This is the hike I had been looking forward to. I love this magical place off Mescal Road, but hiking here is best done in cooler, overcast weather because of the rocks and the exposure. SteveA from the Huachuca Hiking Club led this hike, a day earlier than last year at this time. Nine people showed up: Barry, JimA, SteveA, RodC, Carol and Roz (both did this last year), Jean and Tim and me with Zeke. This time I left Sadie at home due to her age. We had to ford the creek three times before we got to the trailhead. That first fording was a bit scary in my Honda.
We started the hike at 8:45am. It was in the mid 40s and near-clear skies.
Clouds slowly formed as we got into the hills. I didn't bring a wind jacket because the forecast now said no rain, but it was chilly for me when I stopped. I had to keep moving, and in these rocky granite hills, it's not easy to move fast. The trail fades out after a mile and only the occasional cairn marks the way. Every step is calculated because one bad slip and you are either getting poked by agave or making face-to-rock contact. A search-and-rescue would be hard on both rescuers and victim.
This is now my third time in Hidden Pasture. We hiked the same path as before, but this time we had water in all the pools. We rested at the pools, enjoyed the view, and watched frogs climb up the rock from the water.
The water in all the drainages was good news for Zeke, who despite the water was also getting warm from the sun. I'd dunk his orange bandana in the water to keep him cool, and encouraged him to take shade breaks. He did great otherwise, except when he took chase to five cows which left him panting for a while when he returned. One of those cows had diarrhea, too, marking the trail as we moved uphill. That cows can maneuver up these rocky hills is impressive.
We came across wildflowers, but not massively so. Yellow monkeyflowers grew in the wet areas and now penstemon were along the trails. The hillsides did look greener than usual.
We had our lunch at 11:30am near a high point on the trail, a mile from Hidden Pasture which we could see from this point. Zeke was ready to rest at that point. He was so tired, he didn't even eat his beef rib. (He waited until the drive home to crunch down on it)
Barry, Jean and Tim had not done this hike before. Barry was busy taking pictures, and Jean and Tim, who moved to Tucson from Seattle, were also impressed with the area. Jean and Tim, though, did not go all the way to Hidden Pasture. They turned around and went back to the pools and waited for us. Tim cut overgrowth out along the way and both set up additional cairns, making our return hike much easier.
It's a steep hike down to Hidden Pasture from the high point. I was exhausted now. Jim, Rod, Barry and I went to the old dam overlook but didn't stay. The rest stayed under the shade of an oak and then we went back the way we came. I got poked by an agave which drew blood. Later I fell directly on hard granite going downhill. Any thoughts of continuing up to the ridgeline to see the Benson skyline were abandoned, although Steve did say it would make a nice overnight camp-out.
We spread out on the return hike, with the faster hikers up front. I wanted to get ahead only because I was tired now. The constant rock hopping wore me out! Hiking to Hidden Pasture is definitely not for wimps.
It took us over six hours to hike 7.6 miles. We were all tired when we got to our vehicles. No one showed a desire to eat out afterwards, so it was just Zeke and me at Taco Bell in Benson. I was famished and thirsty and couldn't wait to get to Sierra Vista to eat. I was also too tired to walk the other dogs, but promised them I'd take them on a sunrise hike tomorrow. Hopefully my right knee won't be too swollen from that fall I took.
(Group photo by Steve Anderson)For more information on this trail: https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=1440
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