion activated. I walked behind it to not get photographed. The rangers at the Saguaro visiter center were adamant that I should not leave the park and use the AZT, south of Madrona. They said the X9 ranchers would call the police. Just remember to follow the power lines to the Madrona station. I was wandering a little when I was going SOBO trying to find a good way across the last big wash, and connect to trail.

Guino

#3

Forgot to say that the Madrona station is abandoned, and is not accessible by the public from a road. It seems the X-9 people blocked access to cars there too. The station I was speaking of was the main park one. It would be really rare to see any official rangers at Madrona that weren’t just some good trail crew people.

Guino

#4

I’ve hiked the cross-country route through SNP twice now and it’s easy enough to follow with map and compass. Last time I went through was SOBO in November and I did not find any flagging, but I think I may have just missed it. I wandered a bit too, going SOBO, but NOBO should be easier. Going NOBO it’s hard to miss Hope Ranch from Rincon Creek and there are plenty of terrain features and old two-tracks to guide you to the trail north of Madrona.

Garlic

#5

Madrona RS access is still 2WD (possibly high clearance) and I don’t think it’s blocked, other than at the far end of X-9 Road out by the main highway, where I believe you need a key or code to get in and out. Park service does maintain a (vehicle) presence at Madrona when using it to access Manning Camp, especially on weekends.

None of the built trail runs through private property, and where the trail ends nobo is within SNP in the restricted use area. The x-c connection to Madrona is only a trespassing concern if you bumble too far south and east.

blisterfree

#6

Word is that the new trail north of Rincon Creek to the connection 2 mi above Madrona on the trail up to Grass Shack is good to go. No cross-country needed.

hiker

#7

That’d be great, assuming the Arizona Trail Association pages aren’t the final arbiter as one might hope. Can you name your source… hiker?

As of today:

http://www.aztrail.org/passages/pass_09.html

(Current trail information: 2/2010 - As noted above, the trail is not finished yet from Hope Camp to the Manning Camp Trail as of this date.)

blisterfree

#8

We completed the new section of trail north from Hope Camp to the junction above Madrona which leads north to Grass Shack campground on 2/23. The Southwest Conservation Corp was working on the trail just south of Hope Camp when we passed through. Although the trail is not officially open according to the rangers at Saguaro NP, it is easily navigable and in good shape. Work on the trail is ongoing but the NPS person we encountered who was supervising the SWCC did not have any problem with us going through. He said to just give a heads up to the workers on the trail when we got near. We started out early and didn’t run into any workers. Didn’t see any rangers either.

Desert Nomad

Desert Nomad

#9

Very interesting! Would anyone happen to have a GPX file or map showing the new trail layout? (Email contact link at left.)

There must be a substantial amount of new trail, given the connection to existing trail is 2 miles above the Madrona (defunct) trailhead. I always figured Madrona was the destination, though the terrain or perhaps other considerations must have dictated otherwise.

blisterfree

#10

Desert Nomad informed me by email that the ATA website map data file for Passage 9 is up to date, reflecting the new trail construction here. An ATA membership is required to download the file for use on a GPS unit or in a mapping program. I would encourage anyone who wants to work with the data prior to hiking this new trail section to become a member, post haste! And by way of promotion, and with no tangible conflict of interest in my estimation, here are a couple of jpg ‘snapshots’ showing the new trail alignment. Additional maps and information depicting the entire passage and beyond are available from the ATA at aztrail.org. Why not order something today?

blisterfree

#11

Thank you all so much for your helpful replies! The guys are going to be attempting to do this stretch today or tomorrow (they started 2/28 and are doing awesome so far), and your advice has helped us all have peace of mind.
Thanks again.

Tamra

#12

I know it’s Arizona trail through hiker season, so I want to keep any hikers that might be reading this informed.
My guys were unable to complete the section of the trail in question yesterday. They ran into several people who were unable to help them, so they had to go all the way to the visitor’s center, which put them a day behind schedule.
I guess it just depends on the day you go and what information you have!

Tamra

#13

I did this section around the first of April and the trail is now officially open per the Rangers I was talking to. The water source just before hope was dry so if you plan on going up bring your own water as there wasn’t any until grass shack.

And make sure you get your permit ahead of time, visitors center is 10 miles out of the way…

Ben