The Patagonia mountains south of the town of the same name is south of State Road 82. This was a heavily-mined area early in the 20th century, when mines dug for silver, copper and lead.
This was a hike sponsored by the Huachuca Hiking Club and hosted by Rod. He's one of my favorite hike leaders as he lets you enjoy a hike, rather than racing through and getting done in record time. I hadn't been in this heavily-mined area in several years. I am so glad I went on this hike! I invited SteveT and DougM to come along. Both also seemed to enjoy the area.
I met Rod, Doug and Steve at the Mustangs Crossing Shell station in Whetstone. I arrived before the 7:45am meet-up; Dough soon followed. SteveT came right at 7:45am with his Golden Retriever Trace. I brought Zeke and both dogs get along. The group driving up from Sierra Vista was a bit late. Three large vehicles full of hikers whose names I never learned then followed Rod in the lead vehicle. Even at the trailhead off Forest Road (FR) 4701 off Harshaw Road these hikers didn't wait and took off. I had to pee and adjust my pack and was the last one ready. I then kept a slow pace and stayed in the rear with SteveT and his dog Trace, who excitedly ran up and down the embankments looking for birds to flush. The faster hikers took off, leaving me with Paul, Rod and Steve. Trace enjoyed the hike and even tried to hump Zeke.
We were still in the shade of the morning as the sun hadn't crested the mountains yet, but I could tell this was beautiful country. My hands were still quite cold. There was frost on the grass, too. I wasn't expecting it to be this cold, and kept my fleece sweater on for the first mile, until we crested the road and were in the sun. What a difference that sun made. FR 4701 climbed and curved uphill, with spectacular views north toward Red Mountain and the nearby mining operations of Flux Canyon, a once-popular mountain bike road now closed to the public because of heavy mining operations. Red Mountain, true to its name, glowed red in the rising sun. It was like being around Sedona!
There were also several large mines right off this road, the largest at a high point. While gated off, one could tell the hole went straight down. Anyone dumb enough to explore this mine would need to rope back out with assistance of another person. From the first mine the road then descended once again into the shady valley, and soon we came to the intersection of a badly eroded mining trail and creek that took us to the overlook. This section was shaded and rock mortars still had water from the recent snow melt, perfect for both dogs. I never had to stop to give the dogs water.
But once at this scenic overlook, the fast hikers took off again for the return hike, never taking time out to get to know the others. Doug, SteveT and I stayed back to eat lunch. By the time I was done and returned with Rod, everyone else was gone and out of sight. That tempted us to explore FR4701 some more. According to Rod, the large Thunder Falls mine was .5 uphill, and it was, but all we could see from the road was the naked hillside with tailings scattered along the base of the mountain. An intersecting road was badly eroded from floodwaters and covered with fallen, burned trees. The road curved sharply and continued uphill. Rod walked on, but I stayed with Steve at the base of the mine to explore it some more. It would be for another day, as the old mine is big and there are many hidden drop-offs here.
While Steve and I explored, Rod had returned down the road and continued hiking. He couldn't see us and thought we had gone off alone. I thought he was still behind us uphill but didn't see his bright orange cap. We eventually met up again a mile back near the high mine. Steve's whistle (he uses it to call Trace back) alerted him that we were still behind him.
Everyone else was already gone when we got back to the parking area. Rod, who had driven to the start with other people now had to drive with me, Steve and the dogs. We ended our hike in town at the Velvet Elvis and enjoyed a wholewheat vegetarian pizza on the patio while the dogs rested. IT was a tasty meal. Lack of the summer tourists made the atmosphere quieter.
I definitely want to explore the Patagonia mountains again. There's so much to explore in this range and I want to discover more hidden gems before foreign mining companies buy up the land and destroy the beauty.
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