Spend the Night in a Ghost Town? Sure, why not!

At the end of 2020 I was really feeling the need for some adventure and also a chance to cut away from the political news that I was starting to obsess over in November and December. I thought a solo backpacking trip would do the trick, but I was also looking for a new experience and an escape from the Northeast Ohio winter. I began to consider heading to the desert, maybe Arizona or New Mexico? I know there are probably hundreds of Ghost Towns in the southwest and maybe I could find one or two and work in some exploration and photography?

I started researching and scouring Google Earth and one place that caught my attention was Ruby, Arizona. Somewhere I had read that Ruby had recently started to allow camping on the property. Perfect! I found an email address for the owner and inquired about camping and we set it up. This is no tourist attraction like some of the other Ghost Towns I’ve been to (Bodie, CA)...after a small payment and a waiver was signed, the owner gave me the combination to the gate and instructed me to find the caretaker who lives on the property and let them know I was there when I arrive.

If Ruby was my only destination on this trip, I would’ve flown to Tucson, but since I also had plans to camp at Lost Dutchman State Park, I flew to Phoenix. Ruby was about a 3.5 hour drive from Phoenix with a few roadside stops along the way. One of those stops was the ruins of this old adobe-style house in Arivaca.

It’s about an hour drive to Ruby from Arivaca, mostly on unpaved roads that increasingly get worse! My rental car was not exactly off-road equipped, but the road was dry and I was able to maneuver around some bad spots, but I did get some looks from the Jeeps and 4x4’s I passed on the way;-)

I finally reached the gate and was very relieved when the combination lock worked and the gate swung open! Within a couple of minutes I passed a rusty Ford truck, an old school house and found the caretaker. She was quite friendly (and so was her dog), and told me that I was the only person there that day and I could camp wherever I wanted. I couldn’t believe it! Twelve hours ago I was in snowy Ohio and now I’m in an abandoned Ghost Town 4 miles from Mexico and I have it all to myself! I only had about 1.5 hours of daylight left and wanted to get camp setup first so i would still have some light to explore. I found an exceptional spot a little ways from town over by the mine tailings and setup quickly. I decided I would save the main town exploration for the next day and instead set out to the surrounding mountains to photograph views at dusk.

I was tired from the long day of travel, but couldn't resist walking over to town and exploring a couple of the buildings in the dark. I have never encountered anything supernatural and going to places that are claimed to be haunted doesn’t bother me, but even I got some uneasy vibes from wandering around this location in the middle of the desert where at least four murders took place 100 years ago.

Mercantile stores were frequently robbed in the old west because of all the money and goods they had from doing so much business. The Ruby mercantile had two double murders, in February, 1920 and August, 1921. John and Alex Fraser were robbed and murdered by Mexican Banditos less than a month after buying the mercantile and just 7 months later, the new store owner, Frank Pearson and his wife were also killed!

I also had a really interesting experience were several great horned owls were flying and calling around me near the old schoolhouse. Even though it was dark, I could still make one out at the top of the old flag pole and in the trees. After checking out a couple houses, I made it back to my tent for some backpackers chicken gumbo and a good night's sleep!

Woke up early, filled my thermos with hot coffee and set off to catch sunrise from the top of one of the surrounding mountains. It was a beautiful and cool morning and a great way to start the day.

I eventually made it back into town and finally got a chance to really explore this old mining town. At Ruby, you can pretty much go wherever you want except for a couple of buildings that are locked that seem to be used for storage and building materials. It’s really incredible to have a place like this without all the usual barricades and modern features meant to keep tourists safe and inline.

I found the caretaker, L.T. trimming back a trail at one point and she pointed me to the bat cave that can have up to 200,000 Mexican bats living in it in the spring. I’ll have to come back and witness what has to be an amazing sight as these bats fly out to eat insects at dusk! L.T.’s hound dog, Hatchy continued to accompany me around as I finished up my wanderings around town. I wish I could've stayed longer, but I had a few more stops on my way to Lost Dutchman and had to get moving.

Ruby has a rich history and I’ve only given you a photographic tour here. Please head over to Ruby’s website for the history and visiting information.
http://rubyaz.com

This summer I finally set out to California to do some backpacking in Yosemite National Park. This trip has been a long time coming and was delayed for a year due to unforeseen calamity. But, in July 2018, we finally made it happen. Me and my good friend Christopher made plans to spend 3 days hiking the Glen Aulin Trail in Yosemite’s high country. The Glen Aulin is part of the Pacific Crest Trail that runs all the way from Mexico to Canada. We would only hike about 10 miles of the trail, but it was a good 10 miles:-)

I guess it was a bit of luck that we chose a trail in the high country instead of something more popular, like Half Dome in the valley, because the Ferguson Forest Fire started the day before we arrived and had already made the valley too smoky for hiking. We did deal with some smoky views and the scent of “campfire” on our hike, but it was nothing like the valley, where you couldn’t even see El Capitan a couple hundred feet in front of you!

We flew into Reno and took advantage of being within just a few miles of fascinating Mono Lake with it’s tufas, and stopped for some exploring. Soon after leaving Mono Lake, we were already at the East entrance of Yosemite where the ranger warned us of the fast expanding forest fire. We pickup up our back-country permit and checked into the Tuolumne Campground (backpackers camp). I was surprised at how many folks were in the backpackers camp considering the fire, but I guess they were just like us and after much planning and excitement, didn’t want to give up on hiking this incredible country! We headed off to the Tuolumne Lodge, or I guess I should call it a tent, and had an amazing dinner with some other hikers. We swapped stories and had an awesome meal! After dinner we stopped off at Tuolumne Meadows to take in the amazing sunset! We were now well prepared for our hike to start the next morning:)

The morning was cool and mostly clear, still smelled like campfire, and we hit the trail. Early on we came to Soda Springs. We didn’t spend much time, but it was an interesting and worth while side trip. From there, the next 5 miles or so was very diverse and never boring! Forest, water falls, baron rock face…

When we finally arrived at the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, I was surprised at how, I don’t know, I guess I would say “developed” it was. There were some tents setup for the high sierra campers, a pit toilet, and most surprising, a small make-shift store that sold some necessities, ramen noodles, and even candy bars. I couldn’t resist and had to pick up a snickers. We were looking for something a little more rustic and of course, hadn’t paid the big $$ to stay at the camp, so we setup camp in a tree covered spot on the other side of the creek for our first night. As evening light started to get interesting, I walked around and found some of the local wildlife to photograph. For sunset, we had the best seat in the house on the high cliff a short walk from camp. This is exactly why you haul yourself across the country, load up 40 lbs of gear and hike your way to the middle of nowhere!

I woke up the next morning before the sun came up to hike up the mountain for some more amazing photo ops. The cold, early morning hike was invigorating and the views made it all worth it! By the time I had gotten back to camp, Christopher had woken up and was getting ready for the day. The plan was to leave our gear and have a lighter day-hike down the trail and find some of the amazing water falls in this fast moving river. We moved our camp just about a 1/2 mile down trail to a secluded spot along the creek and then started our day trip.

With a lighter load, we both took our considerable camera gear and took our time on the trail to capture the scenery. There was plenty to keep our photographic attention!

After we returned to camp, it was time for a quick dip in the Tuolumne River and a hearty bag of dehydrated food. Eventually, I felt refreshed and energized enough to climb the mountain that overlooks the “Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne” and take in another incredible sunset. Moments like this, alone in nature, are what give me the peace and calm I need to reflect and feel in tune with my creator. This is what what rejuvenates my soul!

It was time for us to head out of the back-country the next day and the plan was to hit the Valley. Once we got back to civilization, it was apparent that the Ferguson Fire had continued to spread and was having a real effect on air quality in the park. We considered our options and still decided we were going to take our chances and at least visit the valley. On our way down, we stopped at the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias. Smoke was faintly filling the forest and made for an eerie atmosphere. It’s was truly incredible to be among the giants!

The smoke got so thick as we entered the valley that you couldn’t see any of the iconic views. No Half Dome, no El Capitan, couldn’t even see Yosemite Falls until you were right on top of it. I felt especially bad for Christopher, who is experiencing the Great Yosemite Valley for the first time. There was still something very special about walking around the valley, especially with nobody around in the middle of summer. We had reservations for two nights at the Half Dome Village, but would cut it short and leave in the morning.

Yes, there was some disappointment, considering how much I looked forward to this trip and the vision I had in my mind of this pristine natural setting. But, I think we made the best of our situation and accept Yosemite for what it was in July of 2018. When I look back now, I realize that we experienced this incredible park in a unique and wholly natural way, and I have no regrets!