Galiuro Mountains and Redfield Canyon Wilderness: The Place Time Forgot, Arizona

The Trip

Few people venture into this isolated and beautiful place that time has forgotten. It seems the pioneers suddenly vanished leaving all their belongings behind. Our hike will span two special wilderness areas; Redfield Canyon and Galiuro Mountains Wilderness. The Nature Conservancy maintains a large preserve here called Muleshoe Ranch and the biologically important and sensitive San Pedro River riparian area cuts through the valley immediately to the west of the Galiuro Mountains. And in the northern reaches of the Galiuro Wilderness is the spectacular Aravaipa Wilderness Area. There is a wide variety of plants and animals because of the many different life zones in the mountains, valleys, riparian areas and deserts where we will be hiking. We should see many wildflowers as it will be spring while we are there. If we are lucky we might see a jaguar, a few have been spotted over the last few years roaming in southern Arizona’s mountains.

The Galiuro Mountains rise to over 7,500 feet from the 3,000 feet valleys surrounding them. Giant saguaro cactus forests form the Sonoran Desert apron around these mountains while huge Arizona cypress trees stud the lush valleys with towering Douglas firs draping the high country.  We will visit all these life zones and more. The Galiuro Mountains are unusual in having two parallel ridges with a moderate size valley, Rattlesnake Canyon, dividing them. The Galiuro Mountains are one of dozens of Sky Island mountain ranges that are part of the Basin and Range province of the western U.S. and Sierra Madres in Northern Mexico.

Active volcanos, about 18 to 35 million years ago, formed the red rhyolite cliffs we will see along our journey and shaped many of the Sky Islands around the Galiuro Mountains. These volcanoes also helped create mineral rich deposits in the Galiuro Mountains and surrounding mountains leading many prospectors to develop mines in these mountains. Some of their cabins, machinery and water diversion systems are still present and we will pass some of them along our route. One of the most famous shootouts in Arizona occurred at the Powers Brothers cabin. A sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed there in 1918, almost 100 years ago leading to the biggest manhunt in Arizona history. One brother was killed but Tom survived and spent 42 years in the Arizona State Prison. Ranching and raising cattle drove economic development in Arizona and there are still many ranches in the area today. 

The evening before the trip we will meet in Tucson for a trip briefing.

Day 1: The drive to the trailhead is beautiful and interesting as we drive through the Sonoran Desert and high chaparral. We will pass some historic areas and active ranches on the way. Some of the roads are rugged dirt roads requiring high clearance vehicles. We will backpack into Redfield Canyon and visit historic Cliff House on our first day and then camp near the flowing waters of this marvelous riparian at the confluence with Swamp Springs Canyon.

Day 2: We will continue our journey up Redfield Canyon in the shade of velvet ash, Arizona walnut, Arizona sycamore and Arizona cypress trees. We will make our way up Redfield off-trail enjoying the red rhyolite cliffs and intermittent stream along the way. We may hike up some side canyons depending on our progress and we will pass a Pioneer cabin or two as well.

Day 3: Leaving Redfield we will make our way up to Cedar Flat and over a small pass into the heart of the Galiuro Wilderness. We will pass Gold Gulch and Long Tom mine before getting to camp in a lovely wooded area at the confluence with Keilberg Canyon. Hiking will be slow in places as it is brushy and the way can be confusing as there are a number of small canyons in the area.

Day 4: Today we will come to a good trail that will make the hiking easier. We will visit Power’s mine and cabin where the famous shootout took place. Ascending several hundred feet we will enjoy some great views from Grassy Peak and then continue along the West Divide trail to Rattlesnake Canyon and Power’s spring where we will camp. We will descend to Rattlesnake Canyon and camp near Holdout Spring after exploring some intriguing pioneer mine equipment.

Day 5: A gorgeous dayhike on old trails will take us down lower Ratllesnake to Sycamore and Horse Canyons and will make for a splendid loop hike. We will have one section of less than a mile that is off-trail. We will hike initially in lush riparian habitat but then climb almost 2,000 feet to enjoy some sweeping views of the Galiuros. In the early afternoon we will pick up our packs and continue a few miles on an easy trail in Rattlesnake Canyon to Holdout Spring where we will camp.

Day 6: We will hike up a good trail through a lovely forest full of Rocky Mountain maple, Douglas fir and Arizona Cypress to the East Ridge. We will dry camp below Kennedy Peak. The area is very green and we will have some lovely views of Rattlesnake Canyon below us. We will hike to the top of Kennedy for a sunset view of the endless valleys and mountains that surround us. Kennedy at 7,549 feet is the second highest peak in the Galiuro Mountains.

Day 7: Arising early we will hike down a steep but lovely trail to the Deer Creek Trailhead. We will then make our way back to Tucson by early evening.

Note: The exact itinerary for the trip may vary from what is described above depending on the weather, water availability, permit availability and the strength and preferences of the group.

Getting There

There are many flights to Tucson daily. Plan to arrive the day before the trip and then depart the day after the trip. You might want to come a few days before or stay a few days after to enjoy the many attractions of Tucson during the lovely Sonoran Desert spring. Further details on getting to the trailhead will be provided after you have signed up for the trip.

Accommodations and Food

Our first trip meal will be lunch on day one and the last meal will be breakfast on the last day. Trip meals will include some meat but vegetarians can be accommodated. Trip participants help with meal preparation and clean up. We try to bring enough food so everyone is satisfied, but also want to keep our packs as light as possible. We try to make the food appetizing but fairly simple to make. From past feedback everyone will likely be more than satisfied.

Trip Difficulty

Our mileage for the week is about 58 miles. Our elevation change will be as much as 2,000 feet in a day. Our average daily distance is a little over eight miles, with some off-trail hiking and considerable hiking without packs. The hiking varies from arduous, steep and rocky off-trail hiking to easy level hiking on good trails. Although our daily mileage and elevation change is moderate this is still a challenging trip. All backpack trips are physically demanding and this trip is no exception. 

Equipment and Clothing

We bring all the pots, stoves, and food. We will distribute about 12 lbs. of group food and gear for each participant to carry at the beginning of the trip. Group water will be purified with Micropur chlorine tablets or boiling. We will distribute Micropur tablets to participants for purification of personal drinking water. Everyone will need to bring enough water containers to carry six quarts of water as we will need to dry camp at least once. We will work with everyone to pack light. The trip will be safer and easier if everyone keeps his or her pack weight to the minimum.

A specific equipment list will be provided after you have signed up for the trip.

References

Maps:

• The following USGS 7.5 minute series maps will cover our route: Cherry Springs Peak, Bassett Peak, and Kennedy Peak.

Books:

• Brusca, Richard C. and Wendy Moore, A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona with an Introduction to the Madrean Sky Islands. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2013. Although this book’s focus is the Catalinas, the Galiuro are just across the San Pedro River and most of what the authors describe applies to the Galiuro too.
• Phillips, Steven J. and Patricia Wentworth Comus, A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 1999. One of the best books describing the natural wonders of the Sonoran Desert.
• Power, Tom, Shoot-Out at Dawn: An Arizona Tragedy. Phoenix Press, 1969. Available used, this is the story of the shoot-out at the Powers Mine, which we will visit, as told by the brother who survived and spent 42 years in an Arizona prison.
• Wilbur-Cruce, Eva Antonia, A Beautiful, Cruel Country. University of Arizona Press, 1987. Set near Arivaca, about 100 miles SW of the Galiuro, this autobiographical account provides a moving portrait of ranch life in our country’s last frontier, Arizona.
• Roberts, David, Once They Moved Like The Wind: Cochise, Geronimo, And The Apache Wars. Touchstone Press, 1994. Apaches roamed the Galiuros and the surrounding valleys with Cochise Stronghold, the last hideout of the Chiricahua Apaches only a few miles from where we will be hiking.

Websites:

• Sky Islands Alliance: http://www.skyislandalliance.org/. Great information about all of the sky islands in the area, including the Galiuro Mountains.
• Nature Conservancy Muleshoe Ranch: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/arizona/placesweprotect/muleshoe-ranch-cma.xml. Provides an overview of some of the conservation issues in the area that we will be visiting.

Conservation

As the Southwest is enduring over 10 years of drought, water levels in Lakes Powell and Mead are at historic lows. Water is a major if not the major issue in Arizona and the West. The other issue is energy, despite an abundance of sunshine; Arizona still receives much of its power from coal fired plants instead of renewables. Arizona does have a major nuclear plant which is controversial, but Arizona should be leading the nation in conversion to solar energy. These and other conservation topics will be considered on our trip.