A map, a road, another road; a route.
Respectively: TopoFusion, Fourr Canyon, unnamed 4×4 road; the Dragoons northern loop.
Lee and I coasted through the town of Dragoon, carried by cold morning winds. We rolled out of town on a lonely dirt road, heading south to Fourr Canyon.
In 1907 Billy Fourr guarded the entrance to the canyon with his Wincester. “I took it away from the Indians and by God I aim to keep it.”
In 2005 the canyon is guarded by a vicious dog, a friendly mexican ranch hand and a crusty old cowboy named Jack. Lee had secured permission to pass through, but it seemed on the edge, especially while we were there. He told us there was no way to get to the other side of the Dragoons, but that was exactly our plan. We offered to let him know how it went, but “he didn’t give a damn if we made it or not.”
After some small talk, we headed out the back of the ranch and were instantly back on public land — Fourr Canyon. The canyon was a very nice ride. The trees grew dense, almost high elevation forest, and it was very peaceful. The canyon was relatively untouched — except the obvious mark of cattle.
After a few challenging rock sections our road led us out of the canyon, climbing towards a small pass. We successfully climbed two steep pitches, feeling good about ourselves. Then I rounded a corner, and “oh boy.” It looked unlikely, but I gave it a shot anyway. Traction held out longer than I anticipated, but it was soon clear this hill was far beyond my abilities and strength.
We pushed and pushed up the hill, sending my calves & achilles tendons into a frenzy. At 5800 ft we gained an impressive view of Fourr Canyon, the past, and the upper end of Jordan Canyon, the future.
Looking toward Jordan Canyon from Fourr
The road descended steeply to the actual pass, then increased its grade even further to drop into Jordan Canyon. It was one of the strangest descents I’ve ever ridden. It felt like snow skiing in a few inches of fresh powder. It was very loose, yet it did not feel out of control. Despite the extreme grade, I had no fear. Crashing would have been soft and might possibly have felt good. In short, it was fun.
We rolled around on the nicely wooded road, crossing a few side drains. The road was growing ever more faint with each mile. At the top of a ridge we reached a corral and the ‘trick tank.’ The trick, in this case, is to catch rain water using a large bowl of tin that empties into a tank. A good idea as an alternative to damming, drilling or a spring.
The Trick Tank
Now we had a decision. As Jack told us, there is no route from this ridge to the east side of the Dragoons. I had originally mapped out a route following a drainage that started at the trick tank. Lee’s idea was to take a shorter, steeper but hopefully clearer route down a ridgeline. After looking at the start of the drain we decided to check out the ridgelines higher up.
The road quickly deteriorated into a trail and then into desert. We saw the knoll indicated on the topo, so we headed directly for it. Things looked pretty good, that is, clear. The terrain featured prickly pear, cholla, and ocotillo, but it was not thick enough that the going was too slow.
We started out traversing the knoll, still heading to attain the ridge. We got into a few nasty sections that required some route finding, causing us to question our decision to traverse. But we were soon standing on the ridge, staring across the plains of the Sulphur Springs Valley to the snow covered Chiricahua Mountains.
We walked down the ridge until we reached a small peak. The geographic setup was strangely similar to our ridgeline descent off the Brush Corrals trail. We were once again hiking our bikes out of a sky island, heading east down a sharp ridge into a huge valley, and more importantly, into the unknown. We learned from our errors on Brush Corrals, sticking to the ridgeline rather than traversing around the peaks. The downhill sides of the two peaks were very steep, but really not so bad. On top of the second peak we could see a large concrete dam and the faint 4×4 road that led away from it. We were close.
Concrete Dam and our goal – the 4×4 road
An hour of hike-a-bike was all it took to connect Fourr Canyon and the east side of the Dragoons. We sat for a break at the start of the 4×4 road, thinking it had almost been too easy, too fast. But the day had much more in store for us, of course.
We floated down the 4×4 road quite pleased with ourselves and how well everything had turned out. The road merged with the main dirt road that follows the east side of the Dragoons. The road is fast, firm and beautiful. We blasted it out, then climbed up the East Stronghold Canyon to the picnic area.
Approaching the Stronghold
The Stronghold is a place that has a presence to it. Or so it seems to me. The spectacular rock formations are just one part of it. Another part is the history, and still another is the fabulous technical & physical challenge available on the Cochise Trail. After a brief stop in the picnic area we started our climb back over the Dragoons.
My rear tire had a slow leak, which provided me some extra traction, but the unsteadiness & unpredictability probably countered any advantage. I climbed as best I could, impressing myself on a few sections while depressing myself at my weakness on others. It was warm enough that the trail actually had water running down it in several spots, and unfortunately it had been recently torn up by horse hooves. In short, it was the most difficult I had ever seen it.
Some sections are impossible to ride even under the best conditions, at least for me under present (perhaps self-imposed) restrictions. As I said to Lee after dismounting, “if you’re not walking, you’re not being challenged.” I was definitely being challenged.
Red headed wood pecker from the Stronghold
We put our energy into the climb, gaining elevation toward the Stronghold Divide. We found a large group of horses near the divide, and could only interpret their unfriendliness as a consequence of our choice of transportation. Sad, really.
After crossing the Stronghold Divide the trail is more narrow, frequently switchbacking and untouched by horses. This is one of the most amazing pieces of trail in Federation Space. The switchbacks are tight, the trail soft and the views, well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. The trail goes quickly, but we had to stop a few times just to look and enjoy the silence.
Downhill confidence was high, for one reason or another, resulting in a solid run for me. I was one turn away from cleaning the rapidfire switchback section & it was an error I should not have made. On the next turn I could find no attractive lines, so I stopped to unclip again. As usual, the trail ended too quickly; we found ourselves coasting down through the West Stronghold Canyon.
A few climbers were hanging out next to what I think is Isle of You. We rolled on by, knowing that we faced the next challenge of the ride: getting back to Fourr ranch. Several maps indicated a route, but local knowledge indicated that no one has gone that way for years. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we did have permission from the Dixon’s to pass through the Dragoon Mountain Ranch.
We went through the gate, past the Horse Ranch, then back into National Forest land on an all-but-swallowed grassland dirt road. Despite the lack of identifiable road the going wasn’t too bad. We had to maneuver down and around a few drains, but in the distance we spotted a gate and a slightly more present road. It was the entrance back to Fourr ranch property.
We climbed through a low pass, then descended back to the ranch HQ. We entered, since Lee was looking for his sunglasses, and also to give the ranch boys a report on our route. Lee picked up a few rocks, and within a few moments the mean dog was en route at full speed. Lee yelled and moved the rocks at him just in time. The dog skid to a halt, then turned around and ran back to the patio. We slowly backed off the property, being followed by a nasty, barking black dog with other lesser dogs in tow. They were intent on chasing us off, but we didn’t feel threatened until the mean dog started its second run at us. Now we were moving quickly enough to increase speed and just get ourselves out of there. They gave us a good chase, but our bikes were too fast for them.
We climbed back through Dragoon to Allegra’s retreat to finish up the ride.
38 miles, 5000 feet of climbing, 7:42 total time
I can safely say that no one has ridden this route before, and we don’t have any plans of riding it again. But it was an excellent ride and a great adventure. This it the kind of riding I live for.
Besides the ride, the trip itself was also memorable in that I met Lee’s mom, Allegra. We stayed at her solar powered, earth built retreat the night before the ride. Her house is so peaceful; it permeates with the grace of both her and her cat. She has the energy of a woman 30 years younger, but still retains the wisdom of her years. More reinforcement of a few basic tenets: enjoy life, apply yourself and live responsibly (to others and the planet). Examine your life and don’t let it pass you by.
I’ve always wondered why people work so much, and so hard, at jobs they usually do not like. “To get by” is maybe one answer. But very little is needed to get by. 50 hrs a week, commuter traffic, life draining stress, then you get to the end of your life and wonder what happened to it all. I have almost no interest in working a full-time job. Do I really need to make that kind of money? Do I care? I care about enjoying my life and finding meaning in applying myself how I feel is best. It is clear that most people are not happy, so I reject the normal pattern of life. This doesn’t mean I’ll ever find happiness, or that it is even possible. But why try a formula that, by all accounts, can only fail– clinging to hope only in the dubious prospect of an afterlife or some other continuation. Whether or not such a continuation exists, it still makes sense to make the most of what we definitely have. The definition of ‘the most’, of course, is subjective, and I am perfectly willing to accept that for some people working their brains out is their meaning. But it isn’t mine.
Give me a bike, a mountain unexplored, the fresh air, and the sun shining bright. Give me life.
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