Chiricahua Mountains (2-6-2011)

   Paul and I spent our anniversary hiking in the Chiricahua Mountains, which was home to the Chiricahua Apaches many years ago.  The last time we were here, we hiked a short trail, in 5 inches of new snow.  This time we were luckier- there was no fresh snow on the ground, although about 30% of the trail was snow covered.  It was a test of our "layering" abilities, for sure.  Everyone knows if the temperatures are cold and may vary, you need to layer.  Deciding what to wear for those layers required some thought though.  In the end I wore a short sleeved hiking shirt, a sweatshirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and my Gor-tex windbreaker.  I also had two hats with me (baseball cap and a warm one), and swapped back and forth between them all day.  For the first hour I was really glad I had all those layers on, since the temperatures had barely approached the 40 degree mark.  We both shed and added layers all day long as we moved from sun to shade, snow to bare ground, and wind to calm and every combination of those factors imaginable.

 




Big Balanced rock- 25ft in diameter, weighs 1000 tons

                                                                                                                                                                We took a longer trail this time, hiking the Ed Rigg trail to the Mushroom Trail to get to the Heart of Rocks Trail that has some interesting rock formations.  Once we finished the Heart of Rocks trail, which is a small loop, we had to make a decision about our route back.  We could continue forward, taking the opportunity to see new formations, but that would add 2 miles and some elevation gain to the day; or we could turn back and return the way we came, keeping the day's hike at about 7.5 miles. 

   We decided it was too late in the day to comfortably hike the extra mileage, so we  turned around.  However, we did think it was worth adding a short 1 mile spur to get to see "Inspiration Point".  By that time we were getting tired, so we were hoping it would be worth it.  It was.  The skies were clear enough to see for long distances and the views were awesome.  Total mileage for the day was 8.5 miles.                                         



view from Inspiration Point



              Once we finished the hike, we went home to get ready to go out to dinner.  Willcox doesn't have too many restaurants, but they do have a decent Mexican one.   It was a great day and felt great to get out and get moving again.  Today we head to El Paso for a few days before heading down to the Gulf coast of Texas.