HollyO, MarleanaL and I with Sadie met in town to carpool to this pretty state park north of Whetstone. Holly wants to lead a hike here in March and had started on the Guidani trail several weeks ago, but had turned around and never finished the loop. It's a 4.2-mile loop around a hill that feels more like ten miles because of the climb. I wanted to show her the way. It had been at least six years since I had done this trail. All I remember was the water in the stream and the steep climb to the saddle. Both still exist.
Although the canyon is in National Forest, one must access the trail head at the state park. (Entrance fee is $7 a car load of four people, although AZ military veterans get in for $3 a carload.) There is also some private land in the lush canyon just south of the state park. One can see these trails from the hill top.
Weather was perfect for this hike, in the low 70s with cloud cover. We hiked the loop counter-clockwise, slowly walking up the rocky canyon. We had company early on, but most hikers seemed to prefer hanging by the stream bed. The flora was dry, but there were still small patches of icy snow on the north slopes.
Holly and Marleana chatted and laughed the entire time. They had hiked on Friday in Coronado National Monument and were continuing their conversation. Apparently some of the things one male hiker said on that hike "traumatized" the gals. "He just had a bad day," explained Holly, always the diplomat. I was in the lead, looking for unique rocks and wildlife, and couldn't contribute much to that conversation, although I know the person they were chatting about. With water and rocks nearby, I always fear mountain lions and stop often to look around and watch Sadie's reaction to smells.
We were walking at a moderate pace, enjoying the scenery. At 1.7 miles we reached the intersection with the Cottonwood trail, which goes into the heart of the Whetstones. A dry creek bed meanders downstream. The creek sides have grassy plains on both sides, suggesting flash floods in the past. It's very hikeable. I had never been back there. We went in .6 miles before losing the trail which basically followed the streambed. We saw rock mounds along another hill and other signs of old mining areas. This place definitely needs to be explored more! We also came across some hiddin water jugs that Mexicans leave for their compadres crossing the border. The hillsides are loose rock, with plenty of shin daggers, tall grasses, cat claw (ouch!) and sotols. I wore jeans but Marleana wore capris. How her legs remained unscathed is a miracle. Despite the cat claw, this would be a beautiful canyon to explore in the spring after heavy rains.
We rested at a shallow pool of water and an oak tree. Sadie drank her water and Marleana brought out three cans of beer, a Dieselpunk Porter brewed in New York. That was a treat, but that 6.5% alcohol was my limit. The porter had a slight sweet, chocolatety aftertaste. Very nice. The last time I drank beer on a hiking trail was when Kevin and I hiked the Appalachian Trail 14 years ago. After our liquid lunch we returned to the Guidani trail to finish the loop. Here the trail takes a steep ascent up several switchbacks before it reaches a high point and offers views of the east; a perfect place to watch the moon rise. We definitely got a work out doing this trail counter clockwise! Both Marleana and Holly marveled at the views. Now we were on our return descent along the exposed hillside, with the Huachucas, Dragoons and Mules ahead of us. Two other couples were also descending ahead of us. Sadie, looking tired, was right by my side.
I took lots of photos with my cellphone, stopping a lot to photograph the gals. They were clearly enjoying this hike. We meshed very well. I only met Marleana two weeks ago on a power walk and we get along very well, too. We are even talking about exploring trails in Mexico, since she speaks fluent Spanish and knows people there.
We were back at Holly's car in under four hours. My thighs felt the work-out. We really lucked out with today's weather. The Guidani trail is definitely easier hiking it counter-clockwise because the front of the hill has a 2.2-mile ascent up treeless hillside.
I stopped at Fry's and got the dogs some clearance-priced meats. Sadie got the biggest cut, which she gulped down on the ride home. Two hours later I joined an old army pal at Paul's Pub to watch the second half of the SuperBowl, Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers. Broncos won 24-10. I was chatting with my friend Dave for the most part, and didn't even get to enjoy the best part of the game: the commercials!
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