Mansfield Canyon loop in the eastern Santa Rita foothills

Distance: 8.1 miles, loop hike using FR72A and FR4091
Elevation: 4708'- 6301'

Mansfield Canyon was a heavily-mined canyon many decades ago in the southeastern Santa Ritas north of the town of Patagonia off AZ82. The mines are abandoned now (but not closed!) and ruins remain in the heavily-polluted creek. The mining trail is now a Forest road that is used as an ATV/hiking trail. This is an exposed, steep trail and provides views of the Patagonia area.

The Santa Rita mountains is area that is popular with equestrians, hunters, ATVers, mountain bikers and hikers. The foothills have long, steep grades. Oak trees and desert cactus provide what little shade there is in the upper elevations.

I hadn't been in this area for years. This was the first time Sadie or Minnie were here.

It was a clear day and temperatures were expected to reach the 80s. I had packed two gallons for two dogs and me. I was assured there would be water in the canyon.

Rod led this hike. JohnS, SteveA, Mac, SteveS and I were in this group of six. For most of us this was our first time in Mansfied Canyon.

We carpooled from Sierra Vista and drove toward Patagonia 53 miles away, turning north on 1st Avenue just west of the Patagonia high school. The road then turns into a dirt road and becomes FR72 and part of the Arizona Trail as it meanders in a northerly direction toward Walker Basin, but we didn't go all the way up the road. We had to turn west on FR72A (Mansfield Canyon Road) for the trailhead another .8 miles up a rocky section. We decided to start the hike on the exposed ridge and to return via the more shadier canyon.

It was almost 10am before we actually got started, because Mac was late and we waited an hour for him, reconnoitering the road and chatting. It was already getting warm when we finally got going and it didn't take the dogs long to feel heated. I stopped a few times to give them water, worried I'd run out since my jug was leaking. The first three miles of this hike were the hardest because of the lack of shade and the steep grade, but at least we had splendid views of the area. On a cooler day with some overcast skies this would be a lovely hike.

The road just kept going uphill as it switchbacked in long sections. The Hopkins Observatory and Mt Wrightson were to our north. I watched the dogs closely as Minnie was panting badly, considering dropping out and going low to keep them in the shadier canyon, but I stayed with the guys and walked the ridge up to be able to walk the cooler canyon during the heat of the day. The Dixie mine was our first mine and several building foundations were still visible.

This turned out to be to our benefit, because once we reached the crest the walking became easier. There were more mature oak trees for the dogs. FR4091 is the road we took off FR72A to our left and descended into Mansfield canyon. (Had we stayed on FR72A we would have reached the Juniper Cabin area of the Mt Wrightson Wilderness, 7.6 miles away.)

FR4091 is where there were many mines that have scarred the canyon here, leaving creek bed rocks with a white or yellow residue. The largest mine here is the Hosey mine, an active area from the 1880s through 1936. Pyrite is very visible in the tailings. We rested briefly here on large rocks. The dogs got their first snacks.

While there was cooling shade, there was also a lack of beauty as most of the canyon floor was ripped open from Hosey mine and everything downstream from that mine. Flood waters had added more erosion as we cautiously watched our footing. We had a late lunch along rocks in a dry section of the creek bed. Sadie was especially tired and lay near Mac as she napped.

The food energized us all. The dogs had two bags of jerky and snacks as we finished off the last two miles in an especially rocky downhill section. There were plenty of mines here, left open but with warning signs to stay out. The water here is used by grazing cows and all the cowscat I saw looked runny.

The one big excitement for the dogs was chasing a herd of cows that was seeking shade under a large oak tree, a mile from the finish. I didn't see the cows fast enough to get them on their leashes, nor did they chase them for long. Another herd of cows ran up a side trail going uphill as I held back the dogs. This part was no fun as Minnie is a powerful dog when she gets the scent of cow, and I had to carefully watch my footing.

The hike took us six (!) hours. We did a lot of stopping to rest in the shade. My dogs slowed us down but this wasn't a race anyway.

I was glad to see our vehicles at the end of the trail. Both vehicles were parked in the shade and no one else was around. No one else seemed to have been on this road all day as we saw no one.

While I am glad I did this hike and saw a new part of the Santa Ritas, the weather was too hot and dry for this hike. The wildflowers were already past their prime. There was little wildlife and even the vista was hazy. Had there been running water in the canyon, this would have been more enjoyable.

We finished the hike in Patagonia at the town's historic hotel-restaurant, the Wild Horses. I had a cheese burger and a Diet Coke with lemon. The dogs napped contentedly in the truck with the windows open.

I definitely will be back in this area.