Hunter Canyon

It was a gorgeous day today, sunny and in the upper 60s, and I wanted to go for a nice quick hike after work. I'd rather walk with the dogs in the foothills than walk with them around the neighborhood where every other dog has to bark back at us. I chose Hunter Canyon, and took both Sadie and Sieger with me. I wanted to see it as it was today, long after the fire and floods ravaged through last summer. How had Mother Nature healed this part of the forest, which burned so intensely for ten days last June?

My last time on this particular part of Hunter Canyon was last May, three weeks before the fire. Some hiking trails like the Miller Canyon trail have to be rerouted due to landslides and downed trees. Hunter Canyon suffered less intensely. Although the lower trail was ravaged by what must have been flash floods, most of the trail has retained its normal path. Hunter Canyon is openly exposed in some streches and never reaches "strenuous" levels as the Miller Canyon trail, but views into both Miller and Hunter canyons are spectacualar nonetheless and I could see blacked hillsides in all directions.

Hunter Canyon is a short and fairly easy connector trail into Miller Canyon, which is closed off for a few more months while the town of Tombstone tears up some wilderness tracts for its water supply (even though they have water tanks for their city they'd rather not use). It skirts the foothills as the highest elevation is just above 5000' and never becomes a strenuous hike. It's a nice "leg stretcher" for anyone just wanting a quick work-out. Few people hike this trail.

We started off just before 3pm at the trailhead and headed due north. I figured an hour out and an hour back would be enough, but I ended up taking three hours to take photographs and explore. I hadn't planned on a long hike because I left water, jacket and my usual backpack at home. I wore a thin soccer t-shirt and stretch jeans with running shoes and no socks. I looked like a professional hiker indeed. I just wanted to get some exercise and take photos. At least that was the plan. Next time I will know better. Had something happened to me today I would have been quite cold without an overcoat as it still gets quite cold after sunset.

Instead, I kept getting pulled further along the trail. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. What did the rest of the trail look like, I wondered, how badly had the canyons suffered? This trail still shows so much fire/flood damage from last summer, that walking under the charred tree stumps brought back those eerie feelings from that wildfire. Heavy rock slides in some sections show how violent the floods must have been during the monsoon. Walking at times can be treacherous due to the uneven rocks in some sections, although none of the downed trees slow the hiker along the trail. Part of the hillside appear to want to rip completely open and swallow up the wilderness. Perhaps the next monsoon season will show what kind of damage can still happen, especially after hearing yesterday that we could have another extreme fire season this year.

A white laminated Forest Service notice was posted at the trailhead on a tree, saying that the trail was closed 1/4 mile from Miller Canyon, where the town of Tombstone is tearing up the creek to open more water for its 12,00 people. The creek is clearly marked within the wilderness boundary, and I question the ethics of ripping up the wilderness. Tombstone is not known to go by the rules. Was there anyone from Tombstone working the water pipes right now? Was anyone watching me? I wanted to see for myself.

The trail was heavily washed away in some segments, taking over the curvature of the creek and ripping deep crevices in other parts that weren't there before. The trail was difficult to follow at times, but I knew where the old trail was and kept looking for it. Heavy boulders are piled up near the old mine section, and in some crevices now stand piles of felled trees. Blackened oaks, mesquites and yuccas line the trail, which in other parts resemble more the remains of a flooded creek. I saw mostly blacks, greys and browns, with some green from upper canopies of oak trees. The shade of the mountain in the waning sun cast further dark colors overhead.

But life is coming back to this part of the forest. I spotted some wildflowers and new buds of green. Burned agave are showing new stalks. Yuccas are still growing new leaves. It will take some time for the scars from last summer to heal.

The dogs had fun. Sieger never left Sadie's side as he frolicked in and around creek beds, darting across the trail to sniff and explore. He managed quite well and didn't show fatigue, but I did take the dogs down to the creek for some water before turning around and climbing back up the Hunter Canyon trail.

We never saw or heard anyone again, although the dogs at times stopped in their tracks and stared into the hillsides. Had they spotted illegals walking along somewhere? Deer perhaps, or a bear? All I saw of wildlife were some remnants: a pile of bear scat here, and a deer leg there.

We got back to the truck at 5:30pm just as the sun sank behind the mountain and the evening cold swept in. I was now starting to feel chilled and was glad that we were only a few miles from home, where Kevin already had dinner going: grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade chicken vegetable soup.