Page 1 of 1
Chiricahua water conditions
Posted: Aug 26 2022 1:06 pm
by xsproutx
Hey gang. I'm looking at spending a few days in the Chiricahuas backpacking next week and have only done some day hiking there previously. There aren't enough water reports to really let me judge anything as somewhat reliable or not so looking for people with more experience there to help a guy figure out what's what. I was planning on starting around Herb Martyr campground and going up greenhouse so if Cima Spring/Creek will be reliable for me, that's probably all I need as I can set up a base camp and explore from Cima Park or neaby.
So, if anyone has "Oh this is definitely reliable" or "I was just there and..." it would be very much appreciated. Would very much prefer not to carry 5+ liters up 3k feet

Re: Chiricahua water conditions
Posted: Aug 26 2022 1:11 pm
by jonathanpatt
Southern Arizona just got a massive amount of rain in the past week, and even before that I was seeing a large amount of water coming over Winn Falls (which is on the Cima Creek drainage) about two weeks ago. I suspect there's water flowing even as high as Cima Cabin, and if not it'll be close by. The upper spring above Cima Cabin can be hard to locate but had good water under the very heavy lid in late May.
I suspect all the springs are and nearly every creek is flowing right now. I was just working in the Huachucas over the past week and there was water just bubbling up out of the ground on ridgetops at 8,500' all over there.
[ Anita Spring ] ,
[ Eagle Spring ] ,
[ Tub Spring ] (surface flow, drinker is not connected), and
[ Booger Spring ] are all pretty reliable and I've never seen them dry thus far.
[ Headquarters Spring - Chiricahua ] used to be but hasn't been flowing into the box quite as well lately so can be hard to retrieve from, though the box likely has rainwater in it.
Re: Chiricahua water conditions
Posted: Aug 26 2022 1:40 pm
by xsproutx
@jonathanpatt
Great info on all fronts, much appreciated! I kind of figured this was the case but I just wasn't sure how much rain that part of Arizona was getting compared to the rest.
Looking at the map again, it looks like Cima Creek drains right by that campground so I assume I can just take a peek there to see if it's running and, if so, should be safe to say it is up higher I guess, too.