Desert Catclaw Bush - 1. RB - 0.

Behold the frightening aftereffects of this weekend's hike in Northern Arizona. A group of us ventured to a section of the Arizona Trail to complete a project put on for the Arizona Centennial. The goal was to get groups to hike the entire Arizona Trail (which spans from Mexico to Utah), and clearly... our section was the most dangerous. As if hiking nearly 17 miles in elevation  at 90 degrees isn't strenuous enough, the desert "catclaw" acacia was sure to leave its mark on any hiker to cross its path, including me.














It looks... like I've been tortured, whipped, human trafficked and yet somehow, miraculously made it out alive. These plants produce quarter-inch thorns that curve back in the shape of a cat's claw and upon contact - mean serious business. And if photo evidence doesn't prove it already, all reports I've found on this psycho desert plant report the shrub's tendencies to grip onto anything that comes into contact with it, and essentially not let go. Other common names include the "devil's claw" and "wait-a-minute tree," since individuals are advised to pause and - wait a minute - after being struck to remove the thorns from your flesh.

Yep... sounds about right.

Stay away from the catclaw, people. Stay far away.

Oh, and by the way - we finished our 17 mile hike in 8 hours (take that, catclaw), built some pretty sweet cairns (a welcome new term to my vocabulary), and managed to get sun burned only on the backside of our necks. Actually, I got burned on the backside of my neck, making me... that's right... a redneck. I guess you can't hide it forever.