El Pilar, Santa Ritas

I had never been to El Pilar, a set of craggy pillars in a hidden canyon of the Santa Ritas, until today. Weather was a little cooler and breezier than yesterday, but still a good day to get outside and hike the trails. I took Zeke along since he's an overall friendly dog, and with Susan M leading this hike, knew she'd have her dog as well.

I met the other hikers in Whetstone at the Mustang Corners Shell Station. It was Susan, MaryAnne, Jean, Rod, Steve S and Steve A. We drove in three separate cars. Steve S took off so fast, that Susan and I couldn't keep up and in the end Susan went to the opposite trailhead for Hog Canyon that was in the write-up. This delayed our start by an hour.

The dramatic clouds driving west toward Sonoita made for a promising hike. There was a ten percent chance of rain today. I was behind Susan on SR82, but passed her. Her friend Jean was driving around 52mph in a 65mph zone and slowing traffic behind her. Since I knew were Gardner Canyon was, I opted to drive there and wait for her where Gardner canyon starts off SR83. There is ample parking at that intersection. The only problem was, she never came. I waited ten minutes and even policed the trashy area while waiting for her. I didn't see Steve either. At 9am I drove west on Gardner Canyon road, now a dirt road, and then erroneously turned off north toward Kentucky Camp. I decided if I had lost the rest of the party, to just hike here with Zeke by myself. But then I got back on Gardner Canyon road, continued west, and saw Steve and his crew come toward me. They were still waiting on Susan and the other two women. Turns out Susan started at the opposite end of Hog canyon north of Palominas. We decided then to hike as two separate groups and meet up at El Pilar. We parked at the Hog Canyon trail head and walked the jeep trail for two miles, passing the stock pond before the trail was a single track and meandered along exposed ridge lines. The entire hike was unmarked. There are no trail signs showing the way!

On a hot day, this would be a grusome hike as there is no shade, but this is a beautiful hike under overcast skies. Rod was pointing out where high waters had crossed the trail back in late September when he last hiked this. Debris piles still litter trees along the now dry creek beds. I need to come back here during the next monsoon! But would I remember the way?

The stock pond provided Zeke some water, and again there was more water once we got to El Pilar, the landmark rock formation that was our hike destination. Susan, MaryAnne and Jean with heeler dog Sheila were already there, waiting on us and eating their lunch. MaryAnne kept her dog on a leash because Sheila doesn't like having her butt sniffed and didn't want the dog to bite Zeke. Zeke was just curious, and approached her with curiosity like any dog would. While Sadie and Minnie probably would have been more aggressive toward Sheila, Zeke was a true gentleman. That is why I brought Zeke on this hike, because he plays well with other dogs. Sadie and Minnie (and Sweetie) have taught him how to behave!

We all ate our lunch here and chatted. Susan and I talked about county animal shelters (she is a dog walker for Tombstone). I hope I can have her get more involved with county animal welfare, because our county shelters are underfunded, and some, like the Huachuca City animal shelter, face a town council that would rather not fund a money-sucking animal shelter anyway.

We didn't stay at El Pilar for long. I was enchanted by the place, though. There is a man-made cement dam on top of the rocks that hold water back, forming a pond above El Pilar. Overflow trickles down the rocks, over lush moss for a smaller retaining area below where we sat. This is an ideal place for wildlife to gather for water. Susan and her crew wanted to return the way we came. The rest of us wanted to explore some more along the creek bed in Adobe canyon. Rod had seen turtles here in September during the high water, but now there were only water pools in rock crevaces. I didn't have any more food for myself and still had water; as long as there was water for Zeke along the way, I was fine with the added mileage. The rock formations alone along this creek scramble were worth it. What beautiful, hidden country!

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