I feel the call to escape — but am I escaping from the city, or escaping to the wilderness? Whatever the reason, I go where I think new crested saguaros will be found! For this outing, I choose to return to the same area as my last trip. But this time, I will enter the wilderness afoot, looking for crests that were far from any road ...
On the drive out to my hunting ground, I took a side road to check up on Bob and Pat's C1399 arm crest ... but found the saguaro down:
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Bob and Pat's 2009 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest40.php
I eventually reached Highway 93 and turned off onto the dirt road which led to the wilderness; this took me within telephoto range (barely) of this hillside crest I'd found several years earlier:

My 2018 photos:
www.crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai100/crest160.php
Driving in a wash that bordered the wilderness area, I spotted an arm crest on the slope above, parked, and hiked up to it. I have to admit the small, rotting crest was a bit of a disappointment:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest390.php
I scrambled up a bit farther to the top of a ridge, where my binos picked out some interesting saguaros nearby. Three-way Y-tip:

... a multiple-Y:

... and a multiple-Y arm, possibly crested. No time to hike over to it today — on another day I'll return and check it out:

Hiking the wash back to my Jeep, my shadow told me I didn't have much daylight left:

Driving farther up the wash, I spotted this multiple-Y-arm saguaro:

Just before sunset, I found a nice campsite on the edge of the wilderness; this is the trail I'd hike the next morning:

Is there anything more tranquil than a desert camp? The planet Venus and a Joshua tree made a beautiful scene in evening twilight:

Somebody left the gate open
You know we got lost on the way
Come save us a runaway train gone insane
How do we not fade away … into the wild
How are we living … into the wild
— LP, Into the Wild
Morning moon:

As the sun warmed the land, I began my hike. My gaze constantly refocused from the distant to the immediate ... such as this very spiny hedgehog cactus at my feet:

and this delicate feather:

My senses were also alert to signs of irregularity among the saguaro forest, such as this Y-arm:

From a rise, my binoculars picked out one irregular saguaro at the base of the distant mountain. A long trudge revealed it to be a nice top crest:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest391.php
The swirling pattern of the crest is repeated in a piece of chalcedony:

A bright flash of light catches my attention ... is it a signal? No, just the sunlight reflecting off the windshield of my Jeep, more than a mile distant:

An arm crest in the distance also caught my eye; closer examination revealed that it cradled a bird's nest:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest392.php
From there, I climbed a hill to check out a top crest; the combination of crested saguaro and expansive view combined to make this a very special spot to stand:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest393.php
Another irregularity — a Y-split saguaro, not quite crested:

A ridge-walk took me to this arm crest (you may remember from my previous report that I'd spotted it from the road as I was leaving the area, but didn't have time then to hike over to it):
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest394.php
The Mexican grackle's long legs are well-suited for perching on the spines of a saguaro:

Although the area I was hiking through was very dry and obviously drought-stricken, I was gratified to see clusters of young saguaros:

Another ridge and another big arm crest — here's the Extend-O-Cam view:
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https://crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest395.php
Some saguaro irregularities are subtle, such as this young Y-arm:

For some reason, the dead saguaros also seemed to be in clusters:

Completing the loop hike back to my Jeep, I tried not to disturb this cow feeding her calf:

I was so tired after hiking most of the day, I decided to spend the reset of the afternoon relaxing in the shade of my Jeep, then stay at the same spot to camp another night. One of the joys of relaxing is having time to appreciate sights like the sun setting through the arms of a Joshua tree:

... and pastel skies after sunset:

Later, Venus hung in the twilight sky beyond my campfire:

We're gonna ride tonight
Your angel eyes are shining bright
I wanna take your hand
Lead you from this place
Gonna leave it all behind
Check out of this rat race
— Queen, Ride the Wild Wind
The next morning, I drove a bit farther and once more put boots on the ground to see what delights the wilderness held. There is mystery at every turn — who has been nibling on this barrel cactus?

I always say, on any given day even if I find only one crest, I'm happy. This very nice top crest made this a very happy day!
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https://crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest396.php
Here, too, I found chalcedony ... each piece a swirling galaxy in miniature:

On a nearby hill, I found a wavery saguaro:

... and a y-split saguaro:

But these clues did not lead to any other crests. From the hill I did spot this glomerate / segmented saguaro, so I detoured to it on the hike back to my Jeep:

The pattern of this lichen on a rock also reminded me of a crest outline — or maybe I'd just been out in the wilderness too long!

More cows giving me the eye:

Before reaching my Jeep, I passed this newbie top crest ... based on the strong cresting pattern, I have confidence it will fully crest out in the years to come:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest397.php
And, just like my previous visit, on the drive back to pavement I paused for a telephoto shot of this double top crest:

My 2018 photos:
www.crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai100/crest165.php
Then I followed the wild wind out onto the homeward highway, having done what I set out to do. I had reached for the sky, I had touched the flame, I had gone into the wild. When the road does eventually end, I will carry no regrets ... I have spent my days well.
So if you please take this moment
Try if you can make it last
Don't think about no future and just forget about the past
And make it last.
Reach for the sky, 'cause tomorrow may never come
— Social Distortion, Reach For the Sky