The Upper San Pedro

February 16-17, 2018

Having "discovered" the San Pedro a few weeks ago, now we can't seem to get enough of it!

We hiked a loop near the ghost town of Charleston, bushwhacking north along the river, then following an abandoned rail line to "The Narrows", where the San Pedro and the old rail line pass between two low hills.
We returned via the San Pedro Trail, where there are a few petroglyphs and remains of a very large stamp mill.
Remains of the Millville stamp mill in Charleston. It's hard to believe that in the 1880s along this nearly uninhabited stretch of the San Pedro, there were seven stamp mills processing silver ore hauled overland from the mines in Tombstone.
We camped that night on the west side of the Dragoons, where we were happy to see that the Council Rocks area was not damaged by the Knob Hill Fire.
I call this one "Blue Collar Belle".
The next day we hiked another section of the San Pedro near San Pedro House, east of Sierra Vista.
The cottonwoods get this silvery green glow right before they leaf out. Amazing when the sun lights them up.
Gila woodpecker by the feeder at San Pedro House. It's a popular spot with birders, and almost the only place we saw any other people along the San Pedro.