Back Road Adventure

BACK ROAD ADVENTURE Trekking Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge by Mountain Bike

Buenos Aires means much more than "good air" in southern Arizona. It also means fields of waving waist-high grass, herds of pronghorn, vistas of Arizona and Mexico, and a place of rejuvenation for the masked bobwhite quail.

Buenos Aires Ranch was a cattle spread dating from the 1880s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the 116,000-acre property in 1985, creating the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. The land was vastly different from its preranching state because of drought and overgrazing. Imported grasses and mesquite eventually so altered the ecosystem that native flora was choked out, and many indigenous animals could no longer flourish there.

Thea Ulen, outdoor recreation planner at the refuge, explains that the ranch was purchased to return Buenos Aires to the Sonoran savanna grassland habitat it once was, while, in the process, improving the conditions for the survival of the masked bobwhite quail, once believed extinct and now an endangered species.

Also reintroduced was a herd of about 87 Chihuahuan pronghorn, one of North America's fastest animals, able to cruise at 40 miles per hour and top out at 60. Because of their resemblance to African antelope, pronghorn are often called antelope, although actually they are not closely related.

Most of the 200 miles of back roads in the refuge are open to the public, and we're here with mountain bikes to ride one of the best loops in the state. On a clear fall morning, about 20 of us take off from refuge headquarters and turn south onto Antelope Drive, a two-lane dirt road for passenger cars and the principal route for visitors who wish to explore the area. Some of the first riders immediately spot several pronghorn loping across a plain.

Mesquite and prickly pear dot the prairie, and wheat-colored grass grows everywhere.

Much of it is a South African import, Lehman's lovegrass, nutritionally far inferior to native grama grasses. Refuge researchers are systematically doing controlled burns to eliminate lovegrass so that native species can again dominate as they did before the 1970s when the foreign grass was introduced to the region.

Looming behind us is Baboquivari Peak, at 7,730 feet the most dramatic feature of Altar Valley (see Arizona Highways, Jan. '92). This magnificent crag, sacred to the Tohono O'odham as the home of their god l'itoi, will appear to us many times on the loop as we top a ridge or climb out of a ravine.

More than 100 ponds are scattered throughout the refuge, so we are on the lookout for some of the 300 species of birds that live here or migrate through in the fall. The first large pond, Lopez Tank, is 4.7 miles into our ride, but it's dry and birdless.

At 7.8 miles, we reach our first junction, a T in the road less than two miles north of the Mexican border. A right turn would take us to Sasabe, a tiny border village three miles away. We go left, leaving Antelope Drive and heading east toward the San Luis Mountains.

We reach our second junction at 11.4 miles, a place where three roads converge. The right fork leaves Buenos Aires toward Mexico; the middle goes to the headquarters of the old Garcia Ranch (no trespassing), now part of the refuge. We take the left fork, heading north on the most primitive of the three roads. For a truck, this is four-wheeldrive territory.

In 0.3 of a mile, we arrive at the Garcia Cemetery, still maintained by the Garcia family. Less than a mile beyond the cemetery, we climb into an area that features lovely quartz outcroppings and barrel cactus, ocotillo, yucca, and desert broom.

Naturally everyone hopes to see some masked bobwhite quail, but that's unlikely: currently only an estimated 300 to 500 live in the wild on the refuge (more awaiting release reside in an aviary closed to the public). So far I've seen some Gambel's quail, a distant hawk, and about a dozen Chihuahuan ravens, which are slightly smaller than the common raven.

Our third junction comes after 12.9 miles. A large mesquite with a huge barrel cactus almost six feet high to its right and three red barberry bushes to its left marks the spot. Our route will be to the left, crossing Canoa Wash. But we take the right anyway for 0.2 of a mile to Rock Tank to see a picturesque windmill creaking away. Then we retrace our route back to that third junction, now taking a right.

We reach our fourth junction at 13.7 miles. Going straight ahead would take us back to Antelope Drive, but we take a right and head down a steep slope, carefully keeping our bikes under control, into a wash. The slow climb up the other side is a test of heart, lungs, and legs.

At 14.5 miles, we climb a ridge and, almost at the crest, take a right fork. We missed this turn the first time we rode the loop, but our mistake simply took us to Antelope Drive. This time, taking the right fork, we head down into a beautiful valley and through another field of quartz.

Our now rather meager road ends at 16.1 miles at a T with a much more substantial route. At this point, we've been out for just about two hours and have climbed 1,100 feet.

I comment to the group of riders that I have never been in a place where I felt better about the use of my tax money. Others nod in agreement, one even intoning an "amen."

We turn left and get ready for the day's final treat. There's nothing like ending a ride on a downhill, and this easy, gradual descent lasts for 4.7 miles. I stop to watch others passing by and see one common denominator: everyone is grinning.

We rejoin Antelope Drive at 20.8 miles, just south of the refuge headquarters, now a half mile away. We retrace our route to our starting point.

Few riders glimpsed any pronghorn; no one viewed a masked bobwhite quail; but after this splendid 21-mile loop, no one is disappointed. Alexis Noebels is euphoric about our ride, the longest mountain bike excursion she has ever taken. When her husband, Peter, arrives, having photographed the riders using my four-wheel-drive truck, she exclaims that on the toughest uphill climbs, when she was gasping, she could tell how clean and pure the air is here. Peter smiles warmly at her and says, "Well, this is Buenos Aires!"

TIPS FOR TRAVELERS

To reach the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge from Tucson, take State Route 86 (Ajo Way) west from Interstate 19. At Three Points, also known as Robles Junction, 22 miles from Tucson, turn south onto State Route 286. The refuge entrance is 38 miles south, just beyond Milepost 8. The refuge is open to visitors every day, and admission is free. The headquarters is open 7:30 A.M. to 4 P.M., weekdays, except holidays. Even when the refuge office is closed, the reception area is open, offering brochures and maps. For more information, including times of tours and slide shows, write the refuge at P.O. Box 109, Sasabe, AZ 85633 or call (520) 823-4251.

Back road travel can be hazardous if you are not prepared for the unexpected. Whether traveling in the desert or in the high country, be aware of weather and road conditions and make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape and you have plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone at home know where you're going and when you plan to return.