I recently discovered a great place to
ride near my office, thanks to Kevin and
Chuck from the Santa Cruz Valley Bicycle
Advocacy Committee.
I drove 15 minutes to the
trailhead on Duval Mine Road, ready to
explore the West Desert Preserve.
Neighboring mines wanted to
purchase this desert area, owned by the
Arizona State Land Department, but the
rare Pima Pineapple Cactus grows here
and stopped the mining companies in
their bulldozer tracks. The
cactus is on the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service endangered species
list.
I search for the endangered, yet
powerful, Pima Pineapple Cactus as we
begin our ride. “Ok, there should be one
right here,” says Chuck whose GPS shows
the locations of the special cacti. I
expected something large and
barrel-like, but this cluster is small.
About 8 cacti form this group, measuring
maybe 18 inches across and six inches
high.
A nature lover has thoughtfully
placed a ring of rocks around it, so
people don’t trip on it or run over it
with their bikes.
Spikey and spunky Pima
Pineaple Cactus.
Identified by its
large tubercles (green parts) and stout
spines, the cactus has yellow flowers in
July, followed by fruits consumed by
Sonoran desert animals and birds.
Blooming cactus photo courtesy
of
www.mineralarts.com
Chuck leads us down the trail and does the cholla shimmy (hips dancing side to side to avoid bloodshed) as the trail weaves through a fairly dense cholla cactus forest. The scenic Santa Rita Mountains to the east thankfully distract from the mine tailings piled 500 feet high on either side of this trail system.
Kevin, Chuck, Trail, Santa
Rita Mountains.
Corral for open range cattle
who also climb on mine tailings piles.
We come to an old corral, still in use
as indicated by numerous cattle clues
that cover the ground, then return to
the trailhead and explore the western
trail loop. On our way back, Chuck stops
suddenly for barbed wire on the ground,
I stop, and Kevin narrowly avoids
crashing into me and falling into a
cholla. This is no small feat in his
first ride with clipless pedals.
Cholla and Ocotillo and
Arizona sky.
On the western section, we
go
through a couple washes, then hit the
happy whoop-dee-doo section where the
trail weaves in and out of the wash,
like a stretched out snow board
half-pipe. Very fun, if a little sketchy
in sections. We hear cattle mooing from
the slopes of the mine tailings piles. I
give thanks to the
local desert preservations, hiking, and
biking enthusiasts who built this trail
system.
We’ve spent about an hour and half riding in the late afternoon sun, and told tales of past and future biking adventures, all thanks to the desert preservation powers of the mighty Pima Pineapple Cactus.
Useful Information:
The Duval Mine Rd trail head is located 1.9 miles west of La Canada, there’s parking for 4-6 cars and a metal gate to open for access to the trails. There is another gate and small dirt parking area where Duval Mine Road meets Continental Road.
