The walk that made me sick....

I didn't feel so hot when I woke up last Saturday. But damn it, I'd been planning this hike for two weeks and I wasn't going to let a case of the sniffles stop me!

In retrospect, I am an ass. But it was still a great walk. I went to the Pajarita Wilderness. It's a spot near Nogales. I decided to walk Sycamore Canyon, about a five mile hike that leads right to the Mexican Border.

There are signs all over the place warning you about smugglers and illegal immigration. I think National Parks should also have signs that say "Warning! You may encounter morons on your walk! Proceed with caution!" Anyway, let's get to the hike!

This is about the start of the hike. As you can see, there's a lot of water in the canyon. Sycamore Creek is one of the only perennial streams in Baja Arizona. By the way, there are probably a hundred canyons in Arizona named Sycamore Canyon. Probably because in such a dry land such huge trees are startling. And also because the blessed people at the Park Service aren't real long on imagination. That's why you get such great names as Big Rock and Sandy Wash. Oh well. You usually get what's advertised. In an case, note that the level of the water is just about where the "path" is.

The path is really more of a suggestion. It's hard to get lost in a slot canyon. At least, that's how the thinking goes. Here's a picture of the "path" a little later on. Yeah, my feet got wet. More than once.





In parts, the canyon spreads out, and you get these great rock formations like one would see in the Chiricahuas. Very pretty. While I was taking this, a mule deer exploded from the brash to my right. For a moment, all my brain could register was a long tawny blur headed for me. I almost wet myself. Almost. I'm pretty tough after all.

There's a lot of great camping sites around here. And side canyons that beg to be explored. I'm definitely coming back.







This is another portion of the stream. There is great beauty here. Humbling beauty.






This is a pretty tough hike. Besides the water, there's a bunch of spots where the trail just sort of ends, and you have to do a bit of climbing. Right near here, there's a spot where you have to grab a rope that some Ranger helpfully attached to an eyebolt drilled into the cliff face. Very helpful. On the way in, I used it and forgot to move it into a spot where I could grab it from the other side. This led to what I'm sure was a very comical view of me, face pressed into the cliff, wildly flailing with my right arm to grab a rope I could not see. Did I fall? Nope. Did I think about falling? You bet!

On the way back, as always, I started to run into other hikers. Because they are often so very loud, I usually know that they are there before they know I'm around. Good thing. That way, I can hop off the trail and work around them without having to have that stupid hiking conversation:

Them: Hey!

Me: Hey.

Them: How far did you go!

Me: Unintelligible mumble.

Them: Nice day!

Me: Uh. Yup.

Then the money question.

Them: You, uh, out here by yourself?

This always creeps me out. I know they're probably harmless and just groping for something to say. But geez. I usually say, no, there are twenty-five friends of mine up the trail. And they're armed to the teeth. I'm not that into guns. But people like these make me want to carry one out here. Anyway, enough of the rant.

Anyway, on the way back, I ran into a guy here who just bawling from the depths of his soul. Real, racking sobs. I have no idea what was going on. Nor, I must admit, did I care all that much. Hey, life is tough. I told a friend about it that night. He rather sardonically suggested, "Maybe he lost his true love." Hey, maybe. But as everyone knows, the way you mourn that is in a dark room. With a bottle. An expensive bottle. Don't ruin my hike with your tears! It's a National Forest. It belongs to everyone you selfish bastard!!





More from the walk. This is another part of the "path". The nice thing though, is that the further you get in, the fewer people you see. It's pretty quiet out here.










I saw a lot of animals. Heard more. Fish, frogs, the aforementioned deer, hawks, kestrels, etc. There were also a ton of jays that loudly complained of my presence each time I approached a canyon wall. I found this quite rude. It's a National Forest guys. It belongs to all of us! Jackasses.



The closer you get to the US-Mexico border, the more trash you start seeing. Cans of food. Clothing. Etc. Sort of ruins the "I am in the wilderness" mood. I have sympathy though. This can't be a good place to cross the border. While there's water here, you have quite a hike to get back to a real road. And it's really up and down terrain. And ungodly hot during the spring and summer. I feel for these people.


Anyway, that was the hike. A great one. I'll definitely be back. On the way out, I pushed it a little hard. I was feeling good. Had a good sweat going. Leaping from rock to rock. I got home and basically collapsed. Two days later, I'm still sniffling. Sniff!

Stupid. But worth it.