Gold Hill exploratory walk

I dreamed that Gretel gave birth to eleven white kittens.  Explain that!

I slept in this morning, missing any signs of sunrise.  I didn't even get out of bed until 10ish, and then with a very sore back.  So much for hitting Tucson today.  I'll try again tomorrow...maybe

Instead, at 1:30pm I took Zeke, Hansel and Sweetie to Bisbee to explore more of the Gold Hill area, heading east on the main ATV road I was on last time (a month ago).  I wanted to check out the big mine tailings I could see from the Gold Hill tunnel.  I figured that mine is three miles from the parking area, so I planned for a six-mile hike.

I began my hike at 2:17pm. It was in the mid 60s with clear sky.  I felt tired.  I also felt lacking of any energy.  And then I made the mistake of bushwhacking through what turned out to be heavy catclaw, scratching my legs even through my pants.  The shortcut that I thought this would be to the main ATV road only slowed me down. I was miserable, and I'm sure the dogs weren't having much fun, either.  Getting back on the main ATV road was a big relief.  I'm sure the dogs were happy to not have to put up with my screaming and cursing while fighting the catclaw.

I stayed on this road, bypassing all the other side roads I explored last time: the turn-off to the mines at the 1.5 mile mark, and the turn-off to a big trough at the 1.8-mile mark.  I figured the main mine was three miles total, but then at 2.2 miles I hit a faint trail going north to another smaller mine so I turned there instead.  This road followed a wash before ascending to what looked like an old shaft, now covered shut.  I never did see any other mines today.

The terrain east of Gold Hill gets more interesting.  What a shame it takes two miles of drudgery to get there.  There was no sign of water here, and no indication that any rain or snow fell here two weeks ago.  The desert was as dry and as monochrome today as it was a month ago.

I explored another faint road going back west to Gold Hill, thinking that would lead me to a mine tailings I was aiming for, but the road just died out in a wash.  Thinking the tailings were up the side of a catclawy hill, I drudged uphill, only to find nothing but more catclaw and now prickly pear cacti with thin spines (glochids) the length of toothpicks.  Again, more cursing but at least less screaming as Hansel led the way and we followed.  Hansel likess to blaze trails and the dogs follow.  He had found what looked like a deer trail through the creosote forest, as there was plenty of deer pellets on the ground.  And sure enough, shortly after getting back on the main road heading back to the car, a white-tailed deer pounced across the road and the dogs took chase for a bit.

My track was leading me back to the mines I explored last month.  It was already 4pm and time to head back anyway, so I bushwhacked to the road that led to those mines.  We walked through catclaw and then dense creosote before getting back on a road.  By now I just wanted to get back to the Honda before the sun set behind the hills.

I never made it to the main mine on the east side, but I did explore a few hidden trails.  I will have to come back a third time to walk the roads.  There are many more fainter roads one doesn't see until one comes right up to them on the hike, so I am curious what else could be out there.  This is ATV country, judging by the tire tracks I saw today.

I didn't come across any people once I got started.  There was one big pick-up with two men in it at the parking area, and later I saw an ATV rumble by with two more men in it.  I was hidden by catclaw so the ATV didn't know I was nearby. 

We had done 5.94 miles in 3:14.50 hours. I never had to put on my wind breaker.  The two shirts I had on were sufficient all day long.  I felt a cooling breeze on the return hike, when the sun was much lower in the sky, affording the dogs much-needed shade.

I stopped at Dylan's Pizza Bistro in Bisbee on my drive home.  The place was busy but the pizza I tried was mediocre at best. I did like the ambiance.

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