Baboquivari

7734 foot Baboquivari peak rises out of Southern Arizona's Sonoran Desert about 50 miles Southwest of Tucson in the Tohono O'odham Nation , which is vast, about the size of the State of Connecticut. The view from the top is spectacular and never crowded as to get there requires Indian permission and technical rockclimbing (unlike Elephant Head) which depending on the route is Class 3 - 6. Even if you don't climb the mountain, a visit to the wilderness area is well worth the time!

Man In The Maze Basket

The Tohono O'otam and Pima tribes of Southern Arizona weave baskets from dried leaves, stems and roots of desert plants, and the labyrinth appears on these as a design known as the House of Iitoi or Siuku Ki; its significance is explained in the myth of Iitoi, the ancestral founder of the tribes whose spirit resides at the top of a mountain. From time to time Iitoi's spirit, in the form of a small man, would sneak into the villages and cause trouble. Making good his escape, Iitoi confused the people with all the deceiving turns on the track returning to his home. Thus on the path to the centre of the labyrinth one can see Iitoi and trace the mysterious and bewildering journey leading back to the peak of Baboquivari, a sacred center of the tribal lands. This "Man In The Maze" design is also the journey of mankind back to the center where enlightenment resides. In the labyrinth there are no wrong turns, if you keep going you will get there.

As another point of interest, about 14 miles to the North of Baboquivari is Kitt Peak. Although still a part of the Tohono O'odham Nation, it is leased to the astronomical world and is one of the reasons why (besides Mount Hopkins) that Tucson is considered the Astronomical Capital of the world!