This was my fourth hike in the Arizona Winter Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge. I was camped at Picacho State Park, and drove down after breakfast. Stopped at the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center, only to find that it's closed due to the government shutdown. No signs of trash pileups or any problems though.

In fact, the King Canyon Trailhead begins in the Tucson Mountain Park, but the trail very quickly crosses the boundary into the Saguaro National Park. There was a notice on the trailhead sign that rangers would not be available to provide guidance, assistance, maintenance, or emergency response. Visitors during the government shutdown enter at their own risk.

The notice didn't do anything to dissuade hikers. I saw four others on the way to the saddle, another group at the saddle that came up from the other side, and on my way down from the summit, I passed many people headed up.

The trail itself is pretty straight-forward with ONE key exception. The first junction heads briefly up a wash, then turns right up some steps. Our Arizona ambassador Richard did a great job of describing this easily missed turn on the Wasson Peak trail guide, but I still managed to miss it. Fortunately, I was checking GaiaGPS as I went, and was able to quickly backtrack and get on the actual trail.

The summit view was clear out to Picacho Peak (yesterday's hike) and the Catalina Mountain, Tucson, and in fact in every direction.

One final note, there were two old mines that you pass on the way up. They are fenced off with barbed wire, but you can still get a glimpse into the old mine shafts. Pretty cool.