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| Ridge Trail(R) and Harris Canyon(L) - (Charleston Peak in Background) |
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| Harris Peak (R) and Harris Canyon Narrows |
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| Ercie Road climbing above Kyle Canyon |
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| Ercie Road Hill |
Rita and I went out for an easy moderate walk in a new area. Now that restrictions have been lifted on the burned area between Kyle Canyon and Harris Canyon in the lower elevations, we parked without worry of a ticket in the Lower Showgirl Trailhead parking lot. (Note: There is a very deep lip from the asphalt to the dirt road at the turnoff around 14 miles from SR 95 to the south.) We started up Ercie Road (Forest Road 531) on a long gradual slope passing a scattered bale of hay laid out for the equine in the neighborhood. I had mapped out a route because the roads on the plateau above were somewhat willy nilly as they led up and around several arroyos that drained into the canyon. First, we visited an overlook point that peered down to the lower canyon.
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| Overlook Point at Lower Harris Canyon |
Next, after circling around the deep ditches and passing an interesting apparatus made of two telephone poles and a wire between, we found the trail that runs along the edge of the canyon.
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| Burned Swath across Ridge (Carpenter One Fire 2013) |
The trail is very clear and runs the length of the canyon below. As we hiked, we watched a small herd of ten mule deer run through the trees in a single file line.
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| Lower Harris Canyon |
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| Artifacts from Miners' Camp |
A lot of the terrain on the ridge is burnt but there is one wide swath of junipers and pinions that was not touched. This is where the deer came from. The trail led us up to the maintenance equipment field and dump before it continued around the gully. We stopped here for our break then hopped over to Ercie Road to begin our return. This was an excellent morning out for both of us and I will use this route in the future for leading easy moderate hikes.
Stats: 5 miles; 600' gain; 3 hours
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| Double Trouble above Harris Canyon Narrows |
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| Starting back on Ercie Road |
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| Kyle Canyon Road from Ercie Road |
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