Our next boondocking spot wasn’t a very big drive from Indian Bread Rocks where we camped last week. We’re in a National Conservation Area by Sonoita, AZ off on our own with nobody around except a herd of pronghorn.
Our first day we rode a Kentucky Camp loop with a further add on of the Arizona Trail out to the wilderness and back. Our mountain bike ride clocked in at 19 miles with 1733′ of climbing. Like most of the west, we had a one day cold spell and it was only in the 60’s for our ride so I had to break out long sleeves!
Kentucky Camp was backed by George B. McAneny, a wealthy investor from San Jose, California, who provided the capital and invested in sophisticated mining technology. The camp’s design was attributed to James B. Stetson, a professional mining engineer, who both engineered and installed the mining technology. With McAneny as the President and Stetson as the Manager, Santa Rita Water and Mining Company hydraulic mining operations began in 1903. Tragically, in 1905 Stetson fell from a third-floor window of a Tucson hotel and was reported dead. From this point on, the financial situation of the Santa Rita Water and Mining Company deteriorated and mining ceased. Today there are a couple old buildings, a cabin you can rent, and lots of peace and quiet.
The loop was a mixture of singletrack and dirt roads through the Santa Rita foothills. The Arizona Trail from Gardner Canyon started up a couple rocky switchbacks and then rolled along through rocky terrain before dropping down into meadows of tall dry grasses that shown orange in the fall afternoon sun. After popping out at Kentucky Camp and poking around, we continued around on some dirt roads that were pretty rough in spots. The loop itself was only 12 miles so we added out an out and back on the Arizona Trail to the wilderness boundary.
It’s been awhile since we had these wide open mountain views! The high-point on the ride was about 5650′ so we still are up relatively high but it’s hard to remember that because we aren’t in a pine forest. Mesquite, oak, tall grasses and plenty of cacti surround the trails. The sky at night is dark, dark, dark!!!
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