The cold overnight made me sleep soundly under the covers. I didn't even awake until almost 8am. The cold continued after sunrise.
Yesterday's hike spiked my curiosity about the old Nogales railroad bed. How far northwest does the bed go before it meets up with the old town of Fairbank? I took Fritz and Sahne along to explore. We didn't get started until just past noon.
This rain over the Southwest is the southern portion of another storm blasting the Pacific Northwest and California. It was colder and windier today, and it drizzled throughout the morning. I thought about Ellen traipsing up the trail to the Crest Trail by herself. She braves the cold well. I, not so much. I do worry about her many solitary adventures. I did the same when I was her age.
Of course the dogs didn't mind. They were oblivious to my thoughts as they ran around the desert, staying close by. The heavy rain had softened the ground but didn't wash away all the cow patties. Small puddles remain in rock crevices.
Both Fritz and Sahne are great hiking dogs. I only wish Fritz would relax around other dogs and people. He is especially uncomfortable around other men. Here on the secluded Babocomari, however, I didn't have to worry about him near other people. I do need to see if I can get him in an obedience class where he can learn to relax around others.
I walked down to the railroad bed. This is 1.6 miles from the start. I hadn't started my tracker properly so I lost that mileage for documentation. I then turned northeast rather than southwest along the railroad bed. My goal was to walk along the bed until it reached Fairbank.
Alas, that was not to be. The railroad bed quickly becomes overgrown with pokey catclaw. A barbed wire fence cuts across the bed just a quarter-mile further. Why the fence? Perhaps to keep any cattle out? It's all public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. I went over the fence to continue.
I was quickly disappointed. While there is a short trail that cuts off from the bed toward the river, the river here hits a curve that is covered in old debris. The grass here is saturated and not safe for walking, so I went back up the old railroad bed to see if just walking straight on would take me back to any semblance of a railroad bed. It did not. All I hit was dense catclaw and other desert pokers. The old railroad bed most likely was washed away years ago after heavy rains. The ground is very porous here.
The dogs ran around but I was getting cold again from the drizzle. This wasn't the kind of weather conducive to exploration. It was in the upper 40s. I decided to turn around and walk to the old bridge abutment and explore that area. I wanted to see if one could access the watering hole beyond the abutment without having to cross the river.
I discovered that the shortcut trail across the desert also leads one down to the river, at a scenic bend along high cliffs. I didn't want to be near the water, though, in case of flash flooding, so I went back up along the railroad bed and climbed around the rocks, where we had turned around yesterday.
Running through catclaw is easy for dogs, but the shrub is a menace to hikers. Catclaw bends easily and only grows around three feet tall, but its many long thorns all along its twigs can really scratch up skin. The thorns even rip open nylon or thin cotton.
Fritz led the way for me. I had to carefully step up a rocky hillside to follow him, but we all managed to get to the watering hole. Yes, the hole looks deep enough to swim in, but getting into that hole won't be easy unless people are willing to wade into it from the abutment and risk stepping on underwater snags. I may just come back here and cut the catclaw down to make for a safer passage for others.
We had hiked almost seven miles by the time I got back to the truck. I noticed two more faint side trails, one which appears to go east to the San Pedro River and close to SR82. I will explore that trail soon.
The dogs were happy to rest back in the truck. I stopped by SteveT's place to drop off his travel cooler. He had given it to me yesterday with three different craft beers he picked up in Laramie and Saratoga, WY over his holiday road trip. Because of Fritz's aggression, however, I couldn't get out of the truck. I returned the cooler through the window and then drove on into town.
I stopped at the Bone Dry Taphouse to see if they had any holiday ale on tap. The Bisbee Brewing Company makes a tasty ale with apples and cinnamon. There was none on tap.
Tomorrow is my last day of winter break. I enjoyed the two weeks bonding with the dogs and I could use more time to sleep in through these cold mornings, but getting back to work allows me to afford the dog food, and perhaps preserves my sanity.
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