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.