Blacktail Canyon Loop

Clouds this morning were back to blue and cloudless. The heat is back on.

I agreed to hike with Ryan today in the Huachucas, on a six-mile hike up a mostly exposed firebreak. He's been on a kick to hike all the trails in the Huachucas. "Quest for Peakness" he calls it. Today's hike was a loop hike from Blacktail Canyon uphill to several unnamed peaks along the Crest Road Trail, back down a very steep (emphasis on STEEP) trail, toward the Deer Springs Trail, forming a loop hike. We got together at 7am at the Fort Huachuca Main Gate gas station and car pooled to the trail head ten miles away.

I had last been in Blacktail canyon in February 2009, when I took dogs Sammy, Sadie and Sara (RIP) along. I hiked up for as long as I could for two hours, and came back the way I did. There was water there, and much shade. My hike here five years ago was cooler and shadier. Today's hike started out in the shade of the early morning, but quickly escalated to hot and intense.

The first half mile was very refreshing for the dogs. They pranced, they played, they chased each other in the shade. It was cool, and the sun hadn't risen over the mountain ridge yet. The eastern slope was in the shade, where trees dangled off cliffs with exposed roots. This is a north-south trail going uphill all the way. Wildflowers bloomed near the trickling water. They still had morning dew on them. We took our time on this stretch to take macro shots of the flowers.

The trail remained the same from five years ago. I remember the spring water running down the trail, the boulders at one bend, and the intersection with the Crest Road Trail. Once we got past the rock boulders in the trail, we were in sunlight, and there was no more water on the trail for the rest of the hike.

Now it became a hot, dry and brutal ascent on rocky lavaic terrain. Clouds were starting to form but they didn't cover the sun enough. It's no wonder only illegal border crossers come through here. (It's also no surprise that we came across a motion sensor on a tree, something I didn't notice last time I was here.) I had enough water for these dogs, but had we gotten lost, we all would have suffered.

The hike to the Crest Road was all uphill. Now the road was a rocky, completely exposed trail. I had never been north of here. Today my curiosity was satisfied, as the Crest Road Trail goes steeply uphill and then downhill at an above-human grade. It was like covering a rock slide in full momentum. It's not a trail I'd about to hike up or down anytime soon.

Both dogs seemed overheated by now. We rested at one unnamed peak that was just outside the post boundary for a while, a rocky peak surrounded by small pines and agaves. I collected the trash I could carry, coming down the peak carrying two backpacks full of trash. Both dogs drank from my water supply and had some of my meal. It was very green here, but there was no water. We had pleasant views to the north. The Mustang and Whetstone mountains lay ahead. Minnie panted relentlessly once we were on the Crest Road Trail. I had my eye out for her, and told Ryan that I needed to give them a water break once we hit the first unnamed summit. They followed Ryan down the trail looking back at me from time to time.

The descent down from the high unnamed peak was not a fun walk. This was one very steep hike! I had to abandon the two backpacks at this point, as climbing down was treacherous and I needed my balance. I watched every move I made, as the sun broiled down on us. This would be a dangerous place to be at night, or during a torrential downpour. What was this area once used for? This grade was not a normal hiking grade by any means.

It took us over five hours to do this loop. Never again will I do this in the summertime with a cloudless sky. While clouds started forming while we were
out hiking, I know that this terrain is only traversed by illegals trying to bypass the Border Patrol in the valley. The northern slopes of the Huachucas are not patrolled by the US Border Patrol that often. The assumption is that because of the nearby TV Tower and satellite testing that is done on nearby ranges, that people would not want to cross through here.

One canyon I'm curious to explore more is Split Rock Canyon, which ended in Blacktail Canyon. It starts near the military cemetery. It looks like a scenic canyon.