Miller Canyon Trail

I putzed around the house in the morning instead of taking off on a hike. I watered the garden, soaked the new seedlings, got on-line. But by 1pm I was ready for a short hike up the Miller Canyon Trail, a 4-mile steep o/w hike to the Crest Trail.

I hadn't hiked this trail since 2006. I had forgotten the steep switchbacks toward the Crest Trail. I wore my water sandals thinking I could wade with Sadie in the creek, but the creek was dry for most of the hike and the only water was in a short canyon that was hard to reach. Normally this time of year this is a beautiful, lush trail in the shade. Today it was just cool. Since we started so late in the day we had the afternoon sun behind the mountains.

This trail starts out as a wide trail canopied by oaks, junipers and manzanitas. Elevation here is 5750'. This was once a mining road to the upper Miller mines. Two miles further up the road it gets steeper and narrower as it passes two abandoned mines and abandoned mining equipment. The old Holenstein mine (7350') was active here in the 1880s.

We got to the trailhead at 1:12pm and quickly got started. I was the only car in the parking lot. After some Gould turkeys came after us near the start, we were soon on our trail, traveling west past Beatty's Orchard. The aspen are finally in their yellow prime but the rest of the wildflowers were fading. The lack of any monsoon this season has really made this year's fall colors rather drab.

I got to Bathtub Springs at 3:40pm. This bathtub at 8540' was dragged up to its current position by mules belonging to homesteader and miner, Max Baumkirchner, who used to have a cabin here. It now holds the spring. I called Kevin to let him know I had made it and that I was soon back on the descent. Even the bathtub was half-empty. The last time I was up here the tub was green with algae.

We met no one on this trail. Nor was there any trash to pick up. I spotted three people down in the creek hammering on rocks (prospectors) and at one point I saw something dart into the manzanitas (which prompted me to scream at it to keep it away from me). Otherwise this was a pleasant, trash-free (!) butt-kicking hike.