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| Wilderness Exploration, AZ | |
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| | Wilderness Exploration, AZ | | | |
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Wilderness Exploration, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.06 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 4.06 Miles | 4 Hrs 5 Mns | | 0.99 mph |
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| no partners | | I hit up my birding buddy Jeff to see if he wanted to check out a new Wilderness, and he was more than game. We were able to get some road and route info from a local pair of birders who had been out there recently - they are both wildlife biologists, one for Coronado NF and one for Safford BLM. I used RouteScout to plot us a route, and it worked out beautifully.
From our meeting point, it only took about an hour to the old ranch - and we were even able to make it up the last 1/2 mile hill beyond the ranch in his old 2wd Escape and my old 2wd CRV. Other than a few slightly sketchy spots, the road was in the best shape I could have possibly hoped. The ranch - while unoccupied on this day - is clearly still not abandoned, as there was some fresh lumber laying out from whatever renovation project they are working on. Much of the drive in is filled with jaw-dropping views. There is a large parking/camping area where we stopped, as well as a large camping area just before the ranch.
The hike up the canyon was as expected - some rough stuff and brushy ... definitely long pants territory. The climb up to the rim was also rough and fairly steep, but not too long. After we enjoyed the views up top and began working our way down through the grasslands, we ran into a trail - a real trail! Old, but very easy to follow, so we backtracked and took that for a while to see where it went ... it just kept going, so next time we will plan on following that further.
Obviously we barely scratched the surface, but it was enough to make us want to come back and see what all is up there - it's just spectacular!
Bonus - hiking with Jeff is like having my own personal bird guide, and we saw about 35 different species of birds - including three lifers for me! 
Don't everybody all rush out here at the same time, ok - but you really might want to plan a visit! |
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