Gila National Forest - Pierce Canyon, Black Range

rugged country at the top of Pierce Canyon

 I thought I could the barest trickle tumbling over the bedrock

rock formations

 Looking down Pierce Canyon

 Another trip  to the far southeast corner of the Black Range. This time it was to the upper reaches of Pierce Canyon. We drove all the way to where the where the rough but not unmanageable FR 888 is blocked by a locked gate at a private property inholding. This was part of the Tierra Blanca Ranch for"troubled" youth which had a minor scandal many years ago when a few of the teens ran away.  It doesn't appear to be functioning in this capacity anymore, at least not at this location. In order to access upper Pierce Canyon, I felt obliged to walk around the private parcel which was little tricky because there is no fence, so I had to rely on On-X which isn't always reliable in these very remote areas. I think we did okay climbing over  a few hills and in and out of the intervening drainages, until we arrived near Lockwood Well, which is more or less right on the boundary between Forest Service and private land. We then headed up Pierce Canyon. There were some very stout ponderosa pines, abundant bear scat and and an old Sprite can  along the way

Lockwood Well

Sprite can from the 60's

The stream was dry, but I think it does carry water, like nearby Cottonwood Creek, in more reasonable precipitation years. After not much time we arrived at very back end of the little valley where bare bedrock cliffs and formations take over. Perhaps, they weren't as spectacular (at least the ones I could see) as the ones very close by to the west at Pine Spring Mountain, but they provided a nice climax to a pretty otherwise ordinary, and unseasonably warm hike in the dry PJ country of the east side of the Black Range.

Upper reaches of Pierce Canyon

 This area still merits a little further exploration. I can tell from  research with Google Earth that there are more  bare rock formations to see  which if I return I will use less complicated route along Cottonwood Creek