Morgan Mine | There's gold in them thar hills! But not in this one. | Huachuca Mountains Arizona

Just over a hundred years ago the story goes that a 13-ounce gold nugget was found in Ash Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains.    / @flynnhikes   Not many years later another miner found an 8-ounce nugget. Whether either of these stories are true or not, folks have been mining in this canyon ever since. Ben Morgan was one of those miners. For miners from Bisbee and Tombstone who wanted to strike out on their own, the Huachucas were a good location to give it a go. There were lots of shady canyons, and there were plenty of what looked like good prospects. Nothing significant ever came of any of the mining here, but not for a lack of trying. If you visit Ash Canyon, make sure you heed the posted mining claim signs. Do not go prospecting on someone else's active mining claim. As for me I'm not one to go into mines, but Morgan Mine is only about 50' deep. There are no shafts to fall into and, unless a rock falls off the ceiling of the tunnel and bonks you on your head, you'll probably make it out safely as did I. Thanks to the esteemed Leonard Taylor here are a few facts about Ben Morgan and his son, Charlie, that didn't make into this video: According to a 1916 article, Ben was first constable in Bisbee. And he was the first to get married in Bisbee, to Jessie J Dunton (1869-1902). Ben was born on October 3, 1861, making him 72 years old when he died when his cabin caught fire, perhaps from an overheated stove, on December 18, 1933. Charles Morgan (March 10, 1887-Dececember 17, 1967) married Evelyn Hope Hartford (1898-1994). Charlie probably lived at the upper mine site, where a log cabin burned in 1988. Ash Canyon is as hot as a furnace in the summer. But due to the north-facing orientation of the Bob Thompson Peak Trail you can get a shady, relatively cool, three-mile hike in if you don't mind starting before 7AM. To top it off, it's very scenic along the way and at the saddle. When the trail is exposed to the sun - from late morning through the end of the day - this trail/road is too hot in the summer for enjoyable hiking. If you want complete, accurate and interesting details about trails in the Huachucas, pick up Leonard's Trails of the Huachucas trail guide (2019) and the accompanying Trail Map of the Huachucas. You can buy the guide on Amazon and at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, the Sierra Vista Ranger District Station along Hwy 92 south of Sierra Vista, the Coronado National Memorial, the San Pedro House, the Carr House, Territorial Book Sellers (7th/Lenzner) in Sierra Vista, and at various outdoor stores. I highly recommend it! DIRECTIONS to the trailhead: From State Route 92 turn west onto to Ash Canyon Road. Drive about a mile and a half until you see a "Y" in the road with an Ash Canyon sign. Take the left "Y" in the direction of Ash Canyon and drive about another mile until the road ends in an obvious parking area. There's a Forest Service billboard but no trail sign. The clips at 1:10 of the water swirling in a pan and of the blast are from the Arizona Ghostriders YouTube channel. Sierra Vista Arizona