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| Hiking | 7.50 Miles |
1,850 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.50 Miles | | | |
| 1,850 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | | Met Jim and Brian in Tucson at our usual carpool spot, and drove east to Tombstone and then up Middlemarch Road into some of my favorite country. Parked a little further in on road 697 due to some campers at the junction, and then set off on foot up the rocky road on a beautiful late winter day. A small group of snowbird ATV folks passed us on the way up, the only folks we would see all day. At the base of China Peak, we stopped to explore one of the San Juan Mine’s tunnels for a bit, then stopped to have lunch. The ascent up the ATV road to China Peak’s summit was as brutally steep as I remembered it, and made for painful breathing with my broken rib. A good workout for sure though. We took a long break on the summit, enjoying the sunny skies, clear air, and views of distant snowcapped peaks. On the way down, we made several stops to explore various mine tunnels in the vicinity of the San Juan Mine. Lots of cool excavations, stoping, mine structures, and other interesting underworld delights. We did a bit of poking around at the old Gordon Camp site at the valley’s exit on the way down. Fantastic sunset light on the hillside descent overlooking Tombstone on our final leg, which reminded me of my last trip here 10 years ago. Can’t believe it’s been that long. We did some exploration of some limestone outcrops at dusk where I was able to find a solitary living button cactus (Epithelantha micromeris), which was exciting for a cactus nerd like me. Drove out after dark and stopped for dinner in Benson before heading home for Tucson. Great adventure! |
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| "…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan |
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