Roaming the Saguaros in Arizona
A business trip to Scottsdale and an available overland rig rental offered a great excuse to escape in the desert for a couple of days.
I’ve always tried to use my business to fuel adventures. Whenever I have a business trip anywhere, I pull out a map and see if there’s an opportunity to squeeze in some outdoor exploration.
Fortunately, the Southwest is a great place for doing exactly that. While cities like Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas are great places for conventions and business, they all also have great hiking and camping within a couple of hours outside of town.
On a business trip to Scottsdale, I found an overlanding rig for rent and was able to sneak in a couple of days of desert running before heading home.
I rented an overlanding rig from Outdoorsy.com: a 2019 Toyota Tacoma, complete with a rooftop tent and all the gear I needed. I own a capable 4Runner, but the beauty of overlanding rentals is that you can skip days of driving and just fly in with clothes and pick up a vehicle prepped for a backcountry adventure.
Camp #1, a few miles down a dirt road on some BLM land in Pinal County, out in the desert Northeast of Tucson. BLM lands, most of which allow dispersed camping, are abundant in the Southwest, enabling those with a capable vehicle to camp just about anywhere.
Fajitas and tacos are my go-to meals while overlanding and camping. They’re quick, easy, and require little cleanup.
From my camp on a dirt road somewhere outside of Saguaro National Park. A magical desert sunset with saguaros in the background.
I enjoy company and have no intention of being a hermit. But there is something so special about being alone in the desert, especially after sunset. The vast openness, everything is still. It’s so quiet you can hear yourself breathe. After the coyotes stop their yipping and baying at sunset, the only things you hear are the crackling fire and the shuffling of your own feet.
The beauty in overlanding is having your transportation, accommodation, meals, and supplies with you. There is such freedom in being able to drive out into the desert and make a home for the night wherever you are.
I found some decent hiking in the Western Sector of Saguaro National Park. I hiked King Canyon, Sendero Esperanza, and Gould Mine Loop, exploring some offshoots along the way.
Looking down from a high hill hike in Saguaro National Park. Saguaros can grow to 40 feet tall and only grow in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, Mexico, and parts of eastern California.
Many of the backcountry roads I’ve traveled in the Southwest on this trip and other trips are fine for 2WD vehicles. However, 44x4s and high clearance vehicles offer access tomany other trails and campsites.
Beautiful desert sunrise. One of the best parts about desert camping is that even when it gets blazing hot in the day, nights get quite cool.
Natural areas in the Southwest often have fire bans. Fortunately, there were no bans during this time on most BLM lands. I brought in firewood from Tucson and scavenged the desert for dead foliage, which burned bright but didn’t last long.
A sheet or shirt over the head may seem silly, but it’s highly effective as a cooling and UV barrier in the desert. People in the Middle East don’t wear things like this just for fashion.
Toyotas rule the Southwest for good reason. In remote places where a breakdown could lead to a life-threatening situation, reliability is everything. The Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner have long been ranked as some of the most reliable vehicles on the road.