Many think of the Sonoran Desert as a bleak landscape, void of movement and with only the sound of wind transporting only the parched dirt. At times that might be what you experience, but it’s anything but the full reality. This place is recognized as the most biodiverse and active desert of it’s kind on our planet. Spend some time here, and you are likely to have an encounter to remember.Sometimes, these encounters aren’t friendly.
While canyoneering with my wife in a remote location east of Tucson, we found ourselves running for our lives. It all started after finishing a rappel in the middle of the route. We needed to walk a wooded section of the canyon to access the next technical portion of the trip. As we walked, we started to find mysterious articles abandoned on the ground. First a shoe, and then a dress. I stepped over a hallow dead tree and continued through a boulder field. My wife, about Seventy feet behind me, suddenly started to yell. I looked back to see her swatting at a small flying insect. I knew instantly from previous encounters what it was.
Killer bees have become quite the hazard in Arizona. This highly agressive variety of the honey bee has been known to kill horses and other livestock as well as people by inflicting thousands of stings within moment of the encounter. Knowing all this I yelled “run!” as my wife began her sprint over the boulders, I began to find myself a target of the bees. I was getting stung. My wife flung her helmet off her head. This explained the random clothing in the wash. We rounded the corner to find a shallow pool on the canyon bottom. They say that jumping in water is not a good idea as the bees will wait for you to come up for air, resulting in your eventual drowning. Despite that, survival instinct took hold and we jumped in to the shallow pool.It was only deep enough for us to lay down and submerge ourselves just enough to hide from the assault. I had a stroke of brilliance and decided to put my pack over both our heads so we could come up for air and have just enough of a space under the pack to get some air. The bees hung out for about five minutes. After a while we where able to make our escape up a hillside and back to our car.
Be careful in this environment. I would suggest not wearing a headset if you’re hiking off trail. Keep your senses on high alert. The bees aren’t the only threat out there. If you have severe allergies, hike with an Epipen. Have respect for what the wildlife of the Sonoran Desert outside of Tucson.
