This walk along the old railroad bed is one of my favorites because of the solitude. I'd come here more often if it weren't a 29-mile drive to get there. I offered to host a hike there via the SV Hikers (now called the Sky Island Hikers) for New Year's Day. None of the regular group hikers signed up, but I did have nine people sign up. That is a nice size for a hiking group. All of them were on time, and in the end they said they enjoyed the hike. None had ever heard of that place.
Rain was forecasted for the afternoon, starting with a 14% at 1pm and double that by 2pm. A start time at 9:30 for five miles meant we could finish the hike without rushing it and be back at the cars before any rain fell. No one cancelled. I had two meetup places, in Sierra Vista and then in Whetstone for those who live north of town.
I met the first group behind the big Circle K off Buffalo Soldier Trail at 9am. An older woman, Tribly, was the first one to pull up with me, driving an older Ram Van. I had heard about her. She's 81 years old, has a house off the San Pedro River, and walks the trail there daily. A self-described loner, she has walked the John Muir Trail when she was 78 years old. "I'm old, I'm slow, but I can do it!" she explained. As for dogs, she doesn't mind them as long as they don't jump up on her. We chatted for ten minutes before a few more people drove up.
I had brought Sahne on today's walk. I wanted to take Hansel but Sahne is fun-loving, too. Her only problem is that she likes to bark at other dogs, especially female dogs (much like Minnie did) but then calms down once she has sniffed all the dog butts.
Bob and wife Bekka with their terrier Taffy, and then Galen, the youngest hiker today at 37 years, showed up. "I'd rather start the new year with a hike instead of a hangover!" said Bob. I agree. My partying days are long over.
We took off at 9:05am to meet the second group in Whetstone at 9:15am: Steve and Trace, Laurie, Suzan and husband Walt with their Golden Doodle. We got started at 9:40am. Dark clouds were already forming over the Huachucas but we braved on. We all were dressed for cold rain.
The group quickly separated into two ability groups: Steve and Tribly and then everyone up front. The hikers were concerned about getting back before the rain, but I didn't want the slower hikers to feel left out. Once we were on the linear railbed, it was two miles to the end where the old bridge is. I told the vanguard to wait for me there. I then went back to join Steve and Trilby.
Trilby and Steve kept a steady pace. She was enjoying this walk, which is mostly level with a mere 300' elevation gain. Then I went back up front to catch up with the faster walkers.
The path looks a bit bleaker now that winter is here. Gone are any colors from wildflowers or cacti. The overgrown tree canopy along the railbed was cut down (to make way for ATVs?), as was the overgrown pigweed along the path. There was also a lot of cow scat along the way. The river was flowing below and was visible through the barren trees.
We made it to the bridge abutment shortly after 11am. They were all impressed with the river and scenery, especially Bob who is also a passionate photographer. Suzan, who had just moved to the area from Bend, OR two months ago with Walt, was delighted to see water. Galen kept to himself but walked around the ruins. Bekka passed out Christmas cookies. The three dogs romped in the water.
The group was ready to turn around when Steve and Trilby showed up. Bob was concerned about the incoming rain. Not wanting to be rude, we stayed along enough for her to enjoy the view, but we didn't stay for her to eat. I'm glad we pushed on ahead, because clouds were now covering the Whetstones which meant we would get rain next.
Everyone wanted to take the desert shortcut back. I walked with them, bid farewell when we got back to the main path, then went back to get Steve and Trilby on the shortcut as well. She had trouble getting up the short incline, but once on the narrow desert trail, she forged on ahead.
Everyone else was gone when Steve and I got back to our cars. We had to get our dogs into our vehicles quickly to avoid getting rained on. Seven minutes later it began to rain. When I got back to the Circle K at 1:15, it was a steady rain. So I pulled in next to Trilby's Ram and we chatted. And chatted. She talked about her hikes, her family and how over the years she has lost many friends. She had 20 friends in the area when she first moved here, but now is down to three and they all have health issues.
"It gets lonely" she added. Her small get-togethers of artist friends are no more. I told Trilby I'd be happy to join her on short hikes in the area.
I made it back to the RV by 4pm. The rain had left puddles in the yard. Heavy rain clouds were still over the peaks. The low sun was now behind the mountains and the sky was getting dark prematurely. This was the kind of winter weather that depresses me. It's also the kind of weather that flora and fauna need to survive.
Thankfully Gretchen and Sweetie were inside the van and were dry, albeit anxious to get outside again for a pee break. Fritz was tied up outside, but when I drove up, he pushed through the junipers and jumped into the truck. He had gotten himself free from his collar. How long had he been outside the yard?! I ended up warming up in the truck with both Sahne and Fritz, drove into town for dinner at Taco Bell, and didn't get inside the RV until past midnight. It was a cold, humid rain that chilled me to the bone. I couldn't get warm.
I cancelled my participation to Ellen's hike up Miller Peak tomorrow as the rain continued past midnight. I don't like cancelling hikes, but today was cold and wet (humid) and I was chilled all night long. I don't mind hiking in deep snow, but I prefer it not to be snowing as well. When I cancelled, I saw that five others had done the same thing. Only Victor was still on the list, but he cancelled in the morning.
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