Elevation: 5852' -7959'
Significance: Creek water at the start, scenic views at the peak
I woke up with the sun, which under deep canopy was more like 6:11am. It had been a quiet night with a pleasant wake-up temperature of 62F.. No one ever came to join me in the John Hands campground where I had parked for the night. I drove up to the Herb Martyr campground a mile up the road (which now charges $15/night), parked the Honda and walked down to the creek to look for any trails starting there at 6:34am. The last time I was here was when Kevin and I camped out with Eric, and Sara and Sammy got skunked. That had to have been in 2011. All I remember was the rushing creek and access to several trails. Where were the trail heads now?
The most recent forest fire of 2011 has made the creekbed more rocky and part of the trail washed out, but this is still a pleasant trail that is easy to follow. The creek was rushing well. I passed three campers as I began this adventure. I walked around for almost a mile around the campsite, found the Herb Martyr Little Dam and walked along the creek for Zeke's benefit, before finding the trail that took me up to Pine Park. It was my first time up this trail and it worked well in the end. The official trail is only three miles one way and I made this a 7.4-mile hike, Most of the extra mileage was along the creek.
I started this hike at 7:11am under the cool shade of early morning. The aroma of wet pine needles was refreshing. The trail starts at the Herb Martyr campground as the Basin Trail and follows the creek for a half mile before climbing up a steady incline through new growth of scrub oak.The second mile is higher up and more exposed, with new growth oaks not more then ten feet tall. I still had morning shade going up, but coming back down with the sun higher up, this section was a bit warm. I'm glad I started this hike early, as doing this at high noon would have been far less pleasant.
I hiked at a steady pace. The grade is rated as moderate but I had no trouble. I stopped once for Zeke to give him some water. I could see Pine Park all throughout this hike, but the closer I got to my destination, the narrower the trail became. Trees that had been burned in that last fire are less noticeable now with the ample new growth of pines and oaks and, near the park, of fern still wet with morning dew.
I enjoyed that last mile. While the trail got narrower, it also opened up to great views of the various peaks in the Chiricahuas. I passed a spring near the peak, took a break 1/4 mile from the peak when I got a phone call from Carol. She had been released from the hospital on Friday and is back to using 24-hour home care. She sounded in good spirits. I hope now she follows doctor's orders and takes her electrolyte supplements. It was a relief to hear her chirpy voice. I just hope she means what she says about following doctor's orders.
The seven-minute call gave Zeke a break in the shade. We didn't have much farther to go to reach Pine Park. Many old trees survived the fire and are still alive and standing tall, but the new growth is going to be dominated by oak. Ferns cover the lower ground. The park is a nice area to set up camp if one is continuing on via the Snowshed trail. Before the fire this must have been a shady area to rest for the day. This could be another hike I could do from another trailhead on the western side of the mountain range for another time. The views alone are worth it.
We went back the way we came. There was still enough shaded parts to make this a very enjoyable hike. It took us 3:40 hours. Campers were breaking down their campsites as I got back to my Honda. It was 10:10am and I was looking forward to getting home to Kevin and the dogs. This hike was a great way to end my road trip, with good news about Carol and good weather with low humidity for the final hours. Clouds were billowing over the Chiricahuas but it never rained until early in the evening, when thunder rumbled over the Huachucas.
I got home at 12:24pm. The dogs were happy to see me. The pups were at first unsure, but then rememered who I was and jumped up on me. I then saw what Kevin was referring to about the pups' damage: my entire potted strawberries and herb garden was dug up. Nothing remained of all the new growth this year. Nothing. And there were cans and other kinds of trash strewn all throughout the back yard. I cried quietly. The same few dishes that were in the sink when I left a month ago were still in the sink, with a few more dirty dishes added. Couldn't Kevin have at least washed all those dishes? Bad back, replied Kevin. I have a bad, chronically pained back, too, but standing and walking are fine with me. It's the constant bending over that pains me.
Despite this, I was glad to be back home and off the road for a while.
***
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