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Coronado Hiking Trails |
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Chinaman Trail #137
For the most part, this trail follows the course of an
old ditch used to bring water from Bear Spring to mining operations
farther
east in the historic Kentucky Camp area. The ditch and
the original trail, which has also been used as a 4-wheel drive road,
are said to
have been constructed by Chinese laborers around the
turn of the century. That accounts for the trail’s historic
significance as well as its out-of-date sounding name. The old trailway
(and some of the waterworks
as well) remain in surprisingly good condition in spite
of the fact that they are no longer maintained and, in the case of
the trail, have
sustained nearly a century of use.
This easy trail wanders along a circuitous route as it
follows the level course marked out for the waterway
across the canyon-cut landscape.
To get started, you’ll have to make a short scramble over a low
hill where you’ll see the remains of an old tunnel that was cut
to allow water to flow from Casa Blanca Canyon into Gardner Canyon. Once
on the other side, the trail is easy to follow to Bear Spring in broad
Casa Blanca Canyon. At this point, if you’re interested in a loop
route, proceed up Big Casa Blanca Canyon about a mile to a stream junction.
Take the left fork here and continue upstream to the Walker Basin Trail
#136 which at this point also follows an old ditch route. Turn right
here and follow Walker Basin Trail to Gardner Trail #143 to Gardner Canyon
Road and back to the trailhead. Since this requires leaving the trail,
you shouldn’t attempt it without taking along a topographic map.
Actually, you should always have a topographic map and
a compass with you whenever and wherever you travel in the backcountry.
Attractions:
Historic mining district
Easy jaunt into canyon country
Backcountry solitude
Season: All year
Length: 2.6 miles
Elevation: 5,600'-5,780'
Rating: Easy
Use: Light
USGS Map(s): Mt. Wrightson
Access: Drive north out of Sonoita 4 miles to the Gardner
Canyon Road, FR 92. Turn left (west) 6.3
miles on FR 92 to FR 785. Follow FR 785 (Gardner Canyon
Road) about 3 miles to Tunnel Spring. (There is a small, round
watering trough next to a barbed wire fence here.) Scramble up
and over the hill to the other
side and hit the trail.
Notes:
1.6 miles of this trail are within the Mt. Wrightson Wilderness.
Motorized and mechanized vehicles and equipment, including
mountain bikes, are not permitted in Wilderness. See
the Wilderness section
of this guide
for more
wilderness rules and ethics.
Before visiting this trail, call the Nogales Ranger
District for current trail conditions which can vary
with season,
weather and maintenance
status.
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