July 12, 2023

Trip report, Carrie Nation Mine loop, July 12, 2023

Alan asked me, "do you think it will be too hot?" I looked at the NWS web page. It showed that Tucson would be 107. The Madera trailhead would be 87, and at 7000 feet the temperature would be perhaps 80 degrees (low 70's up at 8000 feet, but we won't be going up there. And it turned out to be a perfect day. We had cloud cover all day until maybe 3:30 in the afternoon. Without the sun beating on us, it was absolutely perfect.

We parked at the parking lot for the Old Baldy trail (sometimes called the "upper parking lot". We hiked through the maze of picnic areas and found out way to the old road that leads to the Old Baldy trail. But we passed that by and continued on the trail up the canyon. Before long we encountered a sign designating the trail to Agua Caliente saddle. This trail looks like a gulley on the right and I'll be a lot of hikers have no idea and figure the sign is just giving mileages for the trail that goes on up the canyon. This is the so-called "very steep trail".

After a total distance of 1.6 miles from the parking lot a big rusted boiler comes into sight and you are at the Carrie Nation Mine. The mine workings are a short distance beyond the boiler and seem to be the source of the spring that is marked on the USGS 7.5 minute map. The water looks good, but I might have second thoughts about drinking water coming out of an abandoned mine. Suit yourself is what I say.

A decent trail continues form here are goes steeply up for perhaps 0.5 miles to join the Agua Caliente trail at 7200 feet elevation. From here you can go left, contour around Jack Mountain (don't bother going to the top, there is no view) and after about a mile continues to Josephine Saddle.

From here you have your choice of hiking down the Old Baldy trail or the Super trail. We chose the Old Baldy trail. For some reason, and I must have hiked this trail 100 times, this always seems like more than the designated 2.2 miles. I believe the mileage, but there is something peculiar about this trail.

All told this loop is perhaps 5.3 miles. Sometime I will hike the whole loop with my GPS and update the distances, but I think they are pretty accurate.

Note that you could also loop back (or up) using the so-called "very steep trail". It is very steep, but there are plenty of switchbacks. It also tops out at 7200 feet, so the hiking from there to the Carrie Nation trail is almost perfectly level.

Carrie Nation was a woman who was active in the temperance movement back before prohibition. No telling what motivated someone to name a mine after her.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's hiking pages / [email protected]