Farley's Cabin Photoset • Outlander • 2013-03-14 • HikeArizona.COM

Farley's Cabin, AZ

	2013-03-14
	12 by Outlander

1 label
1 label

1
1 label
1 label

2
1 label
2 labels
1 label
1 label
1 label

1
1 label

1

Farley's Cabin, AZ

Hiking	8.00 Miles	1,500 AEG

Hiking	8.00 Miles	10 Hrs	1.33 mph
	1,500 ft AEG	4 Hrs Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

The mission was to visit Farley's Cabin and bag a few peaks within the Sonoran Desert National Monument.

Farley's Cabin is on the old bombing range, known as Area A, and a range permit is required to enter. The BLM asks that visitors watch a video so they can learn about unexploded ordinance and safety issues.

Why Mr. Farley built a cabin in this neck of the woods is anyone's guess, as it would be very difficult to make a living in this desert land: water is scarce, there is no way to farm it, and it can support few livestock. Perhaps he worked at one of the small mines in the area, like the Papago Indian Chief Mine, or found gold in the surrounding washes. The location was chosen at a place where water can be found, the Mesquite Well, which is hand dug and listed as an Arizona historical place. The hill just east of the well has numerous Indian petroglyphs, a good indication that water has been present here for hundreds of years, with the deepening of the well a more recent addition.

There is much to explore and history to discover at Farley's Cabin. The gal at the BLM did ask that I tread lightly and warned about criminal activity going on in the area. Someone had recently attempted to burn down the structure, so the BLM decommissioned a nearby water guzzler to limit the cabin's exposure to vandalism.

As per usual, the day had a few 'incidents' and close calls. I was really happy to see that MCSO and PCSO special ops teams were out patrolling the area. They are fine fellows, real go-getters who seek the action instead of shirking from it; the kind of guys that would make great sons-in-law. I will not carp on the situation anymore; if you want to believe that drug smugglers are nice guys, people you can hold hands with, and sing Kumbaya together while passing around choom blunts; come on down and see how that works out for you.

Spring has come early to Arizona this year and the snakes are out. I was hoping to find few critters to photograph, but the search yielded only one rattlesnake and a few lizards. The Sand Tank Mountains have some rare snake species, like the secretive rosy boa. A friend of mine has a rosy boa living under his manufactured home on the outskirts of Maricopa. It has been there for several years and has grown to giant proportions, eating mice, kittens, rabbits, and whatever else it can catch. I asked him to try to keep the snake away from the road and the dogs, but how does one do that with a wild snake? It has made a home there and prospered. Pretty cool.

Aside from a minor sunburn, I made it out of the Sonoran Desert National Monument unscathed. It was a good day all around.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chain Fruit Cholla Leatherstem

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Stone Dwelling

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]