French Joe's Canyon

I wanted to hike locally on Sunday (yesterday) but was unsure of where. Robin suggested the Bisbee stairs but my dogs are leash pullers and I can't enjoy 100 pounds of dog pulling me for several miles. Instead, I suggested French Joe's Canyon in the nearby Whetstones. It had been a year since I was there with Ellen and I was hoping there'd be some leftover rain from the storms we had a few days ago.

Clouds overhead in the morning revealed a 30% chance of rain. I took the risk.

I picked up Robin and her dogs Odie and foster dog Dusty, a white lab/pointer she is fostering through Little League Rescue. This was Dusty's first hike and he learned quickly by watching Sadie and Minnie. Minnie's proving to be a real ham around other dogs, and both she and Dusty made ideal playmates on this hike.

Robin had never been to French Joe's. I told her it was a fairly level hike of around four miles. I had forgotten about the rock climb up to the seasonal waterfall in the end!

To get to French Joe's from Huachuca City, we had to drive north, through the SR 82/90 intersection and through the USBP check point. A drug-sniffing dog was on duty, which only got our dogs to bark.

"Where are you heading to?" asked the agent as I held back Sadie by her collar.

"French Joe's Canyon!" I said.
"Watch out for any of our customers!" said the agent.

As it turned out, we saw no illegals during the hike. The only trash I found was a black plastic bag (used as a sleeping bag at night to keep warm) which I picked up on the return hike. I also spotted what I think is a USBP motion sensor wrapped around an oak tree at the creek bed. The only other people we met were two older men returning to their truck as we parked in the trailhead parking area.

It turns out the drive into the canyon on FR 4018 is getting more eroded each year. A high-clearance vehicle is now a must. Those that drive low-clearance sedans have to park two miles near the start and walk across the grass meadow to the mouth of the canyon, hoping the free-roaming cows don't mind trespassers.

It took us a good 30 minutes to get to the trailhead at 10:40am. We were in the canyon four hours, walking at a steady but slow pace as we made sure all four dogs were accounted for.

French Joe's Canyon is a birder's paradise. When there's flowing water all kinds of birds can be seen or heard. Falcons and hawks nest in the surrounding cliffs and Great Horned Owls live in the lower oak groves in side canyons. I saw a few Orioles and I heard hawks today.

The lower horseshoe falls was dry which was indicative of more dry spots farther uphill, but luckily there was some flowing water for the dogs. It came in handy for the dogs.

I enjoy this canyon for the remoteness. It's too difficult to get into the canyon for the average hunter/target shooter. This hike is for a conditioned hiker willing to rock scramble and bushwhack if need be. On this hike we stayed along the dry creek bed as we headed toward the big waterfall 1.8 miles away.

The big swimming hole in the first mile was full enough of water to provide the dogs some refreshment. Dusty learned from Minnie that getting into the water was safe, and he quickly went in and splashed around. Dusty got along with the other two new dogs and learned some hiking tips from my girls.

I stayed in the front with the bigger dogs while Robin took up the rear with Odie, who never left his mom out of site. This way we had an eye on all four dogs as we slowly hiked uphill, over boulders and eventually to the bridal veil at the abandoned mine. I've never been past the top of the waterfall. There are big boulders there that would make hiking any farther much more difficult for not just hikers, but also dogs, but I assume the stretch back there is pristine wilderness. Maybe someday I'll explore that stretch.

That is where we sat and rested, ate a snack, chatted and returned to the truck at 12:27pm. I learned from Robin's dogs that dogs can like apples. Both Odie and Dusty eat apples! Robin gave Minnie a slice but she wasn't interested in it.

Climbing down rocks is more difficult than going up, and it was no different for the dogs. Little Odie showed no fear, and when he had to, he just jumped a few feet to get to the next step. I am not fond of chihuahuas as a breed, but Odie is quite the hiking champ who doesn't wimper and whine.

The Super Bowl was scheduled for later today. Robin had a party to get to and I had plans with Eric for during the game, but we had plenty of time to walk back to the truck at a relaxing pace. The dogs enjoyed sniffing around, digging up for scents and lapping up water as they found plenty of that in the creek bed.

It was a mild day for a hike, with overcast skies all day and temps in the upper 50s. I wore my light orange windbreaker over a cotton t-shirt and jeans and I was comfortable. We saw darker clouds move in but luckily the real stuff was south and east of us. We didn't see the rain until we were back in the truck and on our way home.

The one exciting moment today was when Dusty caught the scent of the nearby grazing cows. He inched his way on my lap as I was maneuvreing the rocky forest road back and I let him, thinking he just wanted to stick his head out the window like my dogs do. No, he wanted to jump out and go after the cows! Luckily I wasn't driving fast at all and was able to stop. He didn't go far and came right back, but for the rest of the drive we kept the windows up with only a few inches open.