French Joe's Canyon (Whetstone Mtns)

What a lovely day for a hike.  Today's high was just 68F with a cool breeze, but cloudless. I didn't get called in, so right away I got busy getting my recycables packed to take to the drop-off site.  Just as I was ready to leave a young man rang the doorbell. It was 8:30am.  Who rings the doorbell that early?  The postal carriers don't come around till 10am.  It was a man asking me if my Ford Escape is for sale, or even the van.  I said that the Escape is, but it needs a lot of work.  I was honest and told him all that needs to be done on the truck: leaky moon roof, faulty gasket, worn-out interior...etc.  We chatted for a good 20 minutes, all the while realizing I would be running late meeting up with Steve, who wanted to hike French Joe's Canyon today.  I hate keeping people waiting.  I didn't leave the house till just past 9am, taking Sadie and Zeke with me.

I may be selling the Escape this Sunday for a mere $500.

A bad two-car accident on the southbound lanes of SR90 south of Huachuca City slowed traffic in both directions.  The accident happened at 8:30am when one of the cars veered into incoming traffic.  Luckily no one suffered serious injuries.  I saw the wreckage from one sedan and the driver's side was bashed in badly.

I made it to Steve's place shortly after 10am. We were on the road 15 minutes later, getting to the exit just off MM300 ten minutes later.  I noticed two new red crosses placed where two border crossers were found dead last year.  Both remain unidentified.  A non-profit group in Cochise County called "Pilgrimage of Remembrance" places these hand-made red crosses in places where border crossers have been found dead, with the victim's name, date of birth and date of death noted.  Each victim gets its own ceremony in memory of their lives. This is now the 6th and 7th cross I have come across while hiking.  The crosses were laid on September 24th.
https://crossplanting.wordpress.com/2018/09/24/september-24-2018-whetstone-mts/

I didn't want to park here and hike the 2.2 miles to the trail head, so I opted to drive the Honda into the canyon.  That took 40 minutes.  FR4018 was badly rutted in parts and moving along was at times knucklebreaking. I parked just a half mile from the actual trailhead.  Steve noted that there were no cows grazing today.  We normally get stared at by bovine eyes as we drive into the canyon. Today it was void of much wildlife.  Perhaps the dogs scared it all away, as this is both a hunting and a birding mecca.

We started the hike at 11:15am, going up the shaded creek bed.  The trees here are just now changing colors.  The creek bed looked to have gotten recent erosion, perhaps from that bad storm last week that caused flooding in Whetstone.  There was also water running!  I've never seen water run here so late in the year.  That meant there was more water running higher up the canyon.  This was good news for the dogs, even I had enough for all of us.  The old hiking trail, which is no longer marked in any way, is only .3 miles long and ends at the creek bed.

The excess rain, however, did create a thicker flora.  The trail from the first falls to the creek bed was so overgrown, I had a hard time following it.  The prickly shrubs have grown thicker and scratched up Steve's bare legs.  Steve was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, something more appropriate for a Florida golf course rather than a desert hiking trail. And I wore my Keen sandals, which give me great traction on wet rock, but little protection against thorns and sharp grass seed that keep getting stuck in my socks.

There is no dedicated trail in this canyon except for the creek bed, which meanders up the canyon to the waterfall and mine for a four-mile hike.  The other option is bushwacking uphill to the overlook, or exploring the many side canyons. There was so much overgrowth, though, that hiking up here slowed us down. 

I asked Steve if he was interested in hiking up the rock slabs to the reef which overlooks the valley.  He was up to that, but the rocks were too slick for him and we agreed to turn around.  The black lichen is very slippery when wet and we had to avoid injury at all cost. I'll have to come back this weekend and try this again, just to take advantage of the water.  Temperatures are forecasted to be ten degrees warmer, though, and the coolness of today is what made hiking up this undeveloped canyon so enjoyable.

In the dry season one can walk up the slabs to the overlook, but the recent rains have drenched the soil along the drainage, making walking even more cumbersome because now one has to either not mind getting one's feet wet, or tackle the loose rocks along the hillsides that are hidden by the tall grass.  The views from the higher points along the route, especially to the west, revealed what looked like an old corral.  I noticed two white structures in the distance. How does one get there?

We turned around at .2 miles (which seemed longer due to the slow movement we did) and resumed hiking in the creekbed.  Steve was up to seeing the waterfall, which even for much younger people is a full-body workout.  The upper creek bed has seen great change with the burst of growth in the flora.  The trail is hard to navigate with all the tall agave, sotols and yuccas. The huge boulders one must navigate around require lifting and pulling oneself among the rock.  One bad move and a serious injury can result.  Rescue in this canyon would be a challenge even for the rescuers.

"Let's turn around at 3pm" said Steve.  It was 2:10pm.  We got to the falls at 2:52 and relaxed until just 3pm.  It was in this part of the canyon where I saw the few remaining flowers in bloom.  Everything else has gone to seed.

We started our descent on time.  The views from the box, however, are worth the effort to climb to this truly hidden spot.  If getting to this spot weren't so time-consuming, I'd be in these hills more often.  So much remains untouched by humans.

 The sun was now low and shadows covered the narrow canyon we had to walk back through.  At  least it was all downhill, and this time we didn't stop.  Our mission was to get back to the Honda before sunset.  We arrived at 5:40pm, passing a hunter scoping out a hillside for game.  It took us another 40 minutes to get back to the highway.

This is a beautiful area, but the ruggedness requires one to dress appropriately and come prepared with water, decent clothing, and a first-aid kit.  Steve's arms were badly scratched up, but that could have been prevented with a long-sleeved shirt.