Huachuca Canyon Trail

Yesterday I lead a hike up Huachuca Peak via the Huachuca Canyon Trail. This is featured in Leonard Taylor's book "Trails of the Huachucas" on page 94. This is the shortest hike up to the 8410' peak but is also a very steep hike in that first mile going up, with its many switchbacks, climbing over 900' in that first mile. For now, with the upper trails still recovering from the Monument Fire, this is the only peak open on the eastern slopes.

I had reconned this trail on 31 July to make sure this trail was still hikable for the club. It is, with some precautions: it is steep and has many embedded rocks and tree roots along the way.

The first thing I noticed from my first hike on 31 July when compared to
yesterday is that the "road" to the trailhead has been badly eroded in the last month. We couldn't make it as far up the canyon as I could just a month ago. Flash floods have created three-foot deep crevices in the middle of the road, and large boulders have swept across the road in other sections. My Ford Escape could not have maneuvered around these as many of the new boulders have not settled in yet to provide traction. According to Steve's GPS, we added .8 miles o/w to this hike, making this an eight-mile hike.

There has always been water flowing across the upper sections of Huachuca Canyon Road, but never to such a depth that gave a hiker wet feet. New floods have pushed the water back into the original creek bed, leaving behind these deep cuts in the road. There is less water now over the road, but definitely more boulders. People planning a hike in the upper Huachuca Canyon should be aware of this and plan accordingly. Sedans and low-clearance vehicles should park at the last picnic area before the first creek crossing 1.5 miles from the start of Huachuca Canyon road.

We were eight hikers: Big Steve, Beth, John Severn and Sadie and I were the official HHC hikers. I had invited Ellen and Alfredo to join us as Ellen wanted a steep hike to train for her trip to Havasupai Falls next week. She brought two additional people with her who asked if they could come in the last minute and it was this couple, especially the young wife, who had trouble hiking up the steep grade. She did make it to the peak and we finished the hike as a group. I'm glad she didn't quit so close to the top!I don't think she's ready for the Grand Canyon, though. Her body needs more conditioning.

We met no other hikers anywhere along the trail, nor encountered rattlers or black bears that also have been known in the area. Perhaps the eroded canyon was the reason we had this wildernes to ourselves.

I didn't notice anything new along the trail other than August-blooming white flowers which I still need to identify. They were especially prominent along the peak. The wild onions were past their bloom but still emitted an aroma. The Red Thistle were starting to go to seed.

It was more humid than last month, which meant more bugs everywhere! A haze across the sky didn't allow for as dramatic a vista. Clouds billowed to the east of us but were never threatening. It still took us three hours to get to the peak. We stopped a lot for the slower hikers to catch up. Alfredo made it to the peak first and waited an hour for the rest of us. He is quite the speed demon! He spent a lot of time waiting on us all day, but never lost his sparkly charm.

Although there was no new erosion on the trail itself, this is still a hike that should be done with caution due to the many tree roots along the way. In some parts in the first mile the trail is no more than a foot across; old landslides have swept the rest downhill. Felled trees still remain along the entire trail but do not pose a serious threat or obstacle.

All this may sound ominous, but I still find the trail to be a pretty and
definitely challenging hike. It may be only 3.3 miles to the peak according to the guidebook, but it feels like twice that on the thighs! There are vistas toward the western vallies as you hike up the last mile, and once on the peak itself, can view across the area. Low-growing scrub oak cover the peak. The old foundation of the once-standing fire tower provide for a level surface to enjoy a snack and cool off in some shade.

The hardest thing about this trail is getting to the trailhead, but with the proper conditioning, the right shoewear and plenty of water (this is a dry hike!) this will prove to be a rewarding hike for anyone up for the challenge.

The forest is open again

The Coronado National Forest opened most of its trails this past Saturday. Today, after the heat of the day had subsided, I took all three dogs to Hunter Canyon to enjoy our first walk in the foothills since the forest was closed on 9 June. I wanted to see how bad the damage was.

The dogs were ecstatic. They acted like they hadn't forgotten the place, running up and down and sniffing all the burned spots. Although the old wooden Coronado National Forest sign has been replaced with a yellow Burned Area sign warning of flash floods and fallen debris, there wasn't much damage to cause a hindrance.

I must admit the damage wasn't as bad as expected. There were already many dead trees in Hunter Canyon before the fire that are still standing. Most of the damage in the lower canyon seem to be from flash floods. Water flashed across areas I wouldn't have expected to flood, such as across where rednecks go to shoot at trees near the spring, and the wash that the illegals use at night to evade the Border Patrol.

Two older women walking a Yellow Lab further up West Hunter Canyon Trail told me they came from Stump Canyon and wanted to see the damage here. To them Hunter Canyon was beautiful. They had come across an illegal trail I didn't realize went into Stump Canyon. I knew there was a trail there, but because of the private property around it, never bothered to walk that way. After the two women were out of sight, I followed them into Stump Canyon.

The women were right: As soon as you enter Stump Canyon from Hunter Canyon, you can see the extensive damage the fire had done there. There are grasses growing now, but most of the oaks and manzanitas are dead. This is where the fire burned the longest, and one can see far to the west where the burn area extends.

I walked past an abandoned mine I never knew was there. In fact, the entire area seemed new to me although I had driven into Stump Canyon twice in July to get a cursory view of the damage.

All around me was black sprinkled with lush green. I saw a few birds but there still seems to be few of those. Yet I still worried about snakes. I could see burned homes below me and up the canyon. The smell of wet campfire still lingered here. One homeowner was diligently rebuilding his home near the former Catholic shrine area, but there seems to be more burned homes than intact homes. Walking past the ruins was a bittersweet experience as it brought back that nightmare from mid June.

A distant thunderstorm rumbled from the south, so I cut across the mining road to Hunter Canyon Road back to the truck. I'm not sure how far we walked, perhaps three miles at most at a decent pace. It was just enough for the two older dogs, although Sadie would have loved to go on.

Next Saturday I am leading a hike up Huachuca Peak in lieu of Carr Peak. Carr Peak and the higher trails won't open until October. That is where most of the damage is, in the high ridges.

Mount Wrightson

Ellen asked me on Monday if I was planning a long hike this weekend. At that time, no, I hadn't, but she gave me the excuse to plan one as she's a strong hiker and I needed a challenge. I chose Mt Wrightson (9453', 2881.274m) today, a peak in the Santa Rita mountains south of Tuscon. This is a popular hiking destination and also a popular birding habitat for Tucsonans. John, also a club member, joined us. We were a good team with around the same hiking ability, stopping only three times for water and snacks but stopping many more times for short bursts to take photographs. John is as avid a photographer as I am.

We started at 8:58am to a parking lot that was already half full. I had left the leash at home, something I discovered too late. "Pets on Leash" is clearly noted at the trailheads in Madera Canyon. Luckily Sadie was not a problem as she stayed right by my side. She wore her blue pack, and when we passed other people coming down, I pullled her next to me.

We could see fog shroud the peaks at the start. The clouds above gave the sky a mostly overcast appeal, but blue patches also poked through. Was it going to rain? I made the mistake of wearing a cotton t-shirt for today's hike. This shirt quickly became wet by the time we reached Josephine saddle at 10:32am. When we arrived at Baldy saddle I had to put my jacket on to stay warm, but then took it off just before we got to the peak at 1pm. The fog came and went with the traffic the entire time.

The higher we got the more wildflowers we saw. Golden Columbine, Red Cardinal jackets, fleabane, Goldeneyes, Firecracker Pestemons just to name a few. This was the most lush, green I have seen the Mt Wrightson wilderness. All the springs, from Sprung to Baldy and Bellows were running, too. This was a wonderful introduction for Ellen, who had never been up here before. She was impressed. The only rattler we saw was a juvenile one about a foot long that scurried into a hole when it sensed us approaching.

We kept a steady pace, stopping only at the springs for quick water and snack breaks.

Sadie was tired when we reached the peak four hours later. She rested in the shade of the old foundation of the look-out tower, where the first of the seasonal ladybug beetles were gathering. These red beetles start grouping around the peaks in August.

At least eight people were already at the peak, including two men drinking 24-ounce cans of Heineken. One of those men was an air force reservist out of Davis-Monthan AFB who also flies search and rescue operations for the area, another one was an ultra-runner named Chris who had just made it to the peak a second time today. He stayed only long enough to eat an energy bar and then he took off for the descent.

Hikers were coming and going the entire time. We stayed for almost 40 minutes just chatting with everyone. We were in no hurry and I enjoyed the friendly conversations. The peak is always a big meeting ground; I do not hike Wrightson for solitude.

I was amazed that it was so mild at the top, and at one point it was so warm my damp shirt dried. It's usually cold and windy at the top. The last time I was at this peak my fingers were cold and I was uncomfortable. We could see most of the panoramic vista, but heavy clouds were around us. By the time we left for our descent, it was cool and overcast again.

Ellen and John wanted to do the loop, so we went around the mountain back down the Super Trail. The burned-out area from the 2005 Florida fire was still looking burned, although there was lush green grass everywhere. Most of the new growth came from rejuvenated rootgrowth around the stumps, which made the trees look odd. The oaks are coming back but I saw little conifers, mesquite or even manzanita. This trail is apparently not used very much because thorny brush and scrub oak poked our naked legs these two extra miles and we didn't see a soul. The sky was clearing as well, giving us the open sun just as it was at its hottest. I kept my eyes out for snakes and all we saw were all kinds of lizards.

"Three fifty-three!" I announced as we made it back to the Josephine saddle, followed a few minutes later by thunder. We stopped here for the last time to sugar up before finishing the hike at 5:10pm via the steep but shorter Old Baldy trail. Other groups were still venturing up this steep section despite the threat of storms! It drizzled in parts but it never rained on us, and the clouds held back all the way home. We could see rain cells to our southeast and northeast, but nothing overhead.

The parking lot was much less crowded when we got back. A Forest Service truck was parked in the next aisle over. The ranger in the truck was watching us. I was afraid he'd cite me for having Sadie off leash, but he said nothing.

We were clearly tired by now. My toes were swollen inside my Columbia high top day hikers but I couldn't afford to take them off. I smelled funky, too. And now my shins were getting tight from sitting behind the wheel.

Kevin was asleep when I got back home at 7:30pm. I was very hungry and appreciated the chili-mac he had left for me in the frig.

French Joe Canyon...again!

I woke up to an overcast sky. That made me happy as that meant it wouldn't be as hot as last week on the hillsides. But once on the trail with Rod and John S, the humidity was quite bad and the bugs around the eyes and mouth even worse. We were in deep sweat by the time we made it to the 6670' peak overlooking the highway.

I wore my water sandals and it was tough maneurvering across the loose rocks going uphill. The shindaggers weren't much fun, either. John had some trouble going uphill and I made sure we stopped plenty of times for him to catch up, but whenever we'd sit down to rest the bugs would attack us.

"One point six seven!" said Rick as we made the first ridge. That was all? I was hoping to have gone at least two miles by then. Hawks were screeching overhead, one was harrassed by a smaller bird.

"Two point eight six!" Rod said as we approached the saddle. That seemed short, too. And when we finally made it back to the cars at 2:20pm his GPS read 4.21 miles.