Sunrise strikes granite boulders along the trail in this view northeast toward the distant Galiuro Mountains. © Marty Cordano

by Kelly Tighe | photograph by Marty Cordano

As I look up the trail, my imagination sees a rider astride a beautiful white horse. The man’s long flowing hair and fringed buckskin shirt seem somehow familiar as he tips his hat and gives me a wink. Of course. It is 1912, and that’s Buffalo Bill riding down to his Oracle Ridge and High Jinks gold mines to the American Flag Ranch, an 1870s mine and cattle operation that once housed the district’s first post office. That’s where our hike begins.

My friend, Annette Cordano, and I are in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, hiking the Cody Trail, named in honor of late-19th-century showman William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The 4- mile (one-way) trail is part of the Arizona Trail, which spans the state from Mexico to Utah. We are prepared for a strenuous hike, facing an elevation gain of almost 1,200 feet, to reach our destination, Oracle Ridge, with its splendid aerial views.

This is a year-round hike, but we set out on a breezy spring day, headed up a hillside dotted with manzanitas, sotol and barrel cacti, greeted by the cheerful whit-wheet of a curve-billed thrasher. From the hilltop, the trail drops down to a sandy wash, shaded by large oak trees. We follow the dry creekbed, enjoying the purple desert verbenas, golden desert marigolds and delicate pink fairy dusters that decorate the trailside. Hiking uphill again, we cross an old jeep road. We look back and see a line of green that marks the distant San Pedro River valley, against the backdrop of the Galiuro Mountains.

As we climb, the breeze becomes a wind. I tell Annette that her hat seems unaffected by the gusts, but a moment later it sails off her head. Two miles from the trailhead, a spur trail leads 50 yards to the entrance of High Jinks Ranch, once the property of Buffalo Bill. Owner-historian Dean Prichard welcomes visitors to the ranch, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But that’s for another day.

Farther on, outcrops of wind-sculpted boulders and occasional large alligator junipers hug the trail. We stop to admire the magenta bloom of a solitary hedgehog cactus, and then we are atop Oracle Ridge, at an elevation of 5,500 feet. On the exposed ridgeline, we hang onto our hats and enjoy the view. To the west shines the white dome of Biosphere 2 — a 3-acre, airtight “mini-world” designed to replicate the different ecosystems found on Earth. Beyond, in the hazy distance, the distinctive jagged profile of Picacho Peak juts skyward. In that area, the only Arizona combat of the Civil War took place. The Cody Trail ends here, and we are now on the Oracle Ridge Trail.

This junction offers several options. We could turn south and follow the Oracle Ridge-Arizona Trail for 14 miles to Summerhaven, a small community atop Mount Lemmon. Or, by turning north, we could follow the Oracle Ridge Trail 3 miles to a residential area south of Oracle. Since our vehicle awaits at American Flag, we return the way we came. On the way back, we meet the only people we’ve seen today, a local retired couple who tell us they started hiking at American Flag, and plan to follow the trail to Oracle.

Back at the trailhead, we wander past a corral and a dilapidated barn to an old adobe building with a tin roof. Now owned by the Oracle Historical Society, American Flag is one of Arizona’s oldest Territorial post office buildings still standing. Shielding our eyes from the glare of the midday sun, we can almost make out the form of a white horse waiting patiently at the gate.

>> To see a map and driving directions, click the When You Go link below.

When You Go