When recently planning an afternoon hike on one of Coronado National Forest's trails that neighbor the border, I was expecting to see some action! You know, wildlife...I researched the trail page on Coronado National Forest's website and compared trail facts - distance, elevation, how heavily used the trail is, how hard or easy the hike would be, and how to get there. Based on a slightly confusing archaic DOS-like trail map on the website, I tried to gauge how close certain trails were to the border. I wanted to make my "hiking the border" experience as authentic as possible.I have heard in the news and through talk that the border is becoming increasingly unsafe even just within the last year. For example, wildfire season has already started in Southern Arizona with two brush fires near the border town of Tubac. A handful of firefighters and a few engine crews responded to the two blazes, but it wasn't the 140 acres of burning brush that jeopardized their safety - it was the threat of illegal (and possibly armed) smuggler activity that is becoming more frequent in areas along the border that aren't as populated or patrolled as other hot spots of illegal entry. In February, Tucson Weekly published a feature in which the author trekked a highly traveled trail of illegal activity and documented all the rage and outcry by its rural inhabitants and the closure of a section of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, and lived to tell about it. Keeping these minor details in mind, I decided to pick a trail outside of Sonoita in the Santa Rita Mountains, a safe 30 miles or so from the border.
To reaffirm how safe of a decision I had made, I called the Nogales Ranger Station to inquire about and trail of choice and casually question the rumor of an unsafe border. The woman I spoke to on the phone confirmed that the area I was planning to be in was regarded as a safe zone for hikers and campers and well traveled as a result. Going any further south, though, I was warned against. "It's just not a good idea," the woman suggested with a concerned motherly tone.
So, on a sunny-yet-chilly Friday morning my two friends and I set out going east on I-10, taking a turn south toward Nogales on I-19, then snaking southeast about a mile south of the Green Valley Country Club toward Madera Canyon. Our final destination: Bog Springs Campground. Our trail of choice: Bog Springs/Kent Springs trail.
For those interested in north-of-the-border scenery or seeking an out-of-city experience, Bog Springs is key. Climbing higher in elevation and in and out of a few sycamore-shaded spring locations, the desert sun and heat were never an issue on our hike. I was most drawn to the northward views of all the smaller communities between Madera Canyon and Tucson and the evasive ASARCO open pit copper mine near Sahuarita. The higher cliffs towering over the trail was even still sprinkled with snow despite 80 degree temps in Tucson and Nogales.
In the end, my first "hiking the border" endeavour was a much needed escape from campus and the city, but rather quiet and uneventful. My trailblazing buddies and I covered 5.4 miles of trail in about three hours seeing only a few other hikers near the trailhead and maybe a bug or two here or there. Supposedly, the Bog Springs area is world-famous for bird watching although I didn't even hear a single feathered friend until a tiny black bird squeaked at us and flew off and we approached the trailhead coming back to the car. And, of course, we didn't witness any sort of illegal activity...Despite the lack of action, I still recommend this trail to anyone hoping to "get away" for an afternoon and walk among the sycamores.
