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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
880 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 1 Hour 40 Mns | | 3.75 mph |
| 880 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | What to hike while en route from Tucson to Flagstaff? The mercury mines! Hard to believe it had been 10 years since my last visit. Parked at the FR 25/FR 25A junction and set off on foot around 5pm. I overtook some hunters in an ATV on the hike in, otherwise had the place to myself. West Fork Sycamore Creek was flowing nicely. Nice to see this area looking pretty good after the 2012 wildfire. Hiked past the Junk Mine, now free of plywood and debris, to the overlook of the Sunflower Mill. Happy to see the old rotary furnace tube still there. I recalled a lifetime of visits to this unique place, and hiking up to photograph the mill back in 1998 (so glad to have those photos now). Went a bit further up canyon to the Sunflower Mine to look for some cinnabar samples and check out the old mine tunnels (now sealed). Headed back down the canyon after sunset, pausing to wash the cinnabar dirt off my hands in the creek bed. Concluded my journey with a deserted Lake Mary highway drive, surrounded by a blanket of moonlit snow.
An evening of nostalgia had me feeling great, recalling similar adventures in my younger years. |
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| "…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan |
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