A Tale of Three Springs

Hi Blog!

From our campsite in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, we can see Mt. Wrightson and the Santa Rita Mountains to our west. They were calling us to come over and take a hike. After a little Google searching, we discovered that Madera Canyon was just a short drive around the mountain range. The canyon and its immediate surroundings are home to wide variety of flora and fauna, ranging from cactus covered desert in the lower reaches of the canyon to aspen and pine forests on the slopes of Mount Wrightson. It has been said that a hike in Madera Canyon is like walking from Arizona to Canada. So, what will take us months to drive, we can do in a single day hike. How cool is that!

On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, we drove over to the Bog Springs Campground in the Coronado National Forest. There are a few trailhead parking spots in the campground. After paying our day use fee, we hit the trail. Since the weather had been so hot recently, we decided to do a hike to three different springs and leave the mountain climbing for cooler weather.  Below, Kathy examines the trailhead sign to decide which direction we should go:

Although we didn't plan to climb it, Mt. Wrightson was never far from view. The mountain was named for William Wrightson, a miner and entrepreneur in the region killed by Apaches in the 1865 Battle of Fort Buchanan.

We followed the Bog Springs Trail up, up and more up! By the time the hike was done, we had climbed almost 2,000 feet in 2.7 miles, which is steep for us.  We soon had amazing views of the valley below.

All that uphill makes a hiker hot and thirsty. Here Kathy shows the most expedient method for cooling down.  (No, David had not admonished her to go do that.)

The Santa Rita Mountains were filled with prospectors in the early 1900s, with over a dozen mines operating in Madera Canyon alone. The result is a network of old trails and roads, as well as springs identified and developed where they sprung.  It wasn't surprising, then, that we could find more springs.  After leaving Bog Springs, we worked our way up and over to Kent Spring. The trail weaved in and out a number of drainages following old pack trails.  Here, David is doing his best to imitate an old pack mule:

The year-round water near Bog Springs provides the perfect habitat for Arizona Sycamore trees:

Where there be trees there be squirrels!

As we hiked over the shoulder from the Bog Springs drainage to the Kent Spring drainage, we were rewarded with more great views.

We also got up close and personal with Mt. Wrightson.

While Kent Spring was not as inviting as Bog Springs, it was located in a beautiful valley.  Unfortunately, the water of Kent Spring wasn't nearly as inviting as that of Bog Spring --

-- however, a nearby stream flowed strong and cold, so we had a chance to soak tired feet in cold water nevertheless.

For some reason, cherry blossoms were in full bloom!  David allowed as how some Johnny Cherryseed probably spit his pits out near the trail, and thus grew two young cherry trees:

We found a pretty little spot right next to the creek to have our picnic lunch:

We relaxed knowing that all of our uphill was behind us. Little did we know it was all STEEP downhill from here.  For the moment, however, we enjoyed this beautiful stream:

The trail down from Kent Spring to Sylvester Spring followed an old mining road. It was almost a mile straight down (and we mean STRAIGHT)!  The trail was steep and rocky and required a lot of tip-toeing to keep from sliding on the loose gravel. It was about this time that Kathy realized she was no longer wearing her hat. She had taken it off at Kent Spring to soak her head in the creek. To retrieve it would mean an additional mile uphill and another mile downhill. Goodbye, hat!

The Sylvester Spring was in much better shape than Kent Spring. However, the design of the spring made for an interesting optical illusion.  If you look closely at the photo below, the spring container wall is clearly higher on the left than on the right, but the water fills it up on both sides.  Must be funny minerals in this spring water.

The road followed the stream, crossing back and forth as it worked its way down the valley. We were rewarded with a number of small waterfalls. This Transition Zone (we never reached the Canadian Zone beginning at 8,000 feet, but it is characterized by aspen and Douglas Fir) is characterized by many plants common to the Rocky Mountains.  The valley was filled with Ponderosa pine, deciduous Gambel oak, smooth sumac, maples, and other mountain species.

As we hiked away from the creek, we found ourselves descending into the Upper Sonoran zone.  This zone is cooler and more moist than the Lower Sonoran, but of course warmer and drier than the Transition Zone. It is composed primarily of two woodland plant communities and represented by plants such as evergreen oaks, alligator juniper, Mexican piñon pine, shrubs and bunchgrasses.

By the time we returned to the trailhead, we had logged a demanding 5 miles - 2.7 miles up and 2.3 miles down, with elevation gain and loss averaging 750 or 800 feet per mile.  By the time we reached our Jeep, our poor little puppies were barking.

And so ends our hike from the desert floor to the mountain side. We hope to be back some day.