Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

[cabel]

I am planning on going down to Organ Pipe on Friday and returning on Sunday. Does anyone have any suggestions? How about safety? Anyone want to go?

[Randal_Schulhauser]

My wife and I just got back home from spending the day at Organ Pipe and BMGR hiking Bull Pasture/Estes Canyon and Crater Range (stay tuned for hike descriptions). To me, Organ Pipe Cactus NM is one of my special places. You mention "safety". I'm probably not the one to consult for philosophical reasons. Yes I've experienced the border regions first hand, yes I've had "alien" encounters, yes I travelled to East Block Countries pre-thaw days, yes I've travelled many places in the world considered "war zones"...

Here's the Park Service's position on personal safety => http://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/b ... ncerns.htm

I've gone on some back country hikes with the Park Rangers as they continue to try and "take back the park". That's another discusion, but I applaude the effort...

I attached a couple of the HAZ Hike Descriptions to the Forum Post. IMO you can't go wrong with any of them. There's also the Puerto Blanco Loop that is Ranger Guided => http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=4782 Organ Pipe is such a unique place!


PS. And don't forget the nearby Cabeza Prieta NWR. Charlie Bell Pass http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=1445 and El Camino del Diablo http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=642 are little known gems...

[nonot]

Randal, what do you recommend w/regards to vehicular safety (i.e. not having it get stolen) ??

[Randal_Schulhauser]

I always leave a full case of water in the bed of my F-150. Never had it touched, but ended up making "donations" a couple of times. This was a tip from Rangers/Border Patrol indicating most vehicle break-ins are not an attempt to steal the vehicle, but looking for "survival essentials"...

I've heard a steering wheel lock is always a good deterrent, but I don't have one. Then again, drive a 10+ year old truck with +275K miles on it and maybe nobody wants it...