People enjoying the popular Patagonia Cemetery Trail can now listen to audio narration as they follow the trail to learn about the area’s human and natural history, and the flora and fauna that live along the trail.
The “Patagonia Trail Nature Walk” audio tour can be downloaded for free from the TravelStorys app. As you walk, the app shows your location on a map and automatically plays informative segments at 10 points along the way. The trail is 1.1 miles out and back.
The story starts at the new ramada at the south end of Doc Mock Park, across from the trail entry point. Here, you will learn about the earliest inhabitants of this land – the Hohokam and Subaípuri – and the Spanish, Mexican and Anglo American people who came later.
From there, you cross the street to the entry gate to behold the giant mesquite tree that towers overhead. Well, half of it still does. Sometime during last summer’s late monsoon, the tree split, and one half now lies on the ground pointing north. It is still alive, though, and continues to offer habitat and dramatic flair to the woodland scene.
As you meander farther along the trail, you’ll hear about the natural features of the trail and surrounding landscape. Eventually, you walk up the gently sloped trail to the cemetery gate, where spectacular views of the Sonoita Creek watershed and Patagonia await.
The Cemetery Trail narration was the brainchild of Kathy Pasierb, a longtime Patagonia resident and a founding board member of Friends of Sonoita Creek. Pasierb worked for many years as a naturalist in the San Francisco Bay area before coming here, and taught high school and middle school science in Santa Cruz County.
“An audio version of an interpretive nature walk had always been a vision of mine that would lead people to learn, appreciate and wonder about the natural world,” Pasierb said. She first discovered the TravelStorys app through its program about Las Cienegas National Conservation Area north of Sonoita, then realized it could bring her vision to life for the Cemetery Trail.
Pasierb submitted a grant request to the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, which provided half of the money to buy the app that is used to create the audio tour as well as audio equipment. She wrote the script and recorded the audio. The project took a year and a half from conception to finish.
“It was quite a challenge because writing that script was like writing a novel. I went back a dozen times to make sure I had all the facts straight and make sure that my voice sounded good,” Pasierb said. “Now that it’s over, I’m so relieved … I just love the way it turned out.”
In typical Patagonia fashion, collaboration has been key to the entire Cemetery Trail story, starting with its origin in 1992, when Lucia Nash, owner of Circle Z Ranch, donated land to The Nature Conservancy to add to the Sonoita Creek Preserve. The deal included a conservation easement for the 36-acre parcel on the east side of the highway, where the Cemetery Trail now runs.
Over the years, the trail has been improved and maintained by volunteers from The Nature Conservancy, the Mountain Empire Trail Association, Borderlands Restoration Network, Friends of Sonoita Creek, The Patagonia Museum and the Dirtbaggers volunteer trail crew.
Folks from those organizations and the town of Patagonia helped with the audio tour as well.
“Collaboration was key to making this project become a reality and I am grateful to the people who helped,” Pasierb said. She received assistance from audio technician and Friends of Sonoita Creek board member Nathan Shumway. David Christiana, the organization’s treasurer, made sure the grant requirements were on track.
Help also came from The Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve manager, Aaron Mrotek, and local historian German Quiroga.
The Town of Patagonia furnished the sturdy benches placed along the route; they were installed by John Hughes and his Dirtbagger friends.
Other planned improvements included the installation of signs with QR codes linking to the TravelStorys app at the park ramada and trail entrance, and a new wheelchair-accessible gate being built by Murphy Musick.
Not planning to hit the trail soon? App users can listen to the tour, or read a transcript of the narration, from any location.
“Friends of Sonoita Creek is delighted to offer this educational and fun tour to local residents and visitors alike,” Pasierb said.
“I hope that people will enjoy walking through this green space and learn about the unique features of our watershed and the natural world it supports.”