Day 15 & 16: A Tough Descent
Third day of my hike, jolted awake by bright sunshine around 6am. Last night after that beer I hiked a short mile to the edge of town, around a bend and down a fire road where I camped in a stand of pines. Actually managed to get the bivy/tarp thing down this time (looked it up). Dry, warm, full. Packed up and walked a quarter mile down the dirt road that takes you 29 dusty miles down to Oracle, then skirted left before the cattle guard to take the Trail. For the next 11 miles, I hiked straight down 3000 feet along the spine of Oracle Ridge.
The north slopes of these ranges always seem less varied than the south, but the views are outstanding. To the east and right of me were views of the historic (and pre-historic) San Pedro valley. More on that soon. To the west and left the view stretched to Casa Grande. Where I was walking was what cars see as they approach Tucson from I-10 and Phoenix. I could see Picacho Peak lonely like a mini Shiprock standing in the distance. The trail is at times single track, at times a rocky road so steep you can’t believe any SUV or ATV could drive it (they do). By mid afternoon the trail leveled off in the rocks above the town of Oracle.
That night I slept in a casita at High Jinks Ranch outside Oracle. It was land once owned by Buffalo Bill Cody, who thought he’d strike gold here but….didn’t. Cody sold the mine just before WW1 and died penniless (his famous Wild West Show was seized by lenders), but one of the riders from the Show bought the claim and built a wonderful old house on it. It’s now a quasi dude ranch, B&B and historic site. Kelly, who is running it for a few months while she writes a book, welcomes hikers, but for peace of mind she very visibly carries a pistol in her waistband at all times.
Out of the blue, Dad drove the 45m from Tucson to meet me. He just wanted to see me. Kelly let us drink beers in the old kitchen at the High Jinks. Old rooms of slightly different levels surrounded us: a kitchen with wood burning stove, library with Navajo rugs, dining room with wood floors and brook stone walls. We had the best talk about everything and nothing. We confessed that after spending time together we cried when we watched the other drive away. After an hour he drove away, back to Tucson, under the big sign for the ranch. I was happy. I cried.
The next day I had an early start worried about heat and water. By 7:30 I was walking again. The sun slanted under gray clouds and shined bright on the boulders. Oracle high country is the prettiest ever. I can see why Buffalo Bill fell in love with this place. I soon headed down into the San Pedro. It flows north from Mexico to here and then further until it hits the Gila. Dad says it has some of the greatest archeology sites in Arizona because people have lived here for thousands of years. There are sites ranging from Clovis hunting mastodons to 19th century ghost towns. The river appeared every hour or so a few miles in the distance as I parallel it walking north.
By late morning, great grey clouds were angrily looming and whipping around. Always threatening but seldom more than a mist. Finally at noon they hit and I waited out a rain shower in an underpass drinking water left in public bin. When it broke I walked up Tiger Mine Road in the sun briefly then another squall. After an hour I was soaked thru then sun again. Blooms and rain smells all around me: purple hedgehog cactus flower, orange flames on tips of ocotillos, yellow roses on prickly pear, the sweet smell of creosote. In the distance mountains were obscured by mist but the sun was shining on me.
It continued like that all afternoon. Clouds rose up like battalions on the horizon, billowing and menacing, then crashed over me. I just had time to put on a poncho for 15m of rain, then the sun came out again and dried my pack and clothes. Then rinse and repeat. I’m wet but so happy. As Oak says, “The road to heaven is heaven”.
The Arizona Trail 