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Back Into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
“Let’s go back to Kofa!” was the Lady’s answer to our change of plans back in Part Four. So that’s what we did. We spent close to two weeks there and traveled 220 miles on dirt roads. This part begins that story.
The story starts with the Lady and a photo.
We arrived in the afternoon and wanted to get settled in a campsite with daylight to spare. The winter solstice was coming and we could hardly wait for the turnaround.
A quick stop at the Kofa Cabin. The cabin was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of FDR’s successful New Deal programs. This legacy also lives on in many of the developed watering holes we visited throughout Kofa that were built by the CCC.
We settled into a spot about 2 miles south of the cabin.
The response to the recent rains was also evident here.
Brittlebrush was the predominate wildflower but the Lady delighted in finding many belly flowers, small ones you need to get on your belly to see.
This was a nice spot for a quiet night.
Our morning coffee walk took us to a highpoint to the south of camp.
We were heading south today.
The road followed Alamo Wash and, for the most part, was a pleasant drive although there was deep gravel and a few narrow rocky sections. I parked where the Lady directed.
Our first cross country hike was to find the Owl Head Dam. The tinajas in the area still held water.
The Lady led the way. The formation on the right is the Owl Head.
Teddy Bear Cholla still looked so cuddly.
We reached the dam.
Every small dam we found in Kofa was filled with silt, sand, and debris, a testament to the problem with dams in the arid west.
Now, at these sites water is usually found below the old dams in improved water holes. We climbed down to the one here.
Our next stop was Wilkinson Seep, a natural seep on the edge of the wash. It was impossible to penetrate the thick riparian vegetation. We circled twice and could find no entry. The exploration, though, was well worth the stop.
We did not make it to Alamo Spring. The road made a steep, narrow, rocky climb out of the wash with a slanting bedrock step we did not like. It was funny, we both pointed out the same line we could take through it, but with a drop off on one side, we did not like the risk. We turned around. We weren’t bothered because the drive up Alamo Wash had been nice and we now looked forward to doing it in reverse. It also gave us a chance to photograph the Owl Head from its more revealing side.
We moved east over to the Red Rock Pass Road and turned back south on this route. Our first stop was Craven Well.
The wells we visited in Kofa were in excellent shape. The windmills operated and water was stored in tanks that fed adjacent watering holes. Many also have solar powered pumps for backup.
The scenery was wonderful as we began the climb to the pass.
Our next water hole exploration was Red Rock Dam. We parked and climbed down into the wash.
The USGS topo contour lines indicated the dam was above the wash in a tributary. And that’s where we found it.
It, like the other dams we visited, was slited in, filled with debris behind the dam.
The landscape here was rugged, desolate, outstanding.
Red Rock Pass was not technical, but the south side was very rough and slow. One long stretch was rock cobble and very slow. The Lady threatened to abandon ship. South of the pass and near the intersection with Hovatter Road, we met three men in camo in two trucks, a Jeep Wrangler and an open bed Ram pickup. These were the only people we saw for three days. We chatted. They couldn’t help with detailed information, and appeared to be scouting for hunting. We continued on to the Hoodoo Cabin, an interesting old line camp from the 1940’s. There was a bee hive in the back wall of the cabin we did not disturb.
It is our usual practice to not camp near backcountry cabins. This is to make sure others feel free to stop and visit, and also so we won’t have a convoy of overloaders show up in the middle of the night. With how far out we were and how few people we had seen, we made an exception and spent the night camped here.
For an evening walk we headed north on the road that turns west into Hoodoo Wash. With the calm, incredible weather, and solitude, this was an exquisite evening.
Except for the most welcome coyote songs, this was a very quiet night. Sleep was deep, satisfying, and cozy. This is the norm for us. We sleep the best in the backcountry. We woke as soon as a hint of daylight arrived the next morning. It was time to be outside.
The sun rose during our morning coffee walk.
Our love affair with Kofa was solidly in play.
We backtracked out Red Rock Pass Road and stopped to hike out and locate Cholla Tank. It was marked on the USGS topo but not on the overall USF&W Kofa map. This was an earthen dam with a silted in depression behind it.
One of the Lady’s favorite “belly flower” was Soft Prairie Clover.
We drove the pipe line road west to High Tanks Road. The pipe line road was tiresome, not very scenic, and we won’t do it again. We’ve camped before out High Tanks, and it’s a favorite spot of ours.
I’ve mentioned the weather was nice, here’s some evidence.
This was an amazing night for shooters. The Lady was in heaven. We both were.
The next morning was all we could have hoped for, especially on our ritual coffee walk.
Not only did we find shelters with bedrock mortars, but also pictographs. We climbed high above High Tank Six and then climbed across and down to it.
We did well not spilling a drop of coffee on terrain like this.
Doesn’t this look like an intriguing possible ancient shelter site?
The tinajas above High Tank Six were filled with water.
We had a different kind of day ahead for us. We were meeting other backcountry travelers. Our adventure continues in the upcoming Part Six.
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