Slavin Gulch and Council Rocks

Today's hike was to combine two favorites in the Dragoons: Slavin Gulch (7.2 miles), and Council Rocks (5.0 miles). However, the Council Rock portion was so overgrown with brambles and thorns, we had to ad lib our route and ended up hiking about 15 miles. The mere 2,000 feet of elevation gain made up for the increased mileage.

After clambering up the rocky, boulder-strewn Slavin Gulch trail, we reached the long-abandoned Abril Mine, first opened in 1903, and closed for good in 1953 (primary production during WWII). My previous trip up Slavin, with my friends Ira and Guy, was in January, 2017. That trip we scampered up the steep cliff to the top of the mine—a rather foolhardy adventure. This time, cooler (and in my case, older) heads prevailed. 

Me, heading toward the mine shaft like a 12-year-old. 

(Photo by Guy 01.10.2017)

After the mine, we headed back toward the trailhead in a vain attempt to find the Council Rocks trail. A dense thicket of thorny shrubs and trees prevented us from crossing the gulch and getting to the trail proper (the dotted line on the map below), so we headed toward the trailhead to look for a way through. We finally did find a sketchy trail that would take us the two miles across to the western slopes of the Dragoons where the Council Rocks are.

My previous trip to Council Rocks was in January of 2015, pre-smart phone and hence pre-AllTrails hiking app, so I had no record of the route. I did, however, have a pretty decent camera and was able to capture the other-worldly rock formations that are the real joy of that route—one we would miss today during our near bushwhack—despite all the other incredible sights. That earlier trip was led by a member of the Bisbee Muleteam hiking club, so as a tag-along, I wasn't really paying attention to the route. That we were able to even get to the Rocks today is a testament to my bone-headedness and luck, and that Misty was game for an adventure. I'm glad we persevered.

Slavin Gulch trailhead.

Lots of overgrown brambles on this low-traffic trail.

The view south from the mine.

Mine remnants and the way up to the shaft on the 

top left.

Council Rocks, center foreground.

This is a great lunch spot, as folks have known for over a thousand years.

Mogollon and later Apache kitchen. Notice the grain grinding mortars in the foreground boulder.

Petroglyphs from the pre-historic Mogollon people, 1,000 CE. It is thought the drawings were later augmented by Apache visitors.

Another mortar.