Juniper Flats (Bisbee)

I had been wanting to scout out new trails off North Juniper Flats Road in Bisbee around the radio towers for a while, and finally decided today would be the day.  The hills there are popular with local youths, who drive up there to party and leave their trash behind.  With school back in session, I wasn't worried about coming across partiers.  I saw no one. While I could not find any new trails, I did find some empty beer cans and bottles which I picked up and will recycle next week.  It was warm, but windy on the hill top.  Sadie, Zeke and Minnie were with me.

Not content to just hike 1.7 miles, I then decided to check out the rocky flats.  Paul from the hiking club said the road is now closed and a NO TRESPASSING sign is posted.  Since when have the flats been private property?  The dirt roads are accessible from North Juniper Flats road, as two roads veer off from the main road between the two radio tower hills and meander toward the rocky flat area. I hadn't been back here in several years.  I always enjoyed hiking here, hopping among the rocks and seldom seeing another person.

I started on the left fork, which takes a direct downhill from here.  Both forks were heavily muddied still from last week's rain. I had never explored this section and didn't see any NO TRESPASSING signs on this path.  The dogs chased each other around juniper and pinon pines.  Water reflected in the sun. Leftover snow melt had collected in rock mortars for them to drink out of.  A lot of quail live here.  Hiking here among the many loose rock and cholla can be a disaster for unsteady feet.

And then I came across an old rock cabin.  Its roof was gone and one of its walls was caved in, and the inside was littered with trash. In all my years of exploring this mountain range, I had never seen this before!  A new white cross with yellow ribbon around it was on its north side.  Whoever lived in this cabin  had a beautiful view of the San Pedro Valley.  A small ditch with water was next to the cabin, which the dogs took advantage of. A dead juniper provided shade for the cabin at one time.

The terrain here is unique.  The granite is similar to the Dragoons and Chiricahuas.  In the summer the heat reflecting off the rocks is brutal, but I always enjoyed exploring these rock formations with views north toward Tombstone and west toward Sierra Vista.  How much of this land is now private property?  I'm sad to see such beauty now no longer available to the public.  What trash I saw here along the trail I left near the new fence.   I need to know how much of this land is now private.  Or was this land always private and just now been sealed off?  Perhaps a new land owner was tired of ATVers leaving their trash behind?

The two short hikes totaled 4.5 miles.