Sky Islands Odyssey (East Loop) - Day 2 - New Route through the Canelo Hills to Sonoita
Date: April 6, 2024
48.0 Miles
3,787 Feet of Gain
Patagonia, AZ to Sonoita, AZ
We both slept soundly and took time to generously lay for some time wrapped in our quilts in the morning dawn. Usually, day two of this trip is a fast and easy ride into Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, but ever since the closure of access to the property from the Audubon Society, we've been dealing with alternates. Sarah Swallow, the creator of Sky Islands Odyssey, had finally released a new official version that took a whole new path towards the east side of the Santa Ritas. The route now started the same but split mid-day to head across a section of the Canelo Hills through an area new to me. Today was usually a 35 mile day but now would be 48 miles with the route change. Those new distances, terrain, and elevation gain all pressed a sense of urgency to get moving today, lest the route take inordinately longer than expected to complete. Camp tonight would be in Sonoita at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Sarah had updated the route with this allowable camp location, and we planned to try it out. Weeks ago I had secured a tent camping reservation, and I was super curious to see what the venue would look like. Janna and I have slept in a variety of fairgrounds on our bike trips. Some have been pretty incredible and nice, while others have been shady and concerning. I was hoping for the former for tonight.
We packed up the shelter, used the restroom at Terra Sol, refilled our water, and said goodbye to the dwindling number of AZTers as most had headed out right at dawn. The two of us pedaled back to Patagonia to eat at Gathering Grounds for breakfast (the BEST breakfast we always get) and then shopped for the day's snacks at the Patagonia Market convenience store. We pedaled out of town just after 8 am into the Coronado National Forest. The ride up Harshaw Canyon Road proved as excellent as always. But instead of the fall foliage we normally see, it was filled with robust green leaves and late spring growth. The cottonwoods all sported neon green branches that arched shade canopies over the dirt road. The miles came easy as we climbed up and onto the San Rafael Valley grasslands that carpet a major spread of savannah in the area. The grasslands were definitely in early spring, evident by their stunted blade heights and brown colors. The short grass surprised me as most of our previous autumn rides had taller-than-our-bodies bunches of grass after a summer of growth. We pedaled across the plains before the punchy climb up Canelo Pass where we stopped to drink water and take in the views. The miles on the other side came easy as we descended past an AZT crossing and saw a whole flock of wild turkey rummaging in the grass.
Two bikepackers caught up to us. It turns out they had started out from Patagonia this morning on day one of their trips on the same route. We talked for a bit before pedaling together to where the pavement split from the former route with the new. The old route swung east. We kept north on the new. The next miles were some shoulder riding along relatively quiet Route 83 that wound up and over the Canelo Hills. The Sky Islands Odyssey then veered off-pavement and onto dirt once more at Vaughn Loop Road. We pulled off and stopped to eat some snacks. The other bikepackers caught up. Turns out they had a significant tire issue. We offered to help but they said they had it; so we finished our snacks and carried on - only to look back and watch them stick to pavement to get to Sonoita, most likely to preserve their tires.
Large oaks popped up sole and prominent in the grasslands as the rolling hills became steeper. The wide dirt road suddenly condensed into some rutted doubletrack that shot across the land into increasing thickets of pinyon-junipers. We pulled over to take a long, languid break. Snacks were consumed, water was drank, long looks at the land were taken. Mostly, we were talking about life, our school workplace, and goals down the line (including attempting to have a baby in a year). Janna found some unusual pincushion cacti growing directly from a bolder that we took time to photograph and admire; it proved we were going my favorite speed while bikepacking. Amid the primitive and rutted doubletrack, we found ourselves doing some solid hike-a-bikes up steep red-dirt inclines. Somehow we also swung an incorrect turn on some spur trail that took us half a mile to realize was in the wrong direction and all uphill. The two of us swiftly turned around and joined the official Sky Islands Odyssey route which plunged down a canyon-hillside in a boulder-filled wash. I'll be honest that I wasn't the biggest fan of this reroute through the hills that completely avoided Las Cienegas NCA; that section of grasslands was hands-down one of the prettiest and most photogenic portions of the original route. I remarked frequently to Janna that this new way involved a bit more dirt and a bit less pavement; it brought not quite as scenic views but included a whole lot of pushing.
But suddenly, we crested a hillside and started downhill out of the Canelo Hills towards town. The dirt road widened from doubletrack and then became paved as we cruised into downtown rural Sonoita to the County Fairgrounds. We beelined it there to figure out where tent camping was. The facilities were classic for bike touring - a dirt parking lot area next to storage buildings where a few RVs and tent campers could set up. We walked around for a good bit to see if we couldn't find a spot with a bit more privacy and exposure. I found a grassy courtyard inside a small walled area with flagpoles that would do. I set the X-mid up and then we walked over to the rodeo area to watch some weekend competition from the stands. A second bikepacker rolled in, and we caught his attention. The three of us talked for a bit before he walked out to one of the cattle stalls to set up his shelter. Janna and I then got back on our bikes and rode over to the Copper Brothel Brewery. The place ended up serving fantastic food in a great facility. We both remarked how much Sonoita had begun growing over the years. Evening was coming on fast, so we finished our food and pedaled back to camp. I climbed into the X-mid as night and cold descended over the grasslands while an owl sat in the trees calling.
