Dog Snot On My Windshield: Contention City's old stamp mill

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Contention City's old stamp mill

https://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/4865781616

What a perfect day for a hike. It began overcast and cool, with a colorful sunrise at 6:44am I got up early, red an email from SteveT asking if I wanted to hike to Contention today, and jumped on that opportunity. Contention was once a busy mining town on the San Pedro River. All that is left of it now is the ruins of the stamp mill built along the side of a hill. It is this mill we wanted to see.

Contention (City) was once the largest stamp mill in the Tombstone district in the 1880s, but flooding soon after its establishment caused the mines in the area to close and with it, the miners living in the area. Buildings were bulldozed to prevent squatters from taking over.

I took Zeke and Sweetie for this hike, leaving the pups at home. The mill is an eight-mile hike and the pups haven't done this distance before and I want to work them up to that length. Zeke and Sweetie have proven to be conditioned for this hike.

We met at the trailhead just before 8am. It was chilly here due to a breeze and I grabbed my sweat shirt for added warmth. This was Steve's hike so I followed the path he chose: hiking north to the Grand Mill, then taking a wash to the dry San Pedro river until we reached the mill site. This was a wise decision, as this route cut out a half-mile each way.

The trail begins under a canopy of mesquite trees. Dead leaves were now carpeting the path, giving off a faint green hue to the ground. Autumn came fast!

We were the only ones on the trail and had the dogs off-leash since we were bypassing the ghost town of Fairbank this time.

Distance is important when hiking a longer trail in the desert, as there is no water right now. The old Fairbank cemetery is a half-mile from the trail head. The first stamp mill is another mile from the cemetery. The wash leading to the main river bed is another 0.2 miles north of there. The stamp mill in Contention where we were hiking to was the bigger of the three in the area. At two miles we were on the wide, dry river bed of the San Pedro, flanked by cottonwoods now changing color. Another half mile on the river and we reached what looked like an old water gauge. Contention mill from the gauge is a mile north. I tracked all this distance via my app for further reference as this is an area I enjoy exploring.

The breeze we had all day helped remove a lot of the leaves, which were now covering the wash. The river going north here is scenic, with old mining relics on either side of the wash. There is so much more to explore in this area, but we were focused on the mill. When we got to the red cliffs on the eastern banks of the wash, we knew we were getting close.

Where was the old trail to the mill? We now were on a mission to find a way to the old mill. We came across a huge tumbleweed in the middle of the wash, the only one around. Several logjams from recent floods piled high on the wash's high point here. We were now below the mill, but how to get up to the mill, with all those high and fragile cliffs just above us? I saw what looked like an old adobe wall and climbed up to it, tackling steep and brittle terrain. That wall turned out not to be a wall, but a naturally-made wall from years of erosion. Bummer.

I was not going to give up. I knew I was close to finding the mill. Steve stayed in the wash with his dog. Zeke and Sweetie stayed with me as we plowed through brittle bush and other prickly things to get to the mill. I saw a lot of rusty old cans and some old mining equipment as I moved slowly uphill. And then I got on a well-trodden path that led me to the mill. I had found the way! Now I had to find Steve and Trace and see if there was a way for him to get uphill. He was still in the wash waiting for me. We found a narrow but steep path by a few eroded pinnacles. Steve was able to get up to the mill site as I guided him up to the mill.

It felt good to finally be at the old stamp mill, after two previous attempts over the years. We had hiked 3.4 miles to get to this spot. We now found some level, sturdy ground to sit on, give the dogs water and treats, and take a rest. There was a lot to explore in the immediate area. Several rock walls were still intact, a small shaft was visible, but mostly what we saw around us were rusted metal, old wood, and a lot of rusted cans.

I told Steve I was going to climb even higher, to the top of the hill. Terrain here was very steep and loose; I had to be careful. I saw a sign above me and wanted to see what that said. (It was a "No DIGGING sign warning not to dig or remove any relics from this site)

I had climbed up a ridge, with views of another wash heading to the east, and a faded old mining trail, heavily overgrown with creosote bushes. I walked on this old road for 0.2 miles before turning around, as I didn't want Steve to worry about me. I know there are more shafts in the area, but most is now covered with thick shrubbery.

Steve was still sitting by the old stamp mill waiting for me. I came down a steep path back to where he was waiting. I had put on 1.4 extra miles since first coming up to the mine. Steve was not interesting in hiking back down to the wash to find the old adobe walls of Contention, and that was probably a good idea to forsake as winds were now picking up. We decided to head back at this point. I can always come back with another group and explore the area some more, now that I know how to get to the mill.

We took the path by the mill for our return hike back down to the wash. This proved to be a good idea, as we came back out to the wash by the giant tumbleweed. Steve took me to see some eroded pinnacles along the wash, which all were truly fascinating to see.

The cloud cover we had at the start of the hike had slowly dissipated. It was getting warm. We were now walking into the wind. The dogs were looking tired. Sweetie did a good job on this hike, perhaps one of the longest ones she has been on. She did very well, staying close and not running after other animals.

The wind picked up once we were back on the official Fairbank loop trail, with two miles to go to the parking lot. I put on a face mask to keep the biting sand out of my mouth.

People were now showing up on this trail. We met two women hiking north looking for the petroglyphs. The older woman showed me a map she had downloaded from the internet, but I told her she had started the hike too far to the north. She had started the hike at Fairbank. What she needed to do is drive farther south and start at Charleston. She and the other woman looked crestfallen and turned around, giving Steve and me some time to get ahead with the dogs. A little bit later we came across three more people and their papillons.

We got back to the cars at 12:30ish, having hiked for 4:27 hours. I was tired and thirsty. The two cans of Foster beer I had picked up at the gas station this morning were still cool enough to enjoy, so Steve took out his two camping chairs and we had our little celebration right there in the parking lot, sitting between our two cars with the shade of the Escape keeping most of our bodies shaded. The dogs napped in the cars and made not one sound, as we chatted about the hike, about life and friendship. Politics never was mentioned. We finally parted when the beer was drunk and the winds had picked up.

Shortly after I got on south SR 90 in Huachuca City, I learned that Biden was now the "President Elect" when Pennsylvania gave Biden the needed electorates to get 274 of the 270 needed. Pennsylvania had announced its winner early this morning while we were starting the hike. I could not believe this. Biden had won? He's our 46th president? And shortly after I got south of Sierra Vista, heavy rain clouds over the mountains burst open and a rainbow briefly appeared, like a good omen. And when I stopped at the gas station for more refreshments, I had the news confirmed via my New York Times app.

"Biden won?!" I said loud enough while in line to purchase my goodies, and a young couple ahead of me turned around and said "We knew Biden was going to win, he was just too popular."