This short hike on part of this lovely section was a spontaneous decision on my part. After two chilling days today's weather was in the 80s again and dry. I opted to take all three dogs to the river for refreshment. It had been a while since I was last on this section. Like most of the San Pedro River trail, this is a flat and exposed hike. This particular section, though, runs close to the river and offers much bird life.
This section of the San Pedro River Trail is the closest to our house at just nine miles, traveling east on Hereford road until reaching the westbank parking lot. There is a bathroom at this parking lot, and RVs are separated from cars.
We arrived around noon to an empty parking lot. The dogs stayed close as I followed the well-marked trail going south, then east toward the river and past what looks like an abandoned ranch house at the river's edge. This is an open area with no shade, and perhaps the hottest part of the hike for dogs.
Here the official trail gets close to the actual river. Frequent signs mark the route; one can't get lost if one stays on the trail. At the closest part of the trail to the river is another trail that takes hikers to the river and under the shade of the trees. This is the unofficial trail I took, and continued in the shaded canopy of mature cottonwoods and ash.
Despite the recent freezes there are plenty of western gypsy moths eating away at the foliage. I had to be careful where I sat because those moths were getting on me; a few managed to hitch a ride back to the house.
I didn't recognize much today, and didn't get as far south as before (the last time we got closer to houses near the river before turning around). There are several log jams created by beaver activity, and these logs also trap the plastic trash dumped by the illegals coming across from Mexico. Other trash like clothes and backpacks, however, were none.
I reckon we got no more than two miles round trip, stopping often at the river for the dogs to splash around in.
I also didn't see any Border Patrol anywhere.
The dogs had fun. There had been recent horse traffic through here but today we were alone. This time there were plenty of birds keeping us company, from the bright red vermillion flycatcher to finches and an unknown yellow-chested bird. I heard plenty of species but saw actually only a few in the trees.
The San Pedro River trail changes its course subtly every time there is a major flood, and with the floods go the illegal trails. This year we haven't had much rain and parts of the river's beds have dried, leaving cracked slates of rivermud along the way. Trails get replenished every year, though, by the many trespassers from the South, as is evident by the north-bending grasses along the way.
This little river here truly is a precious refuge. If it weren't for all the hungry moths I could sit under the shade of a cottonwood and listen to the birds all day. On one side is the cool water, on the other side the distant mountains, and inbetween the golden valley. It's enough to get lost in thought. Today the blue sky added to the pictoresque views.
We were out along the river at least two hours before making it back to the truck. The dogs had a good workout and all three looked happy to play in the water today.
The grasses near the river are dead and ideal fire kindling. The grass is so dead and dry it scratches your skin as you pass by; much of the grass is at least waist tall. Many meadow birds don't seem to mind, though. So many birds flitted by on our return walk.
One of these days I am going to walk this section all the way down to AZ Route 92 in Palominas. Today I just walked a part of this pretty section to get the dogs some exercise near a trustworthy water source.
Had we hiked the entire section out and back we would have gone eight miles. I'll leave that for a cool, overcast day. Hopefully we have a few more of those before monsoon season hits in July.
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