The drive to Copper Creek east of Mammoth, AZ took longer than planned. We left our house at 8:40am. We headed north on Highway 90 to Interstate 10 toward Benson. From here we drove a short distance east on I-10 and turned north on Pomerene Road. This road turns into River Road north of Redington. We had entered the Sonoran desert as Saguaros popped up around us the further north we drove.
We got to the trailhead at noon. We had taken short breaks along the way to let the dogs out to pee, but still, the drive there was exhausting. I drove 40mph most of the way on River Road, passing Snowbirds in vans driving half as fast.
Copper Creek Trail starts on the east side of River Road from the small immigrant town of Mammouth. It is an unmarked dirt road. A yellow sign warns drivers that this is a Primitive Road, but this wasn't as primitive as other roads I've been on in Arizona.
A shooting range is right off to the left as one drives east. Many shooters were busy practicing their skills as we drove past. I thought the road was well-graded most of the way, as it ascended the western Galiuros with panoramic views toward the Rincons and the Santa Catalinas to our far west. Mammoth glistened in the valley.
The road was public land, but on either side of us was State Trust Land. This was land that others felt they could litter with broken glass, used toilet paper, and other trash. It was no surpirse then to learn that a "Road Closed" sign near the start meant there was no through-way.
We stopped several times near scenic vistas or abandoned mines to walk around. Saguaro and Teddy Bear Cacti dotted the roads around us. Copper Creek at times ran clear, then coppery, and finally a turquoise color that seemed eerie against the bright afternoon sun.
The road narrowed to one lane two miles from the Copper Creek Ruins, which were nothing more than a graffitti-smothered water tank and a few rock foundations. There was no sign of any permanent settlements here. Did the miners here live in tents, wooden structures, or not at all?
Several Monster Trucks came toward us from Sombrero Butte, the highest point on the road. The road was blocked off at this point and they were turning around. These were Monster Trucks I have never seen on backcountry roads before. They made my Ford look puny.
We parked here, had a lunch, and walked down to the creek. We meandered along the creek for a while. Kevin explored uphill while I stayed near the water, hugging steep canyon walls. The dogs enjoyed the cool water.
We didn't stay long, though. Kevin couldn't find any relics. He did find a very dead cow and removed the skull. I guess that someday that skull will be hanging on our back porch once we get it chemically blanched.
He went back to the truck while I went back up another sidetrail, focused on several mature cottonwoods further uphill. A retainer wall stopped the creek at this point, and uphill from here there was little water on the surface.
The trail came to a dead-end a half-mile from where I started. A steep side canyon took off here near a gargantuan cottonwood that had one side branch digging into the soil. This area was a camp site of some sort, judging by the trash and toilet paper stuck to low-lying shrubs.
As I walked further uphill I realized I was walking in a flood zone. When this area gets rain, the entire box canyon would flood. It's no wonder the trail came to an abrupt end.
I was a little disappointed that the Copper Creek Trail did not allow us to drive the loop road as was depicted on our topo map. Nothing on other websites said this road was now closed off to through traffic. We ended up driving back the way we came--a 45-minute drive back to River Road--and headed back home the way we came, along the dusty and washboard-rumbling River Road.
This is beautiful country nonetheless, with lush green agricultural fields hugging the San Pedro, dairy cows in Cascabel, and two impressive mountain ranges on either side. Unmarked dirt roads from either side invite explorers to go off-road into deep, riparian canyons.
We could see the Huachucas from 40 miles away. And it was at this point on our return trip that we heard on an AM station out of Denver that the Arizona Cardinals won the NFC championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cards will now play against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Super Bowl on 1 February. I'm sure football fans across Pennsylvania were transfixed to their TVs today.
I'm glad I got to see Copper Canyon, but like Kevin said, we did more driving than walking. None of the trails off the main road went far; they were all unmarked former mining trails that led to long-abandoned mines. And, in retrospect, we probably did not hike up the right trail to the old town ruins as we never came across the Sibley Mansion ruins. Had we walked up another trail perhaps we could have gotten some walking in.
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