Mar 11, 2018 — Wasson Peak is the high point of Saguaro National Park, and it has many trails that lead around the peak and to its summit. This is a nice loop hike that I think is a bit better than the Sweetwater Trail, which comes in from the east, but the terrain is very similar regardless of the trail you choose to do. This option has the benefit of making a loop. I started up the King Canyon Trail, which wanders through a ton of saguaro cacti as it makes a pretty direct push to the southeast ridge of Wasson Peak. The first bit is just an old dirt road converted to trail, and then past this not much really happens along the singletrack. Once on the southeast ridge and joining with the Sweetwater Trail, I headed along the more interesting and slightly more steep wiggly trail as it continued to the summit of Wasson Peak.
I backtracked from the summit and started down the west ridge along the Hugh Norris Trail. This led to a junction with the Sendero Esperanza Trail, which I took as it led south off the ridgeline and down to the Gould Mine. I picked up the Gould Mine Trail from here and followed it back to the trailhead.
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