Elevation: 5363' to 6790' (most of that gain is after the 2nd mile)
Significance: Popular birding area in the lower canyon and habitat of the elusive Elegant Trogon. Shaded canyon with views of Parker Canyon Lake at the end, and views into the Santa Cruz valley
Trailhead: Entire hike is on Fort Huachuca, which requires a visitor's pass. Trailhead is at the end of Christy Avenue on the old post, past the Bonnie Blink housing area. Drive 1.5 miles on dirt road until you hit the last circular parking area at the first water gauge. A mature sycamore is in the middle of this parking area. Birders will take over this parking area quickly, so get here early on a weekend.
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It was high time I made it back to Huachuca Canyon again. I hadn't hiked here since 2015 when I led that long Huachuca Peak loop with the Huachuca Hiking Club. I was in the mood for another loop hike, but when Bill and I met up at 6am, he had other things to do later that afternoon and wanted to just hike the canyon. We settled for a short hike up the old jeep trail and back. It was, it turned out, a wise decision. Zeke and Sadie were our canine hikers.
It was still cool and shady at the start, but two hours later it was warm again.
Huachuca Canyon Road is an old jeep trail that merges with the Crest Trail in the Huachuca Mountains. I remember when it was quite passable in the 1980s. The section past the Upper Huachuca Trail is now heavily rutted and filled in with boulders, making that last mile to the post boundary more of a stepping exercise. Bill had never been here before and I acted as guide. It's a nice enough hike for vistas into the western foothills. We were the first ones at the trail head parking area by the fort's water gauge. Water is always running here and flows into a parallel drainage following the road, but the drainage was dry away from the gauge. (Not a good sign!)
It was dry today in the canyon. We haven't had any rain since early April. Normally there is some water in the creek that parallels the road, but there was none this time. Only a small section of water was available for the dogs at the mile mark. In the monsoon season, that mile mark is gushing with water. I had forgotten the collapsible water bowl for the dogs in my older backpack, so this was their one big water break.
The views hiking west aren't very spectacular on this hike until you hit the post boundary, which is a rusty concertina fence along the Crest Trail, the high point on the road. Two fire breaks veer off from the main road and head north toward Blacktail Canyon on the northern edge of the Huachucas. The first fire break is just past the turn-off for the Upper Huachuca Trail. This was also a popular smuggling route for Mexicans not too long ago, and faint trails leading up from the southeast are visible here. One can go either north or south along the border. The northern route takes one into Blacktail Canyon and the north slopes. The southern route takes one along the ridge to Huachuca and Lyle Peak.
I made the post boundary line our turn-around, after a short break in a shaded spot for the dogs. The last time I was here one could easily see into the western valley. Now the manzanitas along the border fence have grown taller, camouflaging the view into the western valley. Parker Canyon Lake glistens in the sun from here if one knows where to look.
We rested for a bit before resuming our return hike to our vehicles. Now Huachuca Peak is easily in our view, as are several wide fire breaks that look like genuine trails up steep embankments. We walked back the way we came. When we were 1/4 mile from the parking area, we met avid birders watching a pair of Elegant Trogons, a subtropical bird from Mexico that makes the Huachucas its most northern habitat. Its call sounds like a flock of wild turkeys for the first-time birder, and then more like a small dog with a hoarse throat. Its red chest, white neck band, and dark head make it stand out. It's a bird that all enthusiastic birders are happy to mark off their list. Jennifer, one of the women, pointed out one bird in the trees in front of us, but I couldn't see it. It wasn't until Bill and I were 50 feet from our vehicles that we saw one Trogon in front of us, perched on a low branch. The bird flew away before I could raise my cell phone and photograph it.
The parking area was full when we got back to our vehicles. We did a comfortable 6.3 miles before 9am.
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