Pomona Mine (Huachucas)

I have never been to the actual former tungsten mine in the ten years I have been hiking trails in this area. I came close a few times, to a level trail near the tailings, but never to the mine itself. A single-track mule trail leading not far from the tailings is the actual final ascent to the mine. Which means I was always .4 miles away whenever I hiked up to the mine. Abandoned mining equipment is all along this mule trail.
When Emily from the Sierra Vista Hikers hosted this hike for Saturday, I jumped in. There were five of us, and we all took this as a challenge to not just make it to the mine, but to the former helipad above the mine. This is definitely no hike for beginners due to the steep terrain that last mile.

We met at the Brown Canyon Ranch house parking lot at 8am. Eric S was first, then me, and Joe, Emily and Deb (with dogs Eva and Elliott respectively) and finally Nina at 8:10am. It was in the 30s and our hands were cold, but we warmed up as soon as the sun was high enough to warm the path. After a round of protective barks from all the dogs to one another, they quickly warmed up and ended up being good playmates all throughout the hike. Minnie was at her best behavior, even toward Elliott who loves to play fetch as much as Minnie does. We left the parking lot at 8:13am under clear blue skies.

Eric is a hiking club member so I knew him from years ago. I met Nina back in August and know she's trying to get back into shape after years of hiking in Alaska with her huskies. I met Emily, Deb and Joe this morning. They are a younger group in good physical condition, but at times they were too far ahead and I placed myself in the middle to make sure Nina could hold on.

We broke down into groups right away. Emily and Deb and their dogs were up front, Eric and I in the middle, and Joe and Nina in the rear. No one was left alone. The trail in Brown Canyon is a gradual uphill the first two miles, but quickly gains in elevation as soon as one intersects the Pomona Mine. Elevation here is 5500', the mine is at 7100' and we were above the mine where we turned around. There was water for the dogs in the upper Brown Canyon section, but lower drainages have now run dry for the season unless we get massive amounts of snow this winter. We'll never be like Buffalo, NY, which got seven feet of snow on Tuesday, but hopefully we will get something from this polar vortex making its rounds across the country.

No one brought a GPS along so we don't know the actual mileage of our hike. The Forest Service has this trail at 4.5 miles, but I know that it' at least two miles from the horse trough at the start of the Miller Peak Wilderness. I was concerned for Nina, who quickly showed discomfort on the steep mine trail. Here the trail is badly eroded from heavy rains, and the decomposed granite makes this a slippery hike going up or down. But views into the valley are worth it. It was only in the 60s today, so the cool air was a relief. In the summer this exposed trail can be brutal for both human and animal.

I enjoy these meetup events very much. They are open to spontaneity and freedom from any bylaws that some clubs insist on. I don't like planning hikes three months in advance, only to have to cancel because of inclement weather. But I'm also noticing that younger people are taking advantage of these 21st-century meet-up rules to be more careless as a group. A hike leader no longer is responsible for slower members, nor responsible for its welfare or safety. This means no first aid pack, no additional water, emergency blankets, or reliable communication. This concerns me. While Emily and Deb were in front most of the time, they showed no concern for Nina. That's where Joe stepped in and helped Nina go uphill, and later downhill, while Emily commented that she informed everyone that the hike was not for beginners and that Nina should have known better. How does one get better without a challenge? I can see her point of view, as slow members slow down the group and cause animosity between fast and slow hikers. Luckily Joe was there. If he had not been there, I would have been there for Nina. I ended up being the trail photographer again, agonizing over the slow uploads of my photos to the meetup site (Sierra Vista Hikers).

It took us three hours with a few stops to make it to the mine opening at 11:18am. There was some fascinating rock formations on the short but steep .4-mile long mule trail. The area clearly experienced severe upthrust to cause sedimentary rock to weave in wavy formations. Cactus and acacia now line these rocks. The trail along these rocks is now heavily overgrown with prickly shrubs that snag on clothing. Hard to believe that mules once drudged up and down this trail. Rock slides and other natural erosion wiped out most clues that this once was a very busy area.

The shade up there was cold, so I sought out what little sun shines here in the winter. I only wore one long-sleeved cool-max shirt and used my red Marmot jacket to keep warm. That jacket only came off when I was in the sun. We had our lunches here. Minnie got her two hot dogs that I packed for her, and a few treats, and I ate my blueberry bagel with sweet strawberry cream cheese. Nina always caught up, never gave up, but she never had time to relax and catch her breath like the rest of us. She seemed bothered by slowing us all down, but I'm glad she did not give up, nor feel discouraged.

The mine itself does not go far into the mountain. Deb and I went inside with the dogs and quickly came to the dark wall. Her flashlight illuminated some interesting and wet minerals, but the bugs scared us off. Nature is slowly growing up and around this mine, although the scaring on the surface will be here forever. No doubt, though, that the views here are spectacular. I could spot out the Brown Canyon waterfall, which from the mine looks like a simple fault in the exposed rock.

Eric knew of a trail to the saddle above the mine. We noticed a faint trail and went on it, soon finding the trail that also followed along the cable line. This cable provided for some hold as we got near the end, as it was steep here and very rocky. We soon came to the clearing where the helipad still lays, overgrown with pine and mesquite trees squeezing their trunks up through the opening. We spotted some abandoned mining equipment, but no evidence of wood cabins remain. We saw more military relics, though, mostly metal tent rings. I know that the US Army used the Huachucas as a training area for soldiers destined for Vietnam and had seven helipads all throughout these mountains. This helipad is now the fourth one I have seen, left to corrode with nature.

I had never been to this location before. It felt like a once-secret location no one could talk about. The saddle, which was once a clearing, now is surrounded by trees that prevent any vistas. Over a century before this was were the miners lived, in long-gone wooden shacks. I couldn't even find any house foundations. A few rusted barrels lay around the saddle, and in the woods near the mine was an old stove, but that was it. The volcanic rock at the saddle would make it difficult to camp out here in the open.

Eric mentioned a bushwhack up to Ramsey peak, a peak I've never been up on because the only way to the peak is via a thick bushwhack. No thanks! This is still a nice location for an overnight camp-out, with a bushwhack the next morning to higher peaks. But I saw no clue of other trails to and from this location. My recon ended with me enjoying the warmth of the sun and getting ready for the return hike. Nina took this short opportunity to sit and catch her breath. Several falcons flew overhead, perhaps curious about unusual human activity.

We went down the way we came up, again breaking up into two groups. Joe stayed with Nina and I was in the middle. Going downhill isn't easy. I worried about tripping and breaking my Canon 7D. Parts of the trail come right up to the edge of the cliff, so a tumble here would most likely be fatal. Even Emily at one point got into a crab position to avoid falling.

We met another older couple with the freshly-shorn Aussie Shepherd Gunner going uphill, and we stopped to chat with them. Gunner was a bit aggressive toward Elliott, and Minnie avoided him altogether. She rested in the shade with me. This hike had her exhausted before we even got back to the van, but she never showed the usual heavy panting like she does on my solo hikes with her. Perhaps the other dogs got her revved up. She stayed with me when Deb and Emily were up front. That's my girl.

We all wanted to get down this mountain as fast as possible. I was still hoping to make it to the lower waterfall to see the fall colors. They are best when the sun's shining into the trees, and not shaded by a waning sun. It was 2:15pm when I made it down to the intersection with the Brown Canyon trail. I waited for everyone to meet at the intersection to see what their plans were, as there had been talk to walk on and see the waterfall.

My hopes were quickly dashed. Both Emily and Deb just wanted to get back home, then Eric said the same thing (he'd been to the waterfall just a few weeks prior), and ten minutes later, when Nina and Joe made it, they, too, just wanted to get back home. There was no post-hike euphoria in this group! That disappointed me, but at least Nina had company so I went into the upper canyon with Minnie. I never feel alone when I have a dog or two with me. I made it to the waterfall in 15 minutes.

The colors weren't that dramatic. The sun was still shining in the upper canopies, but the maples were past their prime. Minnie was still full of energy when we climbed up to the now-dry waterfall. It was still trickling last month, but was dry now. The pool of water no longer dribbled downward, either, and dead dragonflies and other bugs floated on the surface. Minnie enjoyed cooling off her legs here before we returned to the trail to head back to our van.

Mountain bikers and trail runners were now out in full force, coming up from behind without warning. Not once did Minnie bark or growl. I took this opportunity to stop more for photographs, even coming upon a grave marker of a former homesteader, decorated with cross necklaces that glistened in the waning sunlight. This grave is surrounded by an iron wrought fence and part of the national forest.

The sun came back out one last time once I hit the open meadow near the ranch house. Seedheads from grass were now glistening in the sun and birds were coming out. There was lots of bear scat on the trail, yet I saw no wildlife other than birds today.

People were still visiting the ranch, so I stayed away from the group as one young family had a barky black dog. Minnie was tired by now and didn't seem to care to bark back, and collapsed in the van when we got back at 4pm. Nina was still waiting in her van. Hopefully she wasn't waiting on me? She still looked tired, but thanked me for pushing her along.