Lower Miller Canyon Trail
Posted By auntie on January 28, 2016
2.37 miles; Hereford, AZ
I had to kind of squeeze this one in, so it wasn’t as long as I would have liked, but it was so beautiful. I really hope I get to come back here someday.
Hikes with Bathrooms!
This is another in my continuing series, “Hikes with Bathrooms.” There was a lovely Clivas installation here at the trailhead.
Natural Beauty
I’m hiking here in the foothills of the Huachuca [pronounced wah-CHOO-ka] Mountains. Even in winter, as I walked along bubbling little Miller Creek, which, from the terrain, can at times be a raging torrent, there was green and things in bloom.
Alligator Juniper, Juniperus deppeana
During an earlier hike over the Mule Pass, I mentioned a tree I’d noticed with interesting bark, and then never took a photo of the bark. Well, here it is, the Alligator Juniper. It also lent a wonderful spicy scent to the air.
Stream Crossing
I haven’t had a lot of hikes lately that involved stream crossings, but this was one. I also encountered quite a character here… a guy who was obviously living his cowboy fantasy. He wore a big ol’ ten gallon hat, cowboy boots, and most alarming to me, a pair of shootin’ irons on his hips. He stopped at the stream crossing and filled his canteen (ew… can you say giardia? I knew you could!) and took a deep swig. He was on the trail just ahead of me, and I took my time, not wanting to catch up.
Miller Canyon is part of the huge (1.7 million acres) Coronado National Forest, and is managed by the U.S. National Park Service. You can read more about Miller Canyon on their website. I got a fantastic waterproof map of the trails in this area at the Sierra Vista Ranger Station at 4070 South Avenida Saracino, in Hereford. It’s right off State Route 92, and the map was only $5.
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