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| Hiking | 8.59 Miles |
3,225 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.59 Miles | 5 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 3,225 ft AEG | 46 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | While car camping in Turkey Creek with wifey and LE, I really wanted to try to summit Chiricahua Peak. I wasn't sure how much snow would interfere, but I figured I could at least make it to Mormon Saddle and turn around. So I headed up Mormon Canyon; wifey and LE tagged along as far as Mormon Spring.
I forgot to lock the car when we left the campground; I realized this about halfway to the trailhead, so I ran back down the road to lock the car. Wifey continued on, and I told her to wait at the Mormon Canyon trailhead. She didn't see the sign and kept going toward Morse Canyon trailhead and the end of the road, so I had to run after her. This little detour added a bit to my mileage and elevation gain.
Mormon Canyon is beautiful, with water cascading down for most of its length, though after the first mile and a half it becomes sporadic. The trail is in good shape along its length despite a few instances of deadfall. Most of the deadfall is easy to step over or hike around, though in the final switchbacks approaching the saddle there is a big charred trunk blocking the trail which I had to climb over. To preserve my clothes, I used a young pine sapling as support to get up on top of the trunk, then hopped down. No black smears!
Mormon Canyon is also a very challenging trail. It is pretty darn steep. I kept wondering if I was out of shape or something since I had to stop every tenth of a mile or so to catch my breath. Perhaps it was the pound of carrots in my pack I never opened. Yeah, must have been the extra weight...
Shortly before the saddle there were some brief but thick snowdrifts over the trail, maybe a foot thick or so. The snow was old so it didn't compact well; if it wasn't so steep it would have been fairly easy to walk on, but the slope made my feet slide.
I reached the saddle a little after 2pm. I contemplated continuing on to Chiricahua Saddle, but I would have had to traverse a quarter mile of snow and I didn't see any sign of tracks, so it would have required some route finding. In other words, slow. I didn't have the time to summit and make it back to camp in time for dinner. So I hung out at the saddle, scarfed some calories, and marveled at some beautiful blue-tinged crested birds that had horrible calls (Stellar's jays). After many longing looks at the higher elevations, some of my favorite places to hike, I started my descent on Mormon Ridge trail.
I'd last been on Mormon Ridge trail in August of 2020, descending from the Crest. Back then it was pretty easy to find and follow, though very brushy, and Mormon Canyon trail seemed like it was gone. Now, at the saddle, Mormon Canyon is the easier trail to find. The two trails parallel each other from the saddle a bit, and one would be forgiven for thinking the Mormon Ridge trail had been abandoned. The sign was missing, and the sign post was on the ground, so that didn't help.
Nonetheless I was able to figure things out pretty quickly, and the Mormon Ridge trail is actually in better shape along its length than it was back in 2020. It could use a haircut in places, but the tread is fine and I made pretty good time. The views are outstanding, and the terrain is varied and interesting, though the trail is quite exposed. Along the way I debated which trail would be the preferred trail for an ascent; Mormon Canyon is punishingly steep, but Mormon Ridge is just plain hot. While it was a warm day, it was also breezy and that helped quite a bit. So far I think I like the Saulsbury trail for Crest access from the Turkey Creek area. It's longer and less steep, but that just means more time hiking in the Chiricahuas.
I made it back to camp at a quarter to five, in time for dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala and Tadka Dal, which got blended into Chicken Tikkatadka Masaladal. It was pretty good, even if it tasted nothing like either of its parents. |
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Mormon Spring |
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| |  Strong flow below the tank. Inside the tank you’d need a rope and bucket, it’s pretty far down. | | | |
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