So what happens if the Rosemont Mine gets approved and becomes a permanent sore on the scrawny hide of the Arizona Trail in this area? Perhaps Augusta Resources and their army of human resources personnel (including behavioral psychologists) will find an ingenious way to woo hikers like installing a feeding station and, most importantly, a drinking fountain, thus luring us in time and again against our higher will, slaves to our base biological needs.
Ah, but what if there were a way to steer clear of the poison trap without compromising the integrity of the hike? And what if the alternative actually offered up drinking water in this long, dry stretch of trail, compliments of mother nature? Of course, such a route does exist. It’s already on the ground and ready to go. It’s the old route of the Arizona Trail through Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, the one that hikers used to hike before the recent completion of singletrack in Las Colinas and (nostalgically misnomered) Las Cienegas passages of the trail.
Actually, it’s a hybrid route I’m envisioning. It’d work something like this: From the official Arizona Trail in Oak Tree Canyon, continue east on the “old route” in the wash, across Highway 83, and into Las Cienegas NCA. Find a way via roads to Cienega Creek - one economical possibility is around 9 miles from the above split. Here all water concerns would cease for a period of miles as you follow the creek or paralleling roads northbound through some of the Southwest’s last, best desert riparian habitat. It’s unlike anything else you’ll experience between Mexico and Utah!
After “The Narrows” the creek typically runs dry, and hikers previously veered northeast toward I-10 at Mescal, then along Happy Valley Rd to the eastern trailheads for Saguaro National Park. Now, rather, one could simply remain with Cienega Creek, circumventing a couple of small private parcels, and reaching I-10 farther west near the Marsh Station Rd exit. This would still offer reasonable access via hitchhike or taxi to Benson for resupply and a room. Cienega Creek eventually flows again and regains its cloak of leafy greenery en route the final 7 miles to a rejoining of the main Arizona Trail at “Three Bridges,” just in time to enjoy some of the best Sonoran desert strolling the AZT has to offer.
Hikers would need a permit to legally hike along Cienega Creek in state land north of the BLM conservation area. But what they would not be unduly burdened with is excessive extra mileage. Between Oak Tree Canyon and Three Bridges, the above proposed route is only about 5 miles longer than the official Arizona Trail. A couple extra hours of walking in order to be assured of finding good water, with access to shade, a top-notch desert riverine ecosystem, and enjoying the karmic rush of getting to thumb your nose from afar at the excruciating Rosemont debacle.
I’m excited about it, but then again, I get excited easily at the prospect of standing over here while everyone else is over there.
blisterfree