Huachuca Mountain Run PDF Print E-mail Written by Dave Harker Sunday, 24 March 2013 Sunday morning the 24 of March, 12 vehicles with occupants staged at the Coronado National monument visitor center to leave on a adventure to the back side of the Huachuca mountains. I had volunteered to lead a run to a place I hadn’t seen in at least 20 years, Happy Jack Cave. A lot can happen in twenty years roads change, fires come, terrain changes and all land marks seam to evolve into something unidentifiable. Coronado National Memorial is the only unit in the National Park System that commemorates the Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Expedition of 1540-1542. Coronados expedition was one of the outstanding achievements of a period marked by notable explorations. It made known the vast extent and the nature of the country that lay north of central Mexico, and from the time of Coronado, Spaniards never lost interest in the country. In no small measure their subsequent occupation of it was due to the curiosity so created. And so it was we started out, the weather was wonderful, the skies blue and hardly a breeze in contrast to the gale force winds the past few days. After airing down and the customary catching up with people we hadn’t seen in a while and meeting the new people we were off down the dusty trail. We first came to Oversight canyon. This is the canyon I believe that the Happy Jack cave is located in. We searched many roads I saw many familiar land marks, hiked a couple of trails but ultimately came up cave less. The heavy rains, fires, and just 20 years have changed this canyon a lot the wash is different the parking area at the trail head is different but we kept looking. Now I know I’m getting old and the memory is not what it used to be, but I’m sure last time I saw Happy Jack Cave it was in Oversight canyon, so unless someone has moved the cave or moved Oversight Canyon it’s still there waiting to be rediscovered yet again. One week end the camper the dogs and I will be out there looking leaving no stone unturned to find it yet again. Not wanting to call it a day four wheeling we moved on moving in a northerly direction we checked out a couple more long forgotten trails, all ending in dead ends. (Hence the moniker dead end Dave) Know one could complain about the views of the great day out in the mountains though. The last destination was Sunny Side Canyon and a trip up to Gate 7 on Ft Huachuca. This gate once a favorite destination and gateway to the vast trails on the other side of the mountains for the range riders it has been closed for many years. But I had heard that the gate was once again open. It was worth a trip to look. All was not wasted, the gate was still closed and never to be opened again without heavy equipment and a set of cutting torches but the trail was still nice. Although well maintained by or friends on the border patrol no doubt, the trail still provide great scenery and lots of water still flowing in Sunnyside creek from the melting snows high in the mountain tops. This is when the disaster happened, a small tree got revenge on Bruce from coming to close and reached and pulled the serptine belt off the pulleys, leaving him with no power steering or fan for cooling. Luckily after the jeep had a chance to cool the belt was replaced and we were once again on the way. On the way back out we stopped by the ghost town of Sunnyside. It is amazing what a few years of neglect and the desert environment can do below are some pictures from 2006/2007 followed by a few pictures taken March of 2013. Can you spot the differences? Sunny side school house Nov. 2008 Sunny side school house Nov. 2008 Sunny side November 2008 Sunny side November 2008 Sunny side November 2008 Sunny side November 2008 E.R. Langford House November 2008 E.R. Langford House November 2008 It is Sunnyside is not the typical Arizona ghost town, as far as its make-up, beginnings, and lifestyle, not to mention its remote location. Not like other mining camps, it was not filled with saloons, brothels, and lawless elements, but rather, it was a religious community. Today, today it would probably be call a commune, or worse, a cult. Donnelly was an immigrant from Barrhead, Scotland, who history says was a hard drinker in San Francisco. However, he changed his ways when he stumbled out of a waterfront bar into a Salvation Army meeting in the early 1880s. Having seen the light, Donnelly stopped his drinking and became Salvation Army preacher. He first took a post preaching in Methodist churches in Los Angles, but he was rapidly developing his own religious ideals that did not suit those of the congregations leaders. Soon, he could find no pulpit in order to spread his word. In 1886, he went to the Tombstone in order to bring salvation to those rowdy elements. While there, he acted as a street preacher, continuing to spread his own ideas, which often criticized major religious denominations of the day, as well as their doctrines, actions, and social policies. At the same time, he was also developing an interest in mining and eventually co-founded the Copper Glance Mine some nine miles southeast of Sunnyside. A few of Sams converts followed him to the Copper Glance Mine in order to continue to hear his preachings. In the meantime, Sam was also continuing to prospect when he found the place he would call Sunnyside, high in Huachuca Mountains. Soon, he led a group of about 20-30 of his followers to the new colony he founded in the wilderness. Supported by the nearby Lone Star Mine, Donnelly established a communal camp, where his followers ate, lived, worked, and worshipped together. A socialist type of community, all money was pooled and each person worked to the betterment of the entire camp. The early settlement had a common kitchen, dining hall, barn and one-room school house. Unlike many other mining camps of the time, this place had no saloons, working girls, or lawlessness. Though some eight miles from the nearest wagon trail, new followers and those looking for work, would drift into the camp, until it numbered almost 80 converts. But, new residents were required to work hard and show an interest in the Scriptures. If they did not, they were asked to leave. Sunnysides post office was established July 16, 1914 and discontinued March 15, 1934. Sunnyside March 2013 Sunnyside March 2013 Sunnyside March 2013 Sunnyside March 2013 E.R. Langford House March 2013 E.R. Langford House March 2013 Sunnyside March 2013 Sunnyside March 2013 An update to the run... Happy Jack Cabin and Cave have been found! 2 weeks after the run, Dave Vicki and the pack of dogs went on a mission to find the cave. It is in Oversight Canyon and for the few that went hiking up the canyon we walked right by it. Over the years the wash that defines the canyon in has moved several times, therefore the trail has moved also. The cabin now sits a 100 or so yards from the trail, obscured by the trees. The cabin is still standing although like Sunnyside a bit worse for wear. The cave is just how I remember it, very big and very dark. The hike although not hard is not for the couch potato either. It is about a mile round trip from the parking area, it is a lot of uphill and the last couple hundred yards is very steep with lots of boulders to climb over. Also while out hiking and exploring I came across the mine cave again. This was a mine that in the process of digging ran in to a cave system although you can still get into one of the mine portals the entrance to the cave is gated. Entrance to Mine Cave Entrance to Mine Cave Gate over entrance Gate over entrance [ Back ] Copyright © 2013. Range Riders 4 Wheelers Site by Uplifting Design StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 04:36:35 +0000
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