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We have all heard the stories of hikers stumbling across illegal dope grows out in the national forest, the Mexican Cartels, and the 'no go' areas of CA. These drug growers damage the forest, poach wildlife, and have been known to shoot hikers who happen across them. An article in USA Today, Aug 19, told that the latest CA fire was started by the Cartel boys while cooking dinner at one of their grows. As an environmentalist, it pisses me off that this is happening in our public lands.

We hikers can help keep our national forests safe by reporting grow sites and suspicious activity to the authorities. I found a grow two years ago in the Matazals, a quarter mile east of the Arizona Trail near a popular Boy Scout Camp site. So, M-16 toting illegal aliens are that close to your kids out there. No better reason to shut them down. I do not advocate others to go out looking for grows; but it is fun for those of us with nothing to lose, hiking off trail in the manzanita, seeing remotest of places.


I was wondering if there are any others in the club who like to go 'hunting', and if anyone has any tips or suggestions to help out. The best places to look are around reliable water sources, like springs, wells, creeks,etc. However, there are just so many miles and miles of territory out there to search, even with aids like sat maps and the like, it is difficult to find anything. The Bradshaws have had some busts, as have the Rim area and Matazals. Gila County is also a good area. This weekend will be a hike along the feeder streams of Cherry Creek, just east of the Sierra Anchas.

Lets keep the comments on topic and not about the question of legalization of marijuana, or whether getting stoned is a good idea or not. There is plenty of material here in which to bash or ridicule without the aid of those tired arguments. Yes, the mission is potentially dangerous, but not any more dangerous than walking through South Phoenix after dark. Besides, the odds of finding a grow are about zero unless you put in a bunch of miles intelligently.

Here is a pic of the trash left behind at the Matazal grow site. Thousands of starter dixie cups, plastic bird netting, a bone yard of poached wildlife, fertilizer bags, irrigation equiment, shoes, clothes, tortilla wrappers, Miracle Grow, etc. etc. Basically, the same trash you find at Organ Pipe National Monument or anywhere near the human trafficking routes.

I bet forest fires really piss 'em off

or get them high as hell

fairweather8588 wrote:or get them high as hell

Dude, you gotta report it if you are threatened in some way by someone. If no one is around, well, do what you feel is right, whether to report it or not. But if someone threatens you, then it's really not about an innocent herb, it's about criminal violence. If you don't report it, then later on during harvest it could escalate into something worse for another hiker/4wheeler.

Alright now, let's just scare everyone not to go hiking in AZ. Let's whip up on AZ some more. Seems like it's the thing to do. Even though this stuff probably happened it seems some of you are giddy talking about it.

Precisely why I was quick to ask if any hikers in Arizona have been killed. Personally I think with all the other "threats" out there it's not altering my hiking decision.

On the same token I think HAZ Hikebot is more interested in finding these places based on the subject line ''...Search"

Reading this thread really makes you want to move from this horrible crime ridden dangerous place. Thanks.

Hmmm! Yup!

Funny you never hear about big dope patches much in the White Mtns., at least not on our district. I know there have been small ones found, but I'm pretty sure they don't exist on a large scale.

gemmidog wrote:Reading this thread really makes you want to move from this horrible crime ridden dangerous place. Thanks.

No problem

Hey, we vigorously debate everything for fun, so not to worry. And welcome to HAZ!

Joe, my popup smilie page pops up but doesn't work.

Are you using the "Quick Reply" at the bottom of the page or the "POSTREPLY" button?

Oh. Got it.

I went ahead and made all posting (even on PMs) smilies an embedded pop-"in" instead of the pesky pop-ups (hold the applause )

Now back to the topic...

harvesting should be coming soon, if you want to get out and find/report these grows, now is the time.

gemmidog wrote:Reading this thread really makes you want to move from this horrible crime ridden dangerous place. Thanks.

I would rather see your personal awareness raised to a slight degree rather than read about how you were killed after stumbling on a dope patch.

What is more, I want to make it clear that I, for one, am not in any way "giddy" about any of this madness. Were the decision to lie with me, I would simply hang anyone caught engaged in an enterprise such as this from the very first tree suitable to the purpose near the dope patch. I'd even be all for seeing my tax dollars and Forest Service law enforcement resources diverted for such an enforcement activity. The decision does not lie with me, more is the pity...

You would probably have just as good a chance to find gold as you would a green pasture of pot

joshvk121 wrote:You would probably have just as good a chance to find gold as you would a green pasture of pot

I don't know about that. I found pot twice in the superstitions but never the gold! ;)

scorpion scus wrote:i quite frequently ride my quad n. of lake pleasant and s. of crown king and have been on countless old trails and rds. back there . many are so old it takes a very keen eye to identify them. usually at the end of these rds ill find old mining sites complete sometimes w/ buildings and almost always some kind of water source. ive been exploring this area for about 10 years now by quad and it is always in the back of my mind that i may come upon a grow site.kind of pisses me off that i have to worry about armed jrkoffs while out exploring these very historic and interesting areas, but at the same time it adds a bit of adrenilin rush when getting offthe beaten path. i am very much aware of the danger im putting myself in because riding a polaris 500 sportsman is not very stealthy and any pot growers will probably here me coming well before i hit there grow. wont do me any good if i get ambushed but im always armed to the teeth when i do these exploration trips, such as last weekend i had my mini 14 w/400 rounds of ammo in my carry box and my s.a. xd .45 onmy hip w/40 rds and my s.w..38 in my pocket. so if i can't run i will certainly fight i was just out there this past weekend and saw nothing suspicious even tho i could take you to several prime growing areas . and for those of you that enjoy 4 wheeling the crown king 4x4 rd is becoming quite brutal as well as [ ill call it the upper french creek rd ] which brings you out to the wagoneer rd. i often wonder what i would do if i came upon a situation like in the movie no country for old men would i report it or.......

That is a really cool area of the state to explore. Try checking out the area around Horse Mountain and the Wet Indian Creek drainage. All the yahoos stay around Lake Pleasant and the 4X road to Crown King, so it is nice and peaceful; there is nothing but God's country east of Wagoner Road. Get there via Yarnell Hill and Wagoner.

You are a smart man to be carrying a firearm when bushwacking or whenever you get outside civilization. What most people do not understand is: the only Law out in the backwoods is the law of the gun, it is not like you can just call 911 and the State will protect you. It takes the Law several hours to reach the scene, assuming that you can contact them at all, so one must take control of the situation and not allow himself to be a victim. Everyone should pack a pistol in the backwoods. Mine is a titanium snub nose .38, it is so light that I forget I have it on.

Definitely carry if you ever go to the Chiricahuas or the border zone. It is a zoo down there and I refuse to go anymore. A buddy of mine was almost killed/carjacked/robbed in the Chiricahuas by a group of gun wielding banditos. Luck for him, he had some friends (who were carrying some serious weaponry) show up, which scared them off. As far as the Bradshaws; they are really safe, except for a few aggressive mountain lions. The Game and Fish Dept. not only allows the killing of aggressive lions, it encourages that they be destroyed. Lions are everywhere up there, and half starving.

joe bartels wrote:Precisely why I was quick to ask if any hikers in Arizona have been killed. Personally I think with all the other "threats" out there it's not altering my hiking decision.

On the same token I think HAZ Hikebot is more interested in finding these places based on the subject line ''...Search"

Yep. I am 0 or 12 so far this summer and quickly running out of time before the harvest. The idea of posting the topic was to create awareness of the issue and gain some good intel, as you guys are out in the wilderness every weekend.

It is fun to go out bushwhacking on the weekend, hiking the remotest of places in Arizona. Having a goal, a mission, makes the trips more more interesting. There is little financial reward in the endeavor because the Forest Service does not offer reward money.

take a few garbage bags, and fill them up when you find it... voila reward!!! hahahah im kidding of course, as its prolly low grade garbage weed...