Annual spring campout at Herb Martyr campground by Cave Creek in the Chiricahuas. Tables & toilets..sometimes a fee. Friday night communal dinner and campfire.
Non campers are welcome to join us for a hike (just let Brad know you’re coming), and please arrange your own transportation to the campground (allow for a 2 hour drive). There will be two hike options on Saturday...
SILVER PEAK - 7:30am, April 21
This hike leaves 7:30am from Herb Martyr campground in the Cave Creek area of the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal. Cave Creek Canyon has been called the Yosemite of Arizona because of its interesting cliffs and rock formations. This hike is 9.2 miles roundtrip, a challenging but do-able hike. Anyone has the option to stop along the route and wait for the group to return. A fine, well-maintained trail of increasing switchbacks climbs 3,000 feet to the summit. The views from the summit are tremendous, offering unobstructed views of the sweeping Chiricahua Range and Cave Creek Canyon. Bring water, lunch and maybe a walking stick. Dogs are welcome. Back late evening. For more details and to let him know you are coming, contact Brad at bradward.j3@juno.com or 432-2476 before April 19. After April 19 you may be able to contact through a camper with a cellphone, unless there is no service at the campground.
UPPER BASIN TRAIL - 9am, April 21
This hike starts at our Herb Martyr campsite and follows the main creek for about a mile before starting a climb up to an intersection with the Snowshed Trail and return the same way, for a total RT distance of 5.6 miles. At the intersection the elevation is high enough to offer long views back down the expanse of all of Cave Creek Canyon. Bring water, lunch and maybe a walking stick. Dogs are welcome. Back late afternoon.
DIRECTIONS TO CAMPSITE
Our campsite is reached by driving along Hwy 80 through Douglas, then continuing on to the Arizona-New Mexico state line along a long (about 50 miles) and very sparsely inhabited stretch of the highway. If you want to avoid driving through the center of Douglas, there is a left turn you can take at what I remember to be the first traffic signal onto a main road. There may be a sign indicating the left turn as a Hwy 80 Bypass. After that left turn, there is only one more left turn at a stop sign, when the Hwy 80 Business Route comes out of town to join the Bypass. From then on Douglas is left behind quickly.
If you want to eat out before arriving at the campsite, Douglas is the most reliable place. There is a good selection of places to eat by driving down Pan American Avenue and turning right to WalMart, then back out the same way. For those NOT just coming out for the day, there are two places you might eat at closer to camping-- a small grocery store and diner in Rodeo, which closes mid-afternoon, and the Portal Lodge which is also not to be relied upon to stay open very late.
After crossing into New Mexico, the highway turns into New Mexico Highway 80. Drive another two miles to the little town of Rodeo, then another three miles to the turn off to Portal-- a left turn which quickly takes you back into Arizona. From the turn-off, the little rustic resort village of Portal is about another seven to eight miles. Just beyond Portal is a right turn-off to Paradise (dirt road), but continue straight on the paved road. About a mile beyond the Paradise turn-off is the US Forest Service Cave Creek Visitor Center on the right. During regular business hours, it may be have opened for the season, but not on weekends. The USFS is strict about observing minimal operating hours, especially now when budgets are tighter than ever. Just a short distance beyond the Visitor Center-- also on right-- is the trailhead to Silver Peak.
If you continue on to our campground, you will just have to backtrack to the trailhead. If time is short, you may want to just wait for us to come to you. Even if one of two hiking parties appears to have already left the trailhead, there may be another one-- a faster one--to come along later.
From the Visitor Center to the site of our campout, continue on for three miles past three seasonal campgrounds while still on pavement. They may or may not be open. Just after passing the Southwestern Research Station Operated by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, make a left turn off of the main road which continues on to Onion Saddle. By this time the surfaces of all roads have turned to dirt. After making the left turn, continue on for another two miles of dirt road, to our campout at the Herb Martyr Recreation Site. -Brad
OPTIONAL LODGING
I remember that when we have camped at Cave Creek, some Muleteamers have stayed at the American Museum of Natural History Southwest Research Station that we pass by two miles away, on our way to the Herb Martyr campsite. Prices of overnight lodging and meals are available at the URL below, as well as hours when open and details about tours of the station for campers who would like a different kind of daytime activity. The station is open to visitors seven days week except Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 10 AM to 5:45 PM. It started in 1955 and opened a Technical Equipment Lab with a lot of different research instruments in 1992. - Brad
https://www.amnh.org/our-research/southwestern-research-station/visitors-tours
BACKTRACK - Slavin Gulch
Eight hikers and 1 dog began the hike at the Slavin Gulch trailhead. It was a cool, sunny morning, just perfect for hiking. We hiked up the trail as the Stronghold Granite rose all around us. Our only disappointment was the lack of flowing water. Maybe next time. After hiking a good distance, one human and one dog stopped, ate and returned. The remaining seven continued through the gulch and up to the bottom of the chute of the Abril Mine. (After returning I looked it up--the mine was known mostly for producing zinc and copper.) The return hike began with a bit of excitement when a faint rattle was heard on the trail. With heightened awareness we continued. Three points to note: 1) The hike is really about 7 miles, 2) Ken's new knee passed the test, and 3) Brad had a NEW water bottle with him! -Sandy
More photos at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 360 photo link: rebrand.ly/SlavinGulch
SIDETRACK - Plate?
Someone left a plate at our Easter Party: brown with 3 big white flowers in the middle. -Doug
CALENDAR - April 28 is blank so far - A local hike anyone?
April 28 - ?
May 5 - Echo Canyon in the Chiricahuas with Molly
May 12 - Possible last hike & potluck. Any suggestions?
Thanks for hiking with me,
Larry
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Muleteam archive photos - muleteam.shutterfly.com
Muleteam & Bisbee gifts - cafepress.com/bisbeegear
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