I never finished posting about our trip to Southeast Arizona back in March so I guess now is as good a time as any. My brother-in-law, Ben Freburg, who flew with us to Arizona for the week had one main goal for the trip. He wanted to hike Upper Madera Canyon with me. He had taken my mother-in-law Laura to hike there, but they had not gone very far. I was interested but knew that I would probably see more birds and find more lifers if I went somewhere else such as Mt. Lemmon. However, I knew that I would regret it if I was selfish and missed out on this opportunity to have an adventure with Ben. So on March 22, Ben and I left Green Valley and headed for upper Madera.
We got a decent early start, but I made the mistake of making a couple of stops at Proctor Rd. and the White House Picnic Area on the way up, hoping to pick up a few new species. It was too early and too cold, however, and I did not see much. Plus we used up time that could have been spent hiking. Ben was very patient about this, however, and he was excited when we saw this deer at the White House Picnic Area and a few others.
Once we got to the top parking area, where I had birded with Dale Birkenholz two years earlier, we took a 0.3 mile trail to Old Baldy Trail. Old Baldy Trail would then take us to Josephine Saddle (elevation 7080) in 2.2 miles. This hike was by no means easy, but the scenery was beautiful.
A senior passed us on the trail half way up. He said he hiked to Mt. Wrightson (elevation 9453), which is the highest peak at upper Madera, every day. He said he had not even taken a drink yet. I think we had consumed at least a third of our water by this time. As far as birds were concerned, I had enjoyed the sight of at least a couple of Painted Redstarts and several Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
Once we reached Josephine's Saddle we looked at our watches and did the math and realized that if we went on to Mt. Wrightson, we might have a difficult time getting back to the car before dark. It would have been about another three miles there and then 5.5 miles back to the parking lot. However, we were not ready to call it a day. So we considered our options while I photographed the Yellow-eyed Juncos on top of the saddle.
One of the hikers showed us a spot where Red-faced Warblers hang out every year next to the trail head of the Josephine Canyon Trail. Unfortunately, I think it was a little early for Red-faced Warblers, but it was nice information to know in case I ever go back a little later in the Spring. We tried the Josephine Canyon Trail, but the trail was very narrow and seemed too precarious to continue. It seemed where the trail was most narrow, the rocks and dirt were slipping under our feet. I could see where the poles many of the hikers carried and their specialized shoes would be helpful.
We decided to turn back and try the trail that the Red-faced Warbler guy had recommended. He had recommended we take the Agua Caliente Trail to the Agua Caliente Saddle (2.5 miles), back track 0.3 miles, and then take the Vault Mine Trail back to the parking lot (1.8 miles). He said that nesting Elegant Trogons had been seen at the Agua Caliente Saddle in previous years. I did see my lifer Bushtits on this trail as well as Common Ravens and Mexican Jays, and it was a beautiful hike, but by the time we got to the Vault Mine Trail, we decided to head down rather than going an extra 0.3 miles to the Agua Caliente Saddle and another 0.3 miles back to the Vault Mine Trail.
On the way down the Vault Mine Trail, we saw several more Painted Redstarts. I know I saw at least seven for the day.
The Vault Mine Trail was extremely steep at some points and the trail was very rocky and rough on the feet, but we still enjoyed some amazing views.
Here is my brother-in-law Ben next to the entrance to the actual mine.
It was an exhausting, but an adventurous hike, and we drank just about every drop of water we brought. We were spent by the time we got back to the car. However, I decided to stop by the Madera B & B Kubo on the way down. Ben waited in the car, while I watched for hummingbirds, etc. It was a good thing that I stopped there. I saw my lifer Rufous Hummingbird and my lifer Rufous-crowned Sparrow.
There was also a pair of Magnificent Hummingbirds present as well as several Broad-billed Hummingbirds.
This was where I had my lifer Hepatic Tanager two years earlier with Dale Birkenholz, and there was one here again on this day.
We stopped briefly at the Sana Rita Lodge where I photographed this Arizona Wild Turkey.
This post was written and published on November 5, 2013
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