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Michael, David, Arturo, Chip, Bill, Joe, Ted (Bill Zimmermann photo)
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Seven heroic hikers set out from Bumble Bee Creek to climb
Bland Hill. The weather forecast says “30% chance of
rain,” so we all carry rain gear. But instead of a storm
we have a very pleasant day for hiking – cool, partly
cloudy with a mild breeze.
Bumble Bee Creek has water flowing. After walking along the
creek past a tributary, we climb the rocks and begin our
long, graduate ascent to the top of Bland Hill.
Even at these lower elevations the colors are amazing: rocks
ranging from green to orange, quartz in several pastel shades,
and colorful lichens adorning the surface.
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Bright lichens decorate the foliated rocks.
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As we climb higher we start seeing overviews of the Bradshaw
Mountains to the west and Bumble Bee and the Agua Fria National
Monument to the east. The dirt road from Bumble Bee to the north
end of Bland Hill serves as a progress marker.
Soon we are sharing the ridge with livestock. A rancher’s
fence appears on the right, running along the top of the ridge
parallel to our route.
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Bumble Bee is downhill on the east side. (Bill Zimmermann photo)
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The mighty Bradshaw Mountains dominate the west.
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After passing the Bland Mine we find a shaft sunk some 20' into
the ground, with quartz all around the top. Evidently it angles
off to the side and continues, because we can’t see the
bottom. Elsewhere there are ranching artifacts including pieces of
rope and metal pipe.
Finally we climb to the wind-swept summit, where we stop for
our picnic lunch.
Which way is down?
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Halfway down. Black Canyon is so near, and yet so far. |
“We’re heading south for Black Canyon,” Ted advises.
We walk a gentle slope westward to an abandoned road, then south
until the road dead ends. A tough mile begins here.
Steep, rocky slopes with occasional game trails take us southward
toward Black Canyon, visible in the distance. It’s rough
going. Both the leader and another hiker slip on loose rocks,
one suffering a minor cut and the other stuck with
cactus needles.
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Finally we reach a side canyon with green and orange rock walls
and dry waterfalls just before the end. One final detour takes
us down into Black Canyon, with an easy trail and bright
autumn foliage.
As we walk south and east everyone watches for our turn at
Bumble Bee Creek. Ted printed a map and an aerial photo of the
junction, and sure enough, there it is.
We turn northeast for a short walk back to the cars.
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Getting there is half the fun.
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Veins of quartz break up into squares.
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Dried mud breaks up in a fractal pattern.
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Green rock formations and golden foliage decorate Black Canyon.
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Victory! We found the turn northeast on Bumble Bee Creek. |
“Next time we’ll find an easier way down,” Ted
assures us. “I wanted to avoid an impassable canyon that was
on my first Bland Hill hike. We’ll go around it on the
slope.”
It didn’t rain during the hike, but a light shower begins as
we start driving back to Phoenix.
My thanks to Ken McGinty for leading my first Bland Hill hike
on December 5, 1998.
Ted
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