I had placed a hike on a Facebook page for all photographers of a local group to come down to Sandy Bob Canyon, a watering hole popular with people of Bisbee. The only person who showed up was Ryan, the same person I hiked with last week. What had happened to all those who said they would join me? One said she didn't come because of the rain. Another said it was too far for her arthritic bones and others never responded. I didn't let it bother me, as at least I know Ryan's speed and capabilities. The third person who had RSVPed never showed up. No big loss in the end, but this may be the last time I host a hike like this.
By the time Ryan and I were on our way to the trail head, I was more concerned about the possibility of rain. There was fog over the Mule mountains, and the sky was a medium grey overcast. The humidity felt heavy. It remained like this all throughout the hike.
"Grey skies make photos look so moody," said Ryan.
"Grey adds character to photos!" I added. That is true if there are dramatic storm clouds overhead.
We got to the trail head at 8:15pm and parked off Juniper Flats, an elevation of just around 6200 feet. There were plenty of mountain bikers racing downhill from the top of Juniper Flats to the paved road. Fog lay heavy over the higher elevations. We couldn't see past the Bisbee mountains. The first dirt trail we had to go on was saturated with water and very muddy. The mud stuck to our footwear. This made the very start very slick. No body in their sane mind would have wanted to hike down this path besides us! I quickly took the leashes off to keep them from getting wet. The water subsided a good 1/4 mile down the trail.
Both Minnie and Sadie were happy to be out on the trail, running ahead. Minnie was still panting hard today, but not as bad as she did a week ago. She proved herself a born water dog, running into every pool and swimming around. She was back in her energy level again. Sadie preferred to watch from the higher rocks.
I had no trouble finding the trail off the jeep trail, but once down to the saddle a mile away, the bushwhack was a bit more difficult, with the loose rocks and wet soil around us. The grass itself wasn't as tall as I remember it to be when Ellen and I last walked this way a year ago.
It took us 1:50 hours to get to the falls. We both had slipped once on the wet rock, but sustained no injuries. There was more water in the rocky creek bed than I can remember. The water was actually flowing and not just sitting in the pools. Minnie had a blast, diving into the pools to retrieve whatever stick she wanted retrieved while Sadie stood on the sidelines.
One thing both Ryan and I noticed is that we didn't see any wildlife except for birds.
"That's a big disappointment," said Ryan. All we saw were small lizards and the nest of a cactus wren. I also came across the skull of what looked like a ferret-type rodent near the creek.
The sky remained a medium to dark grey the entire time. Yet it never got stormy. We both felt the humidity level rise as the day progressed. We both had packed rain gear, but I also knew I didn't want to be in a narrow rock canyon during a massive rain storm.
We arrived at the falls in 1:50 hours. We could hear the water trickle down the falls. We sat facing the falls, among green, leafy ocotillos, and ate our snacks. There were all kinds of hues out in the canyon today: from lush deep green to blacks, browns, copper and red. We only stayed 30 minutes here, as the skies kept getting darker. I was prepared for rain, but was hoping that if we were to get hit by rain, that we would be out of the canyon.
We got back to the truck at 12:40pm. People were still riding their bikes and jogging as we were preparing to leave. Two more women drove up to hike for 30 minutes, expecting to get rained on. Now the skies looked gloomier over the Huachucas while the sky above Bisbee looked bluer. It rained lightly on the ride home, but nothing drenching.
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