HIKE OF THE MONTH

The Empire Falls Down

An amble along the San Pedro River reveals the melting remains of Spanish conquest The hike TO Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate offers an easy, mostly shadeless walk through desert creosote and short brush, with accompaniment from constantly moving lizards below and a generous sky above to break the sameness of southern Arizona's terrain.

In terms of physical remnants, the presidio, established in 1775, offers only a stone foundation and a few adobe walls, likely part of the commandant's quarters, barracks, a chapel and some defensive walls. They stand on a rise above the San Pedro River, with interpretive signs to explain why the Spanish came here and the difficulties they faced.

This place served as the northernmost outpost of King Carlos III, who wished to extend Spain's control north into what is now Arizona. His agent here was an Irish expatriate named Hugo O'Conor, and others followed, but none could control this particularly wild part of New Spain.

In spite of meager remains, this is still an evocative patch of ground, especially to those who easily feel the grip of history. It brings thoughts of enterprise, survival, bravery and boldness, and it reminds us of the presumptuousness of explorers and the inevitability of exploration.

Best of all, the presidio is sufficiently removed from the noise of modern life to give visitors a hint of the awesome isolation its founders must have felt.

As I stand on the rise above the river, I see little evidence of loud Tombstone to the east, or booming Sierra Vista to the west. The afternoon quiet allows the presidio to give its own silent testimony to the desperate struggle that took place here, for water, wood, food and survival itself.

Spain abandoned the never-completed outpost after five years. Its last commander, Teodoro de Croix, wrote that Indians had terrorized the presidio, killing two captains and more than 80 men “in the open rolling ground a short distance from the post.” Their “incessant” attacks prevented the cultivation of crops, obstructed mule trains carrying supplies, depleted horse herds and “put the troops in the situation of notbeing able to attend their own defense, making them useless for the defense of the province.” You might say the Apaches revoked Spain's guest privileges. Lesson: Humans will always need to know what's out there, and those who encounter explorers will always want to keep what's theirs.

From the trailhead parking lot off In Balance Ranch Road, the hike to Terrenate measures 1.5 miles, partly along an old railroad bed. Consider it a link between different eras.

The Presidio is part of the Bureau of Land Management's San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, which includes the ruins of the

BY THE OLD MILL

The Grand Central Mill's massive stone wall (right) stands as a reminder of the 1880s silver boom in nearby Tombstone. Silver-bearing ore brought to the mill by mule trains was crushed into fine powder and processed to make silver.

Grand Central Mill and the railroad town of Fairbank, both born amid the Old West silver boom.

Energetic hikers can see all these sights, part of the San Pedro Trail, in one day. A dirt path runs north from Fairbank-consisting of a couple of buildings, including an early 20th-century schoolhouse under renovation as a future interpretive site-past the town cemetery to the ruins of the Grand Central Mill, a one-way total of 1.5 miles. The cemetery sits on a hill and consists of a single readable headstone—“Matt Nelson, February 25, 1899.” The remainder of those buried here merit only sad rock piles and splintered wooden crosses.

But farther down the trail, the old mill overtakes an entire hillside with neatly placed stones that rise from the trailside in four steps, like a cliff dwelling. The stamp mill probably had 10 to 15 stamps going at once, pounding silver from rock hauled from the nearby mines. As the interpretive sign says, the stamps fell about 100 times per minute, seven days a week, creating a deafening noise that could be heard for miles.

GRAVE SITUATION

A weathered wooden cross marks a grave in the cemetery just north of Fairbank, a ghost town along the San Pedro River. Established in 1881, Fairbank became an important railroad depot and the closest stop to Tombstone, then one of the largest cities in the West.

Imagine that interminable racket banging out over the now-silent valley, a clarion call of enterprise and settlement, which, only 100 years before, the beleaguered residents of Terrenate, just across the river to the northwest, would have considered a symphony.

trail guide

Length: 1.5 miles from trailhead to Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate. 1.5 miles from Fairbank to Grand Central Mill.

Elevation Gain: Minimal.

Difficulty: Easy.

Payoff: Isolated, but close to towns; evocative historical ruins.

Location: 70 miles southeast of Tucson.

Getting There: From Tucson, drive east on Interstate 10 about 43 miles to Exit 302. Take State Route 90 south toward Sierra Vista for about 19 miles. Just south of the little community of Whetstone, turn left (east) onto State Route 82, drive about 10 miles to In Balance Ranch Road and turn left (north). Follow this good dirt road 2 miles to the Terrenate trailhead parking lot. The turnoff to the town of Fairbank is also located off State 82, 2 miles east of In Balance Ranch Road.

Travel Advisory: Always carry plenty of water, at least 1 gallon per day per person.

Additional Information: Bureau of Land Management, Sierra Vista, (520) 439-6400; www.blm.gov/az/nca/spnca/spnca-info.htm.