Desert Walking – A Meditation

Desert Mountain Trail

Desert Mountain Trail ©2012 Bo Mackison

Every soul innately yearns for stillness, for a space, for a garden where we can till, sow, reap, and rest, and by doing so come to a deeper sense of self and our place in the Universe. Silence is not an absence but a presence. Not an emptiness by a repletion. A filling up. ~ Anne LeClaire

When I want to do deep thinking, ponder the questions that, as of yet, have no answer, I head to the desert, walk one of the trails through this bountiful wilderness. I do some of my most productive thinking here, walking the desert path. Alone. In this deep stillness, the only sounds are far off – coyote in song.

Trail in the Sonoran

Trail in the Sonoran ©2012 Bo Mackison

The desert is my garden; it is where I till, sow, reap, and rest. I walk the paths carved around the desert plants, trees, climb in and out of washes, struggle with the changes in elevation.

Ideas come out in plain view for consideration. I dissect my goals into tiny seeds, doable baby steps. Plans ripen, lead to commitment to action.

Desert Tree

Desert Tree ©2012 Bo Mackison

My gratitude for the life I lead is huge. I speak to the desert, and so I, too, speak to the Universe. My list of gratitudes — people, places, events, things — is long. I give thanks, I cry at the wealth in my world, I sing a song of thankfulness, while wondering if the coyotes hear my off tune melody.

Nurse Tree to Young Saguaro

Nurse Tree to Young Saguaro ©2012 Bo Mackison

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir

When I walk with nature, my world expands, I see where I stand in my life’s journey. I stand upon the Mother Earth, grounded, and feel connected to a greater plan for the greater good.

Saguaros

Saguaro Forest ©2012 Bo Mackison

 To be alive, to be able to see, to walk, to have a place to live, music, art — it is all a miracle. I have adopted the technique of living life miracle to miracle. ~ Arthur Rubenstein

Tucson Mountain Park

Tucson Mountain Park © 2012 Bo Mackison

Our way is not soft grass, it is a mountain path with lots of rocks. But it goes upward, forward, toward the sun. ~ Ruth Westheimer

Couple of Cactus

Couple of Cactus © 2012 Bo Mackison

I speak to the tall saguaro – tell of my plans, my hopes, my fears. I ask for courage and patience and understanding. The desert responds in its steadfast stillness, yet answers and awareness boomerang towards me on rays of sunlight.

Desert Moon at Sunrise

Desert Moon at Sunrise ©2012 Bo Mackison

If you look for the truth outside yourself,
it gets farther and farther away.
Today, walking alone, I meet it everywhere I step.
It is the same as me, yet I am not it.
Only if you understand it in this way
Will you merge with the way things are.
~ Tung-Shan

Strength. Courage. Understanding – all desert teachings, all are gifts from the desert.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo walks the deserts in Arizona, and pays attention.

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Hiking Brown Mountain Trail

Blooming Ocotillo

Blooming Ocotillo © 2011 Bo Mackison

There are trails that criss-cross the desert and desert mountains surrounding Tucson. Tucson Mountain Park, which runs along much of the west border of Tucson, is one of the most easily accessible areas for day hiking. Best of all, there are hikes for all levels of difficulty and time required. It is a simple matter to stop at one of the many asphalt pull-offs to take a photograph or two–such as this photo of a blooming ocotillo that was only a few feet from the road–and a ten minute hike to check out the desert landscape and plants. Or, with basic preparation, it is convenient to plan an all day hike through the Tucson Mountains.

Brown Mountain in the Tucson Mountains

Brown Mountain © 2011 Bo Mackison

One of the first hikes I took in Tucson Mountain Park was a climb up (and down) Brown Mountain. I thought Brown Mountain was aptly named since it is a mountain mostly of brown rock with scattered saguaro and other cacti.

Wrong. Brown Mountain is named for the first administrator of Tucson Mountain Park, a Mr. Cornelius Brown who was instrumental in creating the park in 1929 and was an agricultural agent in the region from 1920 to 1945. (Thank you, Mr. Brown, for without your forward thinking, these mountains would be dotted with all types of structures. Instead, except for a few special use permits, these mountains are quite pristine.)

I went looking for information about this mountain in one of the many reference books about Arizona that I have gradually collected over the past 4 years. I don’t usually laugh when researching “rocks” but I discovered in the book Roadside Geology of Arizona by Halka Chronic that these mountains are made of up so many different kinds of rock–ancient lava flows, volcanic ash, Paleozoic limestone, and more–that geologists call this mixture of rock the Tucson Mountain Chaos.

On Top of Brown Mountain

On Top of Brown Mountain © 2011 Bo Mackison

The trail is a loop trail circling the north and south ridges of Brown Mountain. There is are two trail heads–one at Brown Mountain Picnic Area and the second at Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area. When starting at Brown Mountain, there are a couple of washes to cross and a rocky trail before reaching the switchbacks that climb the mountain. When starting from Juan Santa Cruz, the trail head is behind the picnic site north of the rest room. Rock steps carved by the CCC in the 1930s lead down to a wash, and then up on the other side where a switchback trail ascends to the ridge.

Sea of Saguaro

Sea of Saguaro © 2011 Bo Mackison

There isn’t a lot of elevation gain, so even though most references consider this a moderately difficult hike, there are only a few short sections that require much effort. And those sections are worth the effort, for the view, if not breath-taking, is interesting. To the west, the peaks of Baboquivari and Kitt Peak are visible on clear days. And there are saguaro everywhere, a virtual sea of saguaro.

View of Arizona Sonora Desert Museum from Brown Mountain

View of Arizona Sonora Desert Museum © 2011 Bo Mackison

One also gets a birds eye view of many desert attractions in the near by area. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum just beyond the Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area. The Desert Museum is the second most visited destination in Arizona, second only to Grand Canyon National Park. I’ve visited several times and it does give an excellent overview of the Sonoran Desert–a combination botanical garden, zoo, arboretum, and learning center. Just down the street is Old Tucson Studios, a tourist site and movie set for many of the classic Old West movies. And Saguaro National Park is adjacent to Tucson Mountain Park, so you can take advantage of National Park programs and ranger led hikes, if you want.

What a great area filled with a variety of features to visit when in Tucson. And with so many different activities  to choose from, it never seems too crowded.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.” She spends a portion of each day exploring the desert.