https://www.strava.com/activities/8039283777
This hike was led by Stephen S, with a PhD background in microbiology/virology/biochemistry who calls Bisbee his home, with the Huachuca Hiking Club. He has hiked the Mule Mountains for decades, knows all the canyons and many property owners through whose land he leads hikes. I enjoy his hikes very much because they tend to go over ridges or riparian canyons. These are hikes that few people experience.
I invited Susan on this hike. (There were a few others, but they didn't respond or couldn't make it.) We met at the meet-up place above the Mule Tunnel in Bisbee. She was already waiting when I came by at 7:50am. StephenS was also already waiting in his bright green SUV so I introduced Susan to him. Susan and I had hiked on one of his earlier hikes a few years ago to a pretty canyon with a dramatic drop-off.
"Your taking that dog on this hike?" Stephen asked, pointing at Hansel who was whining; he didn't like being leashed up to a pole to prevent jumping up on people.
"Is that ok?" I replied, a bit stumped at his response. I've taken Zeke on his previous hikes and there was never an issue with dogs.
"There's a six-foot rock wall that he won't be able to climb up" the doctor explained. I looked at Susan perplexed. I don't remember anything like that in the hike description.
"We can always turn around when we get to that point," added Susan. We both agreed that Hansel most likely could find his own path up the route as he's very athletic.
It turns out we never had any issues. Hansel is 2.5 years old and in great shape, being able to jump up and leap tall boulders with a single bound. He performed flawlessly throughout this hike.
Two more women drove up shortly after we had arrived, but neither were club members nor knew of this hike. Karen B and her friend Beverly are members of the Bisbee Muleteam hiking group who came to the same meeting point to start their own hike. They simply had planned on parking above the tunnel and walking up Juniper Flats. They ended up joining Stephen's group with his approval and did very well.
We were a group of 12 by the time we got started: Stephen, SteveA, SteveS, JimA, RyanD, DougB, KarenF (all club members), MikeS, Susan and I and the two add-ons KarenB and Beverly. After the usual delay due to grumbles and snarls among the men, we finally got going at 8:12am.
It was 47F. We were in the cool shade the first mile walking downhill on a private dirt road that ends at the bottom of the canyon at a cattle trough. Susan and I were eager to get into the sun.
Hansel was onleash to prevent any encounters with some of the pissy dogs that live off this road. They had attacked Zeke a few years ago. That memory put me on the offense this morning.
There were no pissy dogs this time, and I took him off leash once we were off the public road. He kept pulling on his leash anyway, so I needed to get on ahead. Had he caught the scent of a predator? Or prey? He kept running into the brush along the hillside. Unlike the other dogs besides Sahne, he always comes back at recall.
Two miles into the hike, we took our first break at the bottom of the canyon, at a solar-powered power station that supplies energy to a cattle trough farther away and off the trail. We could see the high cliffs toward the radio towers on top of Juniper Flats road. That is where we had to hike. Stephen said that dirt road traveling in a northeast direction where we took our first break continues on for 14 miles to High Lonesome Road.
We continued in the opposite direction, though, then turned south to a drainage with pools of water. Just what Hansel needed! We stayed along this drainage for the next 2.5 miles, until we were back on Juniper Flats road. Susan and I both were excited about the water. We soon took our outer layers off and warmed up in the sun.
She and I both enjoy hiking along or in shallow water and we reminisced about the early summer of 2020 when we did a lot of water wading in the San Pedro River with our dogs.
Hiking this drainage was slow going. We had water all throughout this stretch as the drainage provided scenic spots of small cliffs, swimming holes, one walled-up mine, and vistas to the north. We climbed over large boulders, slinked under low-hanging emory oak tree branches, crouched around cat claw and other prickly desert flora and took several breaks to make sure everyone made it.
There was only one tough area for Hansel. Luckily Doug was right next to him and pulled him over a ledge by his collar. I thanked Doug for helping Hansel. Hansel was not traumatized by the head pull. He's developed into an easy-going dog I can safely take on group hikes. I wish all the pups were like that.
Despite the presence of water, we saw little wild life or wildflowers. We spotted one submerged canyon tree frog, one dead submerged spider (that looked like a crab) and some flox. Perhaps our large group and Hansel kept any critters safely at a distance.
The grade got steeper the higher we got. We had to walk through narrow passages single file at times, although some of us hiked around the jams to get ahead. I did that at times to get ahead and turn around for some snap shots. This way I could get head shots instead of butt shots of people.
A large swimming hole was the highlight of the hike and where Stephen insisted on stopping for lunch. It was indeed a pretty area.
My thighs were feeling the grade as we continued uphill. Miles three, four and five were 37, 33 and 34-minute miles with a grade at times greater than 50 percent. Visions of the Donner Party climbing up mountain sides flashed through my mind. What kept me going was knowing we were getting closer to the road. The power lines that parallel the road were the noticeable landmark.
RyanD, KarenB, Beverly and KarenF had all gone on ahead by the time Susan and I made it to the road. SteveS, SteveA, Doug, Jim and Stephen were the only ones behind us now. We had another 0.3 mile of uphill walking before the descent finally began. Hansel stayed off leash and stayed close by, but he jumped into the murky stock pond near the end for one final cooling off.
Everyone took off once back at the cars. We had hiked for 5:30 hours. We were all exhausted. There was no post-hike meal today. I got back home at 2:30pm and it was at this time that my thighs were tightening. I was too tired for an evening meal.
These two photos by KarenF
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