For the second Memorial Day weekend in a row our plan was to head out to Arizona. We planned well in advance to book a tour of the Rotunda and Throne Room in Karchner Caverns, southeast of Tucson, but not far enough in advance to book a campsite at Chiricahua National Monument's small campground. To make everything more manageable, we drove as far as Dome Rock near Quartzite on Friday for a near-midnight arrival. Unfortunately the winds were rather gusty, making for a rocky night's sleep on top of a late arrival and early wake up. We made it to Karchner Caverns State Park by 11am, giving us plenty of time to look through the exhibits and have a snack before our tour. The cave has quite a reputation for its fairly recent discovery and extensive 10+ years of work to turn it into a show cave. A fancy visitor center, custom tramway, extensive climate-controlled airlock tunnels intersecting the major rooms of the cave, and sterile tour surfaces all showed this attention to detail. Perhaps their most draconian and unjustified policy is that no cameras or cell phones are allowed in the cave so all I have to show for it is the map of the cave from the visitor center and my account. I was impressed by the cleanliness of the manmade tunnels into the cave, including the many walk-in freezer doors and mist to help keep the cave conditions isolated and stable. The transition from dry Arizona heat to wet desert soil to humid cave temperature was quite noticeable. The lighting was well done and only stayed on during the tour to minimize algae growth. Portions of the cave were quite well decorated, the orange-colored formations distinctive, and the sloping chambers were sizable. All that said I think it was the most underwhelming cave tour I have been on. The tour guide was fairly terrible with lack of an inspired narrative or much ability to answer questions. There were frequently quiet pauses when he had nothing to say, perhaps for the best. The cave was fine- I probably have not found anything quite as nice in terms of size and formations together. My curiosity was met and I have no need to return to check out the other Big Room tour seasonally on offer.
From Karchner we drove on 1.5 hours to Chiricahua National Monument, with enough time to check out the small visitor center before it closed and then drive up the paved scenic road to its end, stopping at pullouts and trailheads along the way. This was really just the scouting for the longer hike we had tomorrow. We got many great views of the forests of stone pillars. The scrubby forest between seemed nearly as dry as the rocks. Despite harsh light, Massai Point had one of the more fantastical views with ridge after ridge of rock formations fading into the distant valleys and ranges (frontispiece). Back at the entrance to the monument we turned left onto Pinery Canyon Road and slowly bounced over the washboards for 15 minutes to find a camp spot in the Coronado National Forest. We past about six different short spurs already occupied by campers and then found ourselves a great spot under trees with some shade at a larger empty loop spur and set up our camp here. We had a nice relaxing evening at temperatures dropped and the breeze faded away.
We rallied for a 5:45am wakeup to make the most of our hike before the heat of the day. Surprisingly there was even a little chill in the air. The local inhabitants had the same idea and we saw deer, a coyote, jackrabbits, a roadrunner, and wild turkeys out and about.
At the Echo Canyon trailhead we packed for a good long hike, bringing plenty of water and electrolytes. With my previous research I guessed at what I thought would be the best single hike option in Chiricahua, a 10.8 mile figure 8 loop going down the Echo Canyon Trail, up the valley along the Hailstone and Mushroom Rock trails, a detour to Inspiration Point, Balanced Rock Trail to the Heart of Rocks Loop, down the Sarah Deming Trail, up the Upper Rhyolite Canyon Trail, back on the Hailstone Trail to re-bridge the 8, then up the Ed Riggs Trail to loop back to our car. Despite many good moments throughout, Heather and I both agreed the Echo Canyon Trail was our favorite, which was particularly enjoyable to go downhill, in the cool morning hours, shaded corridors, and without any other people. It is no surprise that I ended up selecting the greatest number of photos from the middle mile of this trail. The trail design was top notch as it provided both expansive views across valleys and intimate weaves in and out of pinnacled hallways. The grotto area of overhanging pillars was neat, if less extensive than I could have hoped. Overall we found the landscape to be an interesting mix of Bryce Canyon NP-style hoodoos and pillared walls blended with Pinnacles NP-style rhyolitic rocks and vegetation. One of my favorite sections of the trail towards its bottom had a deep shadowed hallway that split into a surprise fork at its end, giving a brief moment of feeling like we were in a maze.
The Hailstone Trail had full sun but was a basically flat traverse beneath the base of the pinnacled rhyolitic layer, certainly the ideal section to have to do twice for a figure 8. About halfway along was an exposure of partially welded tuff with secondary pea to grape-sized concretions.
We continued up the valley along the Mushroom Rock Trail, its namesake feature not photogenic enough between the trees to make the cut. The trail climbed sweatily through a bone-dry conifer forest and then out into the burned remnants of a sparse forest as we gained the plateau level on the top of the rhyolite. Almost immediately we reached the 1 mile out-and-back detour to Inspiration Point, a convenient excuse to unburden ourselves of our packs and take the mostly flat jaunt out to the valley overlook. It indeed was an inspiring view with the complex monolith of Cochise Head 4 miles away to the north, Sugarloaf Mountain with its fire lookout across the way, and distant valleys and ranges framed by the colonnaded walls of Rhyolite Canyon. Looking across at the tidy alignment of rock pillars on the north side of the valley I could not help but find it reminiscent of the stately order of Qin Shi Huang's terracotta army emerging from the cliffs.
Recollecting our packs, we strolled along the ridgeline of the Balanced Rock Trail, enjoying the developing breeze that helped cool the warm air. Big Balanced Rock was the notable feature along this scrubby ridge.
On and near the Heart of Rocks loop is where we encountered nearly all the people we would see on our hike. Counterclockwise we looped around this neat rock garden, another nice example of CCC-era trail craftsmanship. Like clouds, many of the rock formations along this trail evoke shapes and so we passed many named features including Kissing Rocks, Duck on a Rock, Punch & Judy, Thor's Hammer, Camel's Head, Old Maid, and Pinnacle Balanced Rock. Between these we enjoyed more nice views of Cochise Head and the opposing side of Rhyolite Canyon.
At the end of the loop we detoured off for a little bit of solitude and a snack in the shade. Despite considerable effort I managed to find a way to rig a hammock for a little R&R before continuing our hike. My trekking poles came out to assist with hiking as my ankle was feeling some wear and tear at this point.
The heat of the day was now setting in. Combined with the less photogenic surroundings of the Sarah Deming Trail and Upper Rhyolite Canyon Trail and the still air of the valley bottom, we mostly trod on, sweaty despite the dry heat, both of us eager to change out of hiking pants once we returned to the car. The Hailstone Trail was mercifully breezy and made an easy break in the hike before we gained elevation on the Ed Riggs Trail, back towards our car, 10.8 miles to close our figure 8.
We both felt thoroughly satisfied with this hike that took in the best the monument has to offer and began driving back west. As we drove through the open valleys we could see dramatic dust devils in every direction, some of them a thousand feet high and twisting with great force as they hoovered the ground beneath.
We had a tasty Mexican meal in Tucson (deep-fried avocado with chipotle sauce). After what seemed like ages, we eventually emerged out the west side of Phoenix and reclaimed our camp spot near Quartzite with the last of the light fading. Thankfully the wind was not nearly as bad as two days prior and the warm heat made for maximum comfort with minimal clothes and a cold drink. The home stretch on Memorial Day was straightforward enough, some traffic but not terrible. Despite lots of driving, it was nice to get some more rooftop tent camping in and to check out two places I had been wondering about for years.
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