Very few people have heard of Apache Gulch, and even fewer know where it is, because it is little more than a thin blue line on the United States Geological Survey topographic map. There are no constructed trails in Apache Gulch, which makes the hike more adventurous than those I have described in previous columns.
The hike is relatively short and not dangerous, although it requires some bushwhacking through a heavily forested area and the use of hands to scale several minor rockfalls. If you attempt this hike, I suggest you wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and gaiters if you have them.
To reach Apache Gulch from Patagonia, turn north off of Naugle Avenue onto 4th Avenue (next to the Wagon Wheel Saloon). Drive two blocks and turn left onto Pennsylvania Avenue, which becomes Blue Haven Road once you leave the town limits. From the intersection of Blue Haven Road and Salero Road (FR-143), drive north on Salero Road approximately 10.5 miles where the road crosses Alto Gulch, passes over a cattleguard, and enters the Coronado National Forest. Apache Gulch is the second road on the right approximately 0.2 miles north of the National Forest Boundary. Turn onto the road and park your vehicle near the entrance. Salero Road (aka Salero Ranch Road or Salero Canyon Road) is in relatively good condition where it passes through the Salero Ranch Properties (a private community with private gated roads). However, the southernmost six miles are rough, and the surface deteriorates significantly after the turn-off at mile 10 for the Copper Canyon Road.
Apache Gulch is home to several abandoned mines, remnants of an adobe home, remains of a few dilapidated stone buildings and the largest concrete dam I have seen in the Santa Rita Mountains. Apparently, no record exists for the mines in Apache Gulch, and who constructed the adobe structure or who currently owns the adjacent land is debatable. A few years ago, a Coronado National Forest archaeologist told me: “A land surveyor and I jointly determined a surveying and mapping error was made decades ago that carried through to the most recent Forest Service maps. Apparently, the privately owned land parcels in and around Apache Gulch were mapped incorrectly and offset from their true location by a quarter mile or so. Consequently, there appears to be a small eight-acre parcel of private land in approximately the same location as the adobe structure in Apache Gulch.”
There are no boundary markers, warnings, or trespassing signs to mark the confines of the private parcel so determining exactly where the private property is located or if the adobe building is on private land is impossible. The National Forest archaeologist also said, “The only way to know for sure is to contact the current owner, if you can find him, or to locate the survey corner markers. If the land is currently owned by a prospector or mining company, I doubt they will talk to anyone about the land or its intended use. Locating the survey markers would certainly be a tedious and difficult job in the deep grass, dense underbrush and extremely rocky terrain.”
The upper section of Apache Gulch is narrow with steep walls, filled with rocks and boulders, and overgrown with trees and underbrush. However, the route is not dangerous and becoming lost is virtually impossible, although in several places following the route takes patience and determination to navigate around natural obstacles. It is approximately half a mile up the gulch to the adobe ruins and another half a mile to the dam.
The hike begins by walking up the road about 150 yards to the remains of a No Name Mine above the north bank of the wash. The prospect is comprised of several large pits filled with debris. Continue walking up the canyon past a small, unnaturally flat terrace lined with a stone footing, probably the remains of a small building. I saw evidence of several more stone buildings nearby.
At the far end of the mining camp, look for a faint trail leading down a steep bank to the bed of the gulch. Near the bottom of the path, miners sank a vertical shaft on the left, only a few feet above the creek bed. The walls are lined with concrete and shored with sturdy wood beams. They also constructed a stone reinforced cement retaining wall in front of the shaft to prevent someone from carelessly stumbling into the opening.
Approximately a quarter mile upstream from the mine, begin looking through the trees above the right bank for the remains of several adobe walls partially hidden behind a grove of trees. The structure appears to have had several rooms but many of the walls are severely deteriorated and crumbling from exposure. However, the frames to either two doorways, a doorway and a large window, or two windows with wood lentils still remain standing. Only the walls located at the corners of the building are still vertical. Several well-constructed stone walls are attached to the adobe structure. The stone walls are probably 18 inches thick or more, whereas the adobe walls are much thinner.
The remains of a second, smaller stone building is located on the south bank about 30 feet farther up the wash near a small concrete slab sitting in the middle of the creek. There are also several exposed vertical shafts in the area so if you wander around the area, walk cautiously.
If you continue up the gulch, the creek bed becomes a long series of cascading rockfalls that require using your hands to scale. The creek bed eventually leads to a large concrete dam across the entire drainage. The dam is approximately 18 feet high, 35 feet long, and perhaps one foot thick. The upstream side of the dam is at the same level as the sandy bed of the wash, so apparently the idea was to direct water flowing downstream over the dam and into the broad but shallow reservoir at the base of the wall. Apache Gulch ends a short distance upstream at the remains of the San Ramon Mine.
