French Joe Canyon

It's been a year since I was here. Once again Ellen suggested this short hike and brought a church friend of hers, Denita, a young army wife soon bound for the snows of Alaska. I came dressed in yesterday's clothes, wearing old running shoes without socks. I knew the hike wouldn't be that strenuous. My Lee jeans came in handy with all the thornybrush along the way.


This was the first time Ellen and Denita were in this box canyon. I was the de facto hike leader. Since we didn't start until 2:30pm and we had limited sunlight to contend with, our plan was to hike an hour in and an hour back. It turns out we made it to the intermittent waterfall in 50 minutes, meandering the creekbed lined with yuccas, oak trees, and old snags. It's a lot faster when one doesn't have to stop all the time to wait on slower hiking partners, or have to watch one's footing when there's water out. Today there was no water anywhere, making for a dry hike for Sadie but an easy hike for us.

We could see where water had worn black ridges in the stone. Other rocks were collecting calcium, all which would have been under water normally. I've never seen it this dry. Normally there is some marshy areas.

The canyon is northeast-southwest canyon. This meant we didn't have much sunlight once we hit the depth of the rocky canyon, with brittle sandstone hanging precariously on either side of us. Ellen stopped a lot looking for indicators of caves, but the soil was too loose everywhere. Denita was enjoying the scenery and Sadie seemed to enjoy just being out with us. Denita was very impressed with her.

This was an enjoyable hike for the cameraderie. I don't see Ellen every week, but when we are together her calmness is soothing. She's a great hiking companion and she's the inspiration to get back into shape, now that I'm no longer giving my weekends away for the shelter. We chatted a lot, and stopped many times for photo ops. I don't think I've had so many photos taken of me on a hike that I haven't taken myself!

We made it to the end by 3:50pm. That gave us some time to rest at the scenic overlook. Ellen, however, wanted to explore the nearby mine. She took out her flashlight and started entering the mine, but the many flies quickly sent her out.

The terrain here along the canyon wall is extremely steep and brittle, with thick thornybrush along the rocks' edge. We were in the cool shade now, making colorful photos difficult.

By 4:10pm we descended, knowing we would be at the cars before projected sunset around 6pm. Some of the rocks weren't all that easy to get down! Sadie had no issues, but I was cautious as everything I needed I had in my shallow pockets of my fleece vest.

We didn't see much wildlife. A few birds flew overhead, but the real birds were in the valley. Why would they want to stay in the canyon if there is no water here? The lack of water also meant there was little Mexican trash. And in fact, what little trash I picked up was American trash: a McDonald's bag with empty paper carton welcomed me near the end of the hike.

We didn't see anyone along the trail. Had we seen anyone, it would have been an illegal but even today they remained hidden, as well as any USBP. I was on alert for our sake, but didn't let my cautions known.