The sky was a dark grey this morning when we got up and I could smell rain. It was cooler than yesterday. The cooler temperatures were nice after yesterday's heat. I grabbed a jacket before taking off with Kevin to meet the rest of the hiking group in the Dragoon Mountains northeast of Tombstone. Susan led a beautiful 7-mile hike up to the high mine. The overcast sky meant less stress on Sadie and more fun in the shade.
We met at the Middlemarch road intersection with Hwy 80 north of Tombstone at 8am. The town was still asleep when we drove through. Nine of us met here: Larry and Nancy Sultop (oldest members in the club), Rod and Caci, Steve, and Peter and Susan with their dog Angel.
The dogs got along MOST of the time. Angel is a hyper, ueberbarking dog but today she was mostly mellow. She's a roamer, too which means she's always off the trail ahead checking things out. Sadie, on the other hand, learned to stay close to either Kevin or me. She got kudos from the group until we got to our resting spot at the mine, and Sadie aggressively attacked Angel. Kevin had her tied up on a short rope after that, but I pardoned Sadie so she could follow Kevin up an old flume. She then quietly rested nearby under the shade of a mesquite tree.
Kevin and I both find the Dragoons a mystical place. This was once Apache country. I can still feel their spirits when I hike among the rocks or gaze into the cracked or agave-covered granite ledges. If this were my home I would have fought to the death to keep them for my children, too.
We had never been on this trail but had always wanted to explore it. The trail head is easy to find (it's where all the ATVers seem to flock) and the sign leads straight down the trail, up the rocky but narrow canyon that was once an old mining road. What I didn't realize is that the trail went quite a ways slowly into the mountains. Agaves, hedgehogs, oaks, mesquites, yuccas, pigmy pines and other shrubs line the trail here. One could rockhop among the cacti and get lost in the wilderness. The western slopes are perhaps the prettiest part of these rugged red rocks.
Starting elevation is around 4600' and ending elevation at the mine 6100'. We could see the San Pedro Valley and the Whetstone skyline.
Penstemons were in bloom here. "I've never seen it so green here!" said Rod. Other shrubs were also in bloom, some more fragrant than others. One shrub bloomed with white stinky blossoms that reminded me of a locker room. Before Nancy and Larry turned around, Nancy was giving Susan and me wildflower identifications; Nancy is a member of the Arizona wildflower association. Both Lary and Nancy, however, turned around at the mile mark and went home; the grade was just too much for their aging bones.
"They used to lead some of the most beautiful car camps" said Susan of the couple after the left. Nancy and Larry had joined the club when I was still in college the first time in the early 1980s. I'm quite humbled. They surely lead great hikes to all of Arizona's splendid corners.
We continued uphill along the rocky creek bed. There's still some water in the gulch but the big pools are drying up. The dogs enjoyed the cool water and there was enough there for them in the lower canyon, but once passed the highest pool there was just open rocky ledges and spiny shrubs. The sky was a drab grey-white which made for dull pictures, but there was no harsh shade in the close-ups. The only people we encountered were families in the pools. The higher trail was just for us.
I was proud of Kevin, he kept trekking on. At times the slow pace from some of the members irked him as he wanted to build up momentum going uphill, but he made up for that on the return hike when Steve, Kevin and I walked back without stopping the first three miles.
It was Peter's 68th birthday today (!) so after the hike we all gathered at a steakhouse in Tombstone. That town is not known for good restaurants among the locals but Susan wanted to treat Peter and we all joined in. Kevin was at first reluctant but I talked him into joining the rest of the group since we seldom have time for good fellowship. I ordered a cheeseburger that he and I both shared. When we finally got home he made himself a real meal of steak and went to bed, and Sadie was right behind him. She was exhausted as well but you wouldn't have noticed that while on the trail.
I wore all new gear today for this hike. The shirt and pants were comfy. What surprised me is that of the three pair of hiking boots I bought this month the most comfy so far have been the cheapest: the $39 Columbia Coremic Ridge made in Vietnam.
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