The sun beating down on my neck and right side of my face, I look behind me and see the entire city of Tucson surrounded by saguaros and constant sounds of cicadas nipping at my ear. I look over my shoulder and my roommate, Talia Stone, is standing there admiring the green around us as we continue up the trail of Tumamoc Hill.
It was a hot, late August and Monday evening when we first arrived at Tumamoc. 98 degrees, according to my iPhone, and one hour before the sun was going to set, two college seniors from Long Island experience an infamous hike like no other – so we’re told.
It’s a blessing that I get to spend my college experience with one of my best friends from Long Island. Being from the east coast can make you feel like a complete foreigner when you attend a school on the west coast, so it definitely is nice to have something in common.
I was astounded by the complete silence around us as we looked for the start of the trail. Not a soul in sight, I was beginning to feel worried that our Lyft driver may have dropped us off at the wrong location, I saw a bunch of people crowding over a specific area and that’s when I saw the sign that read “UA Science Tumamoc: Founded in 1903.”
Talia came with me to observe how green and how much wildlife existed at Tumamoc. She’s an environmental studies major and for one of her class assignments, she had to observe the same area every week at the same time – to note any changes.
All you can hear is the echo from the nearest highway and occasional whispers from people around us. The crinkling of hikers shoes as the rocks smear on the ground from everyone’s sneakers, including mine. I noticed that a lot of people were walking back to their cars instead of going up the hill but that observation didn’t make sense to me since it had only been open for an hour before we arrived.
“I read that most people who visit Tumamoc Hill usually watch the sunrise or sunset because the hours are so odd but, starting Sept. 5, they are extending the visiting hours from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Talia, referring to an article from the Arizona Daily Star.
So, I thought to myself “well, then where is everyone going?” But we continued to walk, the ground began to incline and our breathing started to become heavier. My first initial thought was “why did we workout before this?” I was already so exhausted so, the experience wasn’t as riveting. Groups of friends and families started to appear as we went up a quarter of the path and I look at Talia, and notice she’s struggling for water.
We suddenly start laughing because we were both thinking the same thing, “oh man, what did we get ourselves into?” We decided to take a break and admire the atmosphere. I’m slowly sipping my water from my new hydro-flask and felt blessed at the fact that 30 minutes had gone by, yet, my water was still ice- cold. I stop and start jotting some notes down into my book and take pictures as the sun began to set on half of the city – now, that is a view you wouldn’t see in the concrete jungle, also known as, Manhattan. The heat, the cardio, and the pressure of making it home before it got too dark was all getting to us but we decided to keep walking.
“There’s no turning back now,” Talia said.
That same morning, I talked to Ben Wilder, interim director of the Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill, who told me he suggested hiking Tumamoc twice.
“Once for the cardio and once for the experience,” said Wilder.
Once we reached the halfway mark, as told by locals – that it’s the first porta potty in sight, we decided to turn back and finish the whole trail two days later.
I returned at the same time, an hour before sunset, so that we gave ourselves enough time to make it to the top of the hill before it got too dark. This time, while taking Wilder’s advice of the full experience, he also suggested that we listened to a new app that the Desert Laboratory was launching soon.
The app featured a narrative tour as you hike the hill and shares stories about Tumamoc’s history. I learned that the few houses surrounding us as we reached the halfway mark, the first time we were there, were not only historic landmarks, but also offices for some scientists that do research on Tumamoc through the University of Arizona – since the university owns the area.
We were tired after the first half but chugged water before we started the second. Our breathing got heavier as we increased with exhaustion. It almost felt like the second half was longer than the first – I felt like I was using my leg muscles forever at that point. Stopping to take pictures of the sun setting behind the mountain gave us an excuse to take a breather but when it was time to keep moving forward, the hill got steeper and steeper.
Looking back at how high up we were, my fear of heights was definitely kicking in. Once we made it to the very top, we were confused on where we should walk and admire the view. I saw a few families taking pictures of the lit up city but we were more interested in the cotton candy sky as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.
That view was breathe-taking for us, unless you live far out east of Long Island and can see the sun setting beneath the water, you won’t see much other than the sky turn pink and the clouds a lavender purple. So, for us, this was quite the experience.
Seconds after we had taken our artsy social media – worthy pictures, I remembered Aaron Flesch, a wildlife biologist, tell me his office was on the very top of the hill. We looked around the area and Talia took a selfie with a sign that read “No Trespassing.” That was a selfie her dad would have laughed at – and, he certainly did.
I continued walking around and kept thinking about how Flesch told me he studied vegetation up here.
I wanted to figure out what he meant by Tumamoc having such a diverse amount of plants and since Talia is an environmental studies major, she was able to point it out – something, I definitely wouldn’t figure out on my own. And then, I heard a rattling noise.
Matthew Goode, a herpetologist who specializes in rattle snakes, said his office was right before the second half of the hill started. He studies how animals persist in these natural environments and said there are three different types of rattle snake species that live on Tumamoc.
“What I like most about Tumamoc is that it gives people a chance to be educated but, too much use can be a problem – it gets way too crowded up there at night,” said Goode.
I didn’t realize what he had meant about over population on top of the hill until we were trying to find a good place to take those pictures.
Goode had mentioned to me that about 12 undergraduates study on Tumamoc with him through a grant from the university. They mainly study wildlife but also conservation and ecology – which is something that Talia is really interested in.
That rattling noise got louder and more distinct as I approached one of the rocks at the edge of the hill. It almost sounded like the buzzing noise you hear when a bug flies by your ear. I looked over at Talia and said “it’s time to go, I hear a rattle snake.”
We immediately leavethe area and head back down Tumamoc Hill. The interesting part about the walk back down is that it’s scarier than climbing up because the gravity is definitely not on your side, with the constant feeling that if you just take one wrong step you’ll immediately start tumbling down the whole thing.
But, we took some advice from a UA student who hikes Tumamoc often. Alyson Zhang, a business senior, said “there’s really not an easy way to go down. Honestly, I usually just power walk down or walk super slowly.” And, that is just what we did.
Once we reached the half way mark, also famously known as the porta potty, I ran out of water. Thirst conquered my throat and I suddenly felt light-headed. The walk down almost felt never ending and at one point, I felt like I was going to pass out.
Lesson learned that I should indeed carry two bottles of water with me next time and maybe I shouldn’t adventure into the rocks with a multitude species of rattlesnakes that could potentially jump out and attack. However, we made it back into the car and gulped a gallon of water when we got back home – the most rewarding feeling ever.
“So, when are we going again?” Talia said.
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