Aside from an entwined couple we step over in the first hundred yards, we pretty much have the trail to ourselves. We stop at the top of a knoll to look out over the lights of Tucson. We make a game of trying to figure out which rows of lights are which streets. The perception between sharp and soft also blurs at night. While the trail is easy to follow, the dangerous shapes of cholla cactus blend with a background of harmless jojoba.
Night is also the time for desert creatures to get their day's work in.
Scorpions, giant centipedes and the occasional rattlesnake patrol their territories in search of dinner. Watch your step. A chance glance with the flashlight reveals a large bark scorpion crossing the same branch we were about to duck under. The scorpion hurries along on his business, but we proceed with considerable caution. You can hike Pima Canyon for miles and miles until it intersects with Sabino Basin and the network of trails in the Catalinas, but we decide to make this hike a short one.