HIKE OF THE MONTH Scheelite Canyon Trail

hike of the month Listen for the 'BARKS' OF BIRDS Along the 4-mile Scheelite Canyon Trail in the HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS

WHAT'S THAT NOISE? SOUNDS like claws scratching a tree. There it is again.... It's coming from a ponderosa pine tree. A black bear wraps a paw around one branch, then swings down to the next. Her curious cub watches from a tree limb higher up. Mom grubs on the ground, occasionally looking up at her cub. Several minutes go by before the cub gets the notion to join her. The cub skitters down the tree, and off they go deep into the forest. Hiking the 4-mile Scheelite Canyon Trail in the Huachuca Mountains can turn into an exciting experience for humans if they meet the local wildlife. Besides crossing paths with a black bear in the steep gorge, hikers may catch sight of a colony of female coatis scampering up trees or of a solo male traipsing across a tree branch. A rattlesnake might slither across rock-strewn sections of the trail. Or the wind could carry sounds of strange avian "barks." Cocooned in a wooded steep-walled canyon, perfect habitat for the Mexican spotted owl, the trail starts its almost nonstop 2,800-foot climb along a drainage and eventually tops out at 8,350 feet on Scheelite Ridge. The moist environment nurtures continuous stands of hardwood and pine trees, a favorite of the brilliantly plumed elegant trogon, which adds its "arf" to the spotted owl's "woof." Gambel oak trees form a canopy over the trail as the path crisscrosses the canyon drainage. Squat canyon walls start to grow by mile 1, where a peculiar collection of limestone formations and boulders briefly appears. The canyon's steel-gray walls and strewn debris create a cloistered, untamed atmosphere-the kind favored by spotted owls. Robert T. Smith, a birder and conservationist affectionately called Smitty by the locals, took it upon himself to protect the endangered owls. Smitty built and maintained the Scheelite Canyon Trail and took visiting birders on hikes along it until he died in 1998. Birders continue to visit Scheelite Canyon in hopes of sighting a spotted owl.

By about mile 1.5, the canyon narrows enough to force the trail into the drainage, where it continues for a while, twisting over dryfalls under the arching shade of bigtooth maple trees. A slab of bedrock through which a stream has cut a trough opens the canyon up. In the summertime, hawk moths sip from tall delphinium flowers along the trough. The canyon closes briefly until it enters another section of bedrock, where cairns on the left guide hikers around a dryfall. Finally, the canyon widens enough for the trail to separate from the drainage, vacillating between mild climbs and arduous ascents up the canyon. At about mile 2.5, the trail begins a relentlessly steep slog up to its finish at the Huachuca Crest Trail. Panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the city of Sierra Vista at trail's end make every steep step of this hike worth it-even without bears or barks. All By about mile 1.5, the canyon narrows enough to force the trail into the drainage, where it continues for a while, twisting over dryfalls under the arching shade of bigtooth maple trees. A slab of bedrock through which a stream has cut a trough opens the canyon up. In the summertime, hawk moths sip from tall delphinium flowers along the trough. The canyon closes briefly until it enters another section of bedrock, where cairns on the left guide hikers around a dryfall. Finally, the canyon widens enough for the trail to separate from the drainage, vacillating between mild climbs and arduous ascents up the canyon. At about mile 2.5, the trail begins a relentlessly steep slog up to its finish at the Huachuca Crest Trail. Panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the city of Sierra Vista at trail's end make every steep step of this hike worth it-even without bears or barks. All