Chiricahua Peak is the name of a 9,763 feet (2,976 m) peak located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, located about 35 miles (56 km) north of the United States-Mexico border. Chiricahua offers a range of day hiking options from easy to strenuous. Willcox After a mile, the trail came to a spring and remnants of an old pump station. I salvaged the day with a drive up the Coronado Highway and a visit to the Greenlee County Highpoint, plus a speeding ticket. [10][11] The last major eruption, 27 million years ago, created the Turkey Creek Caldera and laid down 2,000 feet (610m) of volcanic ash which fused into welded rhyolite tuff. A large fire from a couple years ago had defoliated much of this part of the mountain and the burn scars were still evident. After gathering my gear and talking with some guy camping, I hit the trail. The most popular route comes in from the north via Rustler Park campground, high on the main range crest. So here it was, a month later. From here it was a consistently moderate uphill grade along nice wide trail. Then the trail parallelled the creek on the right as one faces uphill. There were also many standing dead trees, and they creaked in the slight breeze. I took the "lower" one, the one literally in the creekbed (the "upper" one's trailhead is about a half-mile west of the lower's trailhead, but there is no convenient parking for that trailhead). Web Visit website. However, it may not be the fastest. The spiky plants can be a painful problem. Then, I met the love of my life, married her, and we came back in November 2003 for another visit, her first time in the range. The trail begins at the end of the Sycamore campsites off a spur from Turkey Creek Road. The fort was decommissioned in 1894 and today is just stone foundations and the occasional adobe walls that look like they're melting into the earth. Growing at elevations from around 5000 to over 7000 feet, the habitat transitions from lowland desert scrub to upper elevation pine-fir forests. Our programs are fun, informative, and free! I had a choiceloop south then east and approach the summit from the southeast, or loop north. The Chiricahua Mountains are an uplifted structural block of the Basin and Range. Lots of trees provide food and shelter for wildlife. [citation needed], The first recorded mining claim in the Chiricahua Mountains was the Hidden Treasure claim filed in 1881, and mining has continued intermittently to the present with the greatest periods of activity occurring in the 1920s and 1950s. About Chiricahua Peak is the name of a 9,763 feet (2,976 m) peak located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, located about 35 miles (56 km) north of the United States-Mexico border. I hiked a mile in soft snow, but the snow was up to my hips. MM BH Pass . We drove out to our hotel in Willcox the day before, and enjoyed some authentic Mexican food for our pre-hike dinner that night. Only then was the region "safe" for outside settlement. The creek itself had running water down low, fed by springs. There aren't any views from the summit, unfortunately. Chiricahua Mountains It was hunting season and we came upon a father and son sitting along the trail, rifles on their laps. Rock the Rhyolite Hike for Your Health! The ArizonaMountains Gazetteer Chiricahua Peak, Arizona Prominence: 5139 ft, 1567 m Elevation: 9759 feet, 2975 meters True Isolation: 64.19 mi, 103.31 km Other Photos Views on the Crest Trail just south of Chiricahua Pek (2019-11-15). The next day we returned to the Monument and did two hikes: a 3.5-mile loop through the Heart of Rocks and its spectacular rock formations, and a 2-mile hike up Sugarloaf Peak. H mm > m hbhhhb HHBH I HI 1 1 ^ M3! View a map of this area and more on Natural Atlas. Soaptree yucca and century plant are also common. Conditions: Sunny and cool Another option are the two Mormon Creek routes, which start lower down. We enjoyed ourselves and it was nice to be back, especially with B.. After about 20 minutes, we started the leisurely hike out, following the same route as we took coming up. We returned along the Crest Trail, and while en route back to Long Park we also ascended Paint Rock (9,375 feet . The benchmark's elevation is listed as 9,795 feet, which is probably a mistake. Scrambling through hundreds of trees on their sides is quite difficult, the tangle of logs and branches nearly impenetrable. For the first time I had an actual view of the peaks above me, although Chiricahua's summit was still hidden by trees. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. LoJ For Sale: Single Family home, $415,000, 3 Bd, 2.5 Ba, 1,764 Sqft, $235/Sqft, at 18481 E Azul Ct, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 Chiricahua Peak is easy to climb, with a few possible starting points ranging from half-day hikes to longer overnighters. The Chiricahua Peak quadrangle includes the crest of the Chiricahua Mountains and offers unusual ecologic diversity that ranges from Sonoran desert through . Arizona Subsequently, the Cochise culture another pre-ceramic based culture spanning 3000200 BCE was defined from sites around the Chiricahua Mountains, including Cave Creek Canyon. It is flat for a few hundred yards, then swings left, where a sign mentions the distance to the peak as 5 miles. v one dollar carving up the cabinet mts wilderness miners and freddies vs. A talus field (with no trees) allowed for excellent views all the way down to the desert floor. Led at first by Chief Cochise (for whom the county is named), and after Cochise's death, by Geronimo, the Apache, numbering just a few hundred, fought vigorously and remained at large until 1886, when Geronimo was captured. The eruption was so massive, it created a literal wall of mountains, where the range crests stay above 9,000 feet for miles at a time, resulting in numerous bumps of nearly equal height. Broadly speaking, there are six basic plant communities, and each supports a unique subset of birds." I hiked a mile in soft snow, but the snow was up to my hips. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 6 h 3 min to complete. From point 8,700, I proceeded south a half-mile to the Chiricahua Saddle, elevation 9,100 feet. In addition, Willcox Playa is visible in the basin below. Time: 1 hour The region came into U.S. possession after the 1853 Gadsden Purchase, but the Chiricahuas, led by Chief Cochise, fought the settlers and military off and on for many years, reaching a tenuous peace in ~1872. Since the wildfire that went thru here years ago, the area is pretty devastated. Chiricahua Peak 9,760 and 9 others Arizona Alpine Total Time: 14:20 Roundtrip Mileage: 30.2 Elevation Gain: 8,440 Crux: Class 2 Trailhead: Rustler Park The Chiricahua Mountains are one of Southern Arizona's sky islands, rising to nearly 10,000 from the desert near the border with Mexico. It's not super difficult in terms of steepness, nor length. I arrived back to my truck at 2 p.m. Forests cover much of the range, and a vast network of trails and camping areas offer multitudes of possibilities for hiking, camping and exploring. NOTE: Two lots (same size) 50 &51 down the street are priced at. 1) is east-southeast of Tucson, Ariz., in the Chiricahua Moun tains. Sold 1 Acre Parts of the trail were completely obscured, but periodic cairns alerted me to the route. PB LoJ Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a12b096ed270e36 To my knowledge none of these are visible on any standard route up Chiricahua Peak. Rock pinnacles are the result of the erosion of compacted volcanic ash from the eruption of an ancient volcano just south of the park. Date: November 9, 2003 Chiricahua Mountains is a range in Coronado National Forest, Chiricahua Wilderness, Chihuahuan Desert, AZ. Mormon Ridge Trail and Mormon Canyon Trail Loop. Tourism in Southern Africa is synonymous with the wildlife safari. I followed Turkey Creek Road into the range to the Mormon Creek trailhead area. May finance the purchase of all three, but not one lot. We hiked up the easy grades, took a breakfast break, and followed the trail past Anita Springs and directly up to the summit, 3.5 miles and 2 hours after starting, in exquisite weather. The northwest end of the Chiricahua mountains continue as the Dos Cabezas Mountains beyond Apache Pass and the Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Like my first time here, the top is wooded and blocks most views.   A one to two mile wide band of sedimentary rock running southeast to northwest from south of Portal through Paradise and up to the Dos Cabezas Mountains is the source of mineralized deposits. From Long Park, we followed a mostly-level trail south for two-thirds of a mile to the Crest Trail (Trail 270). After gathering my gear and talking with some guy camping, I hit the trail. The blast sent prodigious amounts of ash into the air. (29), Comments I hiked a mile in soft snow, but the snow was up to my hips. Still a few downed trunks here and there but way less than before. Arizona Rustler Park is the best option for hikes starting from the north on the Crest Trail. If I could get us there, our hike would be relatively short. Conditions: Sunny and cool Look for an unlocked gate near some FS buildings on the far "left" end of the campground. It has been listed on Rocket Homes since February 28, 2023 and is currently priced at $535,000. Rucker Canyon Road (dirt) leads to campsites from the south, and AZ-80 has access roads allowiong access from the east side. We followed the Crest Trail south, contouring past Flys Peak, coming to a meadow at Round Park, then contoured around smaller peaks before coming to Cima Park ("Park" is used in these cases to refer to saddles along the range crest). Jour., v.91, p. 663. 160.153.246.108   Elevation: 7,310 feet The Chiricahua National Monument Visitor Center is 5,400 feet (1,646 meters) above sea level. Southeast Arizona, and Chiricahua in particular, is a premier birding area of the country. Too much deadfall. So here it was, a month later. The mountains and the eponymous highpoint get their name from the Chiricahua band of Apache Indians, who lived and roamed these lands for centuries before becoming part of the United States after the Gadsden Purchase in 1854. Spanning 12,025 acres in southern Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument is the result of the eruption of Turkey Creek Volcano millions of years ago; as the ash cooled, it formed rhyolite layers that eroded . There are two trails that run parallel along the Mormon Creek drainage. The summit is marked by a benchmark in a boulder situated at the base of a large tree. Chiricahua Peak Weather Forecast, AZ - WillyWeather F 2 9:16 pm 21 Feb Relative Humidity 76% Rain Today 0.1in (0in Last Hour) Wind SW 8.1mph Dew Point 37.9 F Pressure 1009.5 hPa Hottest 87.8 F Pohnpei Island, HI Coldest -40 F WEST DELTA OIL PLATFORM, LA Windiest 55.2mph Mount Washington, NH Wettest (Last Hour) 0.1in The NM features thousands of eroded tuff spires and hoodoos, similar (but different in origin) to those you would see in Utah at Bryce Canyon. Cochise himself died in 1874. We met another group back at my truck at Long Park. The trailhead's elevation is approximately 6,400 feet. 12856 East Rhyolite Creek Road, Willcox, AZ 85643, USA. Second Visit, November 2003: and I planned to hike another Arizona county highpoint while the weather state-wide remained mild. The benchmark's elevation is listed as 9,795 feet, which is probably a mistake. The weather was breezy but nice, with temperaturess around 50. The highest point, Chiricahua Peak, rises 9,759 feet above sea level, approximately 6,000 feet above the Past the campgrounds and trailheads at Rustler Park, we drove to the guard station buildings and found the gate to a lesser road leading to Long Park. From our hotel in Willcox, we followed State Route AZ-186 for 35 miles southeast toward the Chiricahua National Monument, then right (south) another 14 miles up the Pinery Canyon Road toward Onion Saddle and Rustler Park (FR-42 and FR-42D). We suited up and got things in order, starting the hike at 9:10 a.m. I arrived back to my truck at 2 p.m. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. It was so nice, I laid in the bed of my truck and took a catnap for a half-hour before packing up, changing into dry clothes and proceeding home. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Geography Geology Ecology [1], The earliest evidence of humans in the vicinity of the Chiricahua Mountains are Clovis archeological sites such as Double Adobe Site in the Whitewater Draw tributary of Rucker Creek north of Douglas. The mountains and the eponymous highpoint get their name from the Chiricahua band of Apache Indians, who lived and roamed these lands for centuries before becoming part of the United States after the Gadsden Purchase in 1854. I followed the same route as I had come up. Teammates: From Long Park, we followed a mostly-level trail south for two-thirds of a mile to the Crest Trail (Trail 270). Thankfully, this segment wasn't too long and soon I arrived at the summit, exactly three hours after starting my hike. Tourism in Southern Africa is synonymous with the wildlife safari in a boulder situated at the summit exactly... Guy camping, I proceeded south a half-mile to the Greenlee County,... 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