South Pass in the Dragoons

South Pass is a low saddle in the eastern Dragoons off Gleason Road. This road is east of Tombstone. It is part of the greater Sulphur Springs Valley in Cochise County. It's a dirt road in parts, cluttered with obstinate cows that refuse to make way for impatient drivers. Ranch homes, mesquite, prickly pear and other cacti line the road on either side. Turn north at the remodeled Gleason Jail and Joe Bono's saloon of this former mining town and one quickly comes across the gated area closed off to the public. Most of the land here is private property now. Fifty homes dot the eastern foothills, but don't let that fool you: most of the homes are empty rentals.

I had the opportunity to hike around here today. Steve A, a hiking club member I chatted with yesterday, invited other members of the group to go with him today. He knows Karen and David from another hiking community. I was the only one interested as others wanted the day off. Sadie came with me as we drove off with Steve under a warm and breeze-free morning.

This made for a small group of five: Karen and Dave, Karen's son Eric, and Steve and I. Their heelers Mata and Estrella joined Sadie as we bushwhacked up the brittle, waterless hills to a look-out facing Tombstone.

Although this three-hour hike turned into a six-hour outting, I enjoyed meeting the hosting couple Karen and David, who designed their own 2100-square-foot home on a hilltop in the valley. From their living room one has an expansive view of the eastern valley: the distant Chiricahuas, the northern Sonoran mountains and the peaks further north. Today the view was hazed-in with mostly hues of tan and brown across the horizon. The sky slowly filled with dark clouds as the afternoon progressed.

"I had a full view of the fire this summer" said Karen. She also got the smoke that blew in from Mexico, the Huachuacas and the north. I found her interesting to talk to. She's a very smart, talented and money-wise woman keen on environmental issues. She's also a trained artist who can design features in her head. Her engineer husband is more technically-minded, who has an eye for finding placer gold in the nearby hills. He is also quite the history buff. Their spacious home is comfortable and yet unique. They can prove that one can get by with a smaller home.

We bushwhacked up the hills nearby, sitting at the top for a while and chatting. The dogs got along very well, fighting only over trivial matters. (Steve told me later that he noticed how Sadie was very protective of me, snapping at the other dogs only when she felt they were coming too close to me.) The sky was a grey overcast and a cool breeze welcomed us at the peak. It looked like rain, but no rain fell until past sunset when I was on my way home. On the way down and ahead of the men, Karen showed me three abandoned mines. One was a precarious-looking dark abyss left open for anyone to fall into. Screams for help would go unheard.

I talked mostly with Karen, who at one point showed me the panorama of all the homes around her. "Most of these are vacant" she said. "We only have around 12 people who live here year-round." Among her neighbors include a writer-couple, a western Hollywood actor, a gay couple, Washington DC lobbyists and a family known to cook meth. Another neighbor, who had just moved into the area from Maryland with a large moving van rental, ended up dying of an oxycontin overdose. The van outside his home drew suspicion and that is how the body was discovered. Oh, the stories Karen could tell!

But Karen didn't just talk about her neighbors. She is an avid hiker who has backpacked all across the world; Uruguay, Argentinia, Switzerland. She is very well-read. She and her husband landed in southern Arizona only after hiking here and falling for the then-cheap land. That was 13 years ago and Cochise County has increased their property taxes 83% (they have two rentals), which is greatly upsetting them.

After the 2.4-mile hike (I thought it was at least four miles!) Karen insisted her guests stay for dinner: low-fat curry chicken and vegetables. Everything was low-fat, no-sugar/no-salt so her son Eric sprinkled sow sauce one everything. After dinner she showed me around her property, showing me her artwork and her plans for the garden and outdoor patio. I like her simple taste. Old trees act as pillars around her home. Glass bottles are used as windows. There is a lot of work going on around here!

Despite the remoteness they have trouble with deer feeding on their garden and wild animals attempting to snack as well. Their fruit trees and garden have to be fenced in to keep them from eating their crops. They eat little meat and most of the food comes from her garden. Trips to the grocery store average every three weeks. We could never do that!