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| Hiking | 6.00 Miles |
2,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.00 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 1.00 mph |
| 2,000 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The mission was to scrounge around the Harquahalas looking for rare cacti, check a few mines, and bag Socorro Peak.
This was to be my third attempt at finding the elusive elephant tree of the Harquahalas, having previously hiked through Browns canyon, Sunset Canyon, and along the ridgeline to the main peak with no success. It is said that the Harquahalas have the highest latitude outpost of the semi-tropical elephant tree, which reach great size in the less frosty climes of Baja California.
I arrived late Tuesday afternoon and set up camp near the Socorro Mine, an old gold mine that has some sign of recent activity. The mill site has been reduced to its concrete foundation, but it was big producer back in the day. There were also a couple of guys living out of a school bus down the road. They worked all night long, moving gravel through their equipment during the cool evening hours.
The next day I headed up the hill taking the southern slope. There is an old trail along the ridgeline that leads to a few mines and prospects. A fellow on the peak register said he hiked the west face in 2 1/2 hours, which is a pretty good pace on account of the steep incline, but it does appear to be the easiest route from the bottom.
Socorro Peak is a fun, leg burner hike, full of critters and things to see. The peak register had the usual crew of 8 guys, starting back in 1991.
Upon reaching the summit, I spotted a water catchment off to the east, so I checked it out. The water tank was in good working order, with about a million bees and a grey squirrel living there full time. There was no sign of the sheep, which no doubt had moved to greener pastures since the monsoon rains. The summer rains have been abundant this year, and the desert is green as Ireland.
My first attempt down the mountain was thwarted by a nasty 400'cliff, forcing me to try a different route. However, the cliff did give me the opportunity to survey the canyon below, and I spotted what appeared to be a large elephant tree off in the distance. It took about an hour to work my way over there, but it proved worth the effort upon finding the first of many giant elephant trees that live in this obscure canyon. They are quite healthy and much larger than I expected, showing not the least bit of frost damage. There were also some yucca trees in the canyon, the same association that can be found in the Tinajas Altas, but without all the border mayhem.
The canyon has exposure to the winter sun, jutting cliffs, narrow ravines, and huge boulders that act as heat sinks; creating a unique micro climate where the plants can survive frosty winter nights. I found the same situation in the Sierra Estrellas. Anyway, it was another day without television, much fun and a good time. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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