This is a hike that Big Steve led. I cross-posted it to the Sierra Vista Hikers and at one point, had five people signed up. This morning all had un-RSVPed for various reasons. I think the primary reason was the wind. We have had strong winds for over two days now. Rod, Paul, Steve, John, me and Sadie were on this hike. We started this hike at 7:50am.
While it was in the low 50s and clear at the start, the day promised to be 70F and overcast. And that's how the weather was once we were high on the ridge. The plants still had some morning dew as we hiked by.
The first 2.5 miles were up the steep, exposed jeep trail to TV Hill. While the views were nice, the steepness really hurt my knees. Now I can say I've done this hike and don't plan on doing it any time soon, like so many of the northern mountain trails in the Huachucas. We had nice views of Huachuca Peak to our south, and the Whetstones to the north. Fort Huachuca was to our northeast. The largest military solar array is visible from this vantage point. The trail to Split Rock Canyon from TV Hill was narrow and followed the side of a ridge. It felt more like an "illegal" trail with the many rusted Jumex cans littered off the trail.
I had to put on a third layer at the start. The wind was a cold wind that persisted until we were on the ridge line protected by scrub oaks and pigmy pines.
My legs still were recovering from the steep hike last weekend. I had to stop a few times. In the end it was Steve and I who made it to the Blacktail Pond first. Not that I was racing anyone, but John stopped at the saddle due to lack of energy, and Paul and Rod kept a steady pace in the rear. The pond was 4.7 miles from where we started.
"You are not alone!" said a deep male voice as I reached Blacktail Pond. That scared the shit out of me. It was a man in heavy camouflage. It turns out he had been sitting in the shade of some pines hoping to kill a deer with his bow and just wanted to warn me. (Bow hunting season started today). The man probably didn't expect three more men to come in behind me. He left a few minutes later, perhaps because he realized we were a chatty group and he wasn't going to catch anything this morning. He had watched a bear get into the pond, wash off, and leave, two turkeys and several birds before we arrived.
My last time at Blacktail pond was with Ryan last late summer, when the water was high. This time the pond was at its more normal low level. No streams were running into the pond, and the falls in Split Rock Canyon were dry, too. Sadie walked up to the pond twice for her water, but otherwise stayed with me higher up on a rock as we ate our lunch and chatted a bit.
It had warmed up nicely by the time we started on our return hike, which was just under four miles. It's a steep trail but not as steep as Rock Springs Trail last weekend. Views into the fort are visible from the upper points of the trail.
I was tired by the time we made it back to our cars. I sat on the ground while the men chatted, feeling hunger creep up in me. No one wanted to go out to eat with me, so I stopped at the post Burger King for a Whopper, fries and a large Diet Coke. I stopped at the shoppette to get Sadie a thick hotdog. I came back home to an empty house, with Kevin in Phoenix and Eric at work.
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