Moments in Dirt and Ink

Coronado National Forest (map link) Finding myself in New Mexico and what do I do? Head over to Arizona to hike. I've actually hiked quite a lot of the trails around Cave Creek, but I found one I had not done. AllTrails (which is very sparse across the boot heel) is where I found it mentioned that it is inappropriate to park at Cave Creek Ranch where the trail starts and I should park at the visitor center. From memory, the visitor center has a gate on the lot and it very much gets locked when the place is not open. However, there's also a little parking directly across it and, if you are desperate, maybe some to be had beside the fence in front of it. I was on the lookout for closer parking on the way in, but then pulled in across from the building as planned. It wasn't open yet, but I did pass the person who would get to that in 20 minutes. I had about half a mile to the trailhead. Signs along the road into the ranch indicated you might be able to park there for $5 ...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. Even though I know the "parks" around here are just saddles, I have this urge to go up and see Pine Park. It's just 3 miles along, just past a junction at the ridge. For a little extra incentive, there's a Fossil Saddle and Fossil Seep a half mile the other way. It's the way I would have gone up had I done Chiricahua as a day hike instead of a backpack . And I might could just make a loop out of it and maybe get some different viewpoints of Cave Creek Canyon. Maybe. I'll get to the top and decide. I would have waited another day to let my poor legs rest a little more after the 32 mile overnight backpack, but the storm that started as I was finishing put down a bit of snow all over the higher elevations and I wouldn't mind getting up there while it still is. Starting at Herb Martyr just like for the loop past Ash Spring , I head directly across the campground to the large sign across the creek skipping that ...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. Start with the FIRST DAY  << (Day 2 of 2) I have pudding with chia seeds and pecans requiring no cooking to eat, but I want some hot cider so I have to pack up camp first. There just isn't a single bit of flat area not already occupied. The rock wall I am below is interesting. At first it looks like a bit of old river bed, but it is actually volcanic with minerals leeching through. I'm not sure what the structures I took for rounded river stones at first are. The "impact crater" is where the water lands as it rushes over the top of the rocks in the rain. The spout is dark from water stains. Back along the crest are many patches of snow including some in among the bigger tuft of trees near where I first thought about stopping for the night. Plenty of little snow patches for emergency water. The first possible camp was the saddle two humps back. The trail travels on the other side of the humps. My first go...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. (Day 1 of 2) By my estimate, it would be 20 miles to go up to Chiricahua Peak and also go for the Chiricahua benchmark on Flys Peak in a tidy little loop going up Basin Trail to Snowshed and down Greenhouse Trail. This could be done, but I'm not quite feeling like a 20 mile day and there are some more things along the way that might be fun to hit. Of course, just hitting the peak via the shorter of the routes (probably Greenhouse) would bring it down, but then there is even more I am missing out on. But then I found an overnight kitty sitter, which opened up some options. In fact, if I could get a ride over to South Fork, that would let me go up Sentinel and Finnicum Peaks, estimated 18 mile round trip on a loop, as well. Then I noticed at 4AM that I better get going today because the kitty sitting offer wouldn't last forever and Wednesday has a 10% chance of rain to make it a bit dreary as a hiking day. So, finally packed a few...