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| Hiking | 14.00 Miles |
4,790 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.00 Miles | | | |
| 4,790 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Day 1 - Climbs, thorns, snakes, bears, oh my
My first day actually started on Mt Lemmon, about 5 miles away from the Marshall Gulch trailhead. I woke up early, hiked out, and made the drive over to the Chiricahuas. As I turned on to Noland Road from the interstate and approached the Chiricahuas, I knew that this was going to be a special place. It was a beautiful day and the road was in great condition. As I got close to Portal, Cave Creek crosses the road and was flowing nicely which gave me comfort that the various creeks would be running. My original plan was to start at Herb Martyr Campground and hike up Greenhouse Road to Greenhouse Trail and, ultimately, end the night at the cabin near Cima Park. I had gotten a later start than anticipated, though, so wanted to see if I could drive up Greenhouse Road a bit to knock off a mile or more and at least 500 feet of the elevation gain on the first day, as it was a big climb. For the most part, Greenhouse Rd is in good condition and could be made by any SUV. It's tight in some sections and there's a chance you might get some pin stripes, but it's in good condition until about a mile in. I also saw a small bear in one of the clearings, but he didn't try to get in my way. Smart bear. At that point, the road crosses Greenhouse Creek and it gets a bit bouldery. I didn't have much an issue with my lifted outback but I did have to reposition some rocks in a couple of spots and had some tire spinning. Fearing it would get worse, when I saw an area that looked ok to park for a few days right at the creek crossing, I figured that was good enough and I'd start the hike from there. Turns out the rest of the road after crossing the creek to the actual TH is like the first part and just fine for any SUV probably, so the only part of that road I would say really needs clearance or AWD/4WD is that section that is about 1000 feet long.
It was about a half mile to the trailhead and while it was just a half mile of forest road, it was interesting: two groups of deer spotted, old bear scat mixed with still steaming bear scat, one snake (signs of what's to come). Once to the actual trail, I could see that this was going to be an interesting climb. As I started what would ultimately be 2700 feet of gain, I could sort of kind of see the trail but I mostly saw vegetation. It was thick, but mostly soft grass so not the worst thing in the world. Then I saw another rattler. Well, to be fair, I never actually saw this one, I could just hear it right off trail. After backing off and giving it a few minutes to see if it would move... it didn't. So, I climbed up the hill to the right a bit in waist high grass hoping I wouldn't find a friend of his and let him have the trail. As I made it to the wilderness boundary and the approximate 15 million switchbacks, the vegetation only got thicker and there was little sign of trail in most spots. If anyone wants to frame me for murder, I left about 5 gallons of blood there so I'm sure you can figure out something. I would not recommend this trail in shorts and this is coming from a guy who only hikes in shorts, overgrown trails and all: this felt like nearly an off trail excursion in a lot of areas.
Eventually, I made it to the Winn Falls viewpoint which was flowing quite nicely and I could hear loudly even from that distance. Loud enough that I almost stepped on yet another black rattlesnake because I couldn't hear it's rattle. Noped out of there real quick and got back on "trail", anxious to get the last bit of climbing out of the way. Eventually the trail meets up with Cima creek and what bit of trail you have disappears almost entirely to brush and deadfall. This next mile to the cabin took almost an hour as I figured out the best path but was an enjoyable hour if nothing else. Cima Creek was flowing beautifully and there are tons of little slick rock waterfalls and fun little chutes that it flows through to keep things interesting. I made it to the cabin around 7:30 or so, set up my tent, and started a small fire to relax by for a little bit before bed. The forest service has carved a couple of big logs as benches which left a ton of good firewood making it easy on me.
Day 2 - Fog, snakes, snakes, snakes, aspens
I woke up early to the pitter patter of rain and looked outside to see the entire area covered in fog and some fierce winds. What I thought was rain was actually moisture collecting on the trees above me and then being blown off by the wind. This made for some great horror movie vibes but did get me thinking about my plan a bit. Originally, I had planned on hiking north on the crest trail this day and making a 10 mile loop, ending back in the same spot or maybe another mile or two south. After checking the weather report again, it looked like things were only going to get worse in this area that day and night so I made the decision to hike on down Snowshed to drop some elevation and just play it by ear. I made this decision in the great forest service outhouse by the cabin. Truly fantastic.
The first few miles were brutal with the wind whipping the trees into my face but also beautiful. I dipped down to Anita spring real quick to check it out and then I climbed up Chiricahua peak to be met with... well, nothing. I couldn't see anything more than a few feet in front of me due to the fog. Don't worry though, because there was another black rattlesnake in the trail. Joy. This one gave me fair warning, though, which was nice of him. The wind and fog continued until hitting Aspen saddle where the trail starts to turn East. Of note, there is some good camping at Aspen Saddle that is tucked away in the trees; I took a break behind the treeline to get out of the wind and they did a great job of blocking it. I went south on crest to check out eagle and juniper springs and right at the trail split, it seemed like a light switch was thrown and the fog dissipated and the wind died down to a much more manageable level. The views from here to Herb Martyr are just absolutely insane and I found myself stopping often to take pictures/record/stare. Eagle spring is somewhat sketchy to get to; it seems there's been a lot of erosion and it's a fairly steep path with lots of small rocks. I scooted it on my butt. Juniper was a lot easier to get to and it just off the trail. There are three catchments, all have seen better days, but all had water of one variety of algae or another. I refilled here and while it still had a slight brown color to it, it tasted fine.
Guess what else I saw here? I guess black snakes gotta drink, too, because it was just handing out on the rock where a seep is coming through. We were pretty far from each other, though. I asked how it's family was, it didn't answer which I thought was rude, but whatever.
The next few miles are more just descending, beautiful views, and stopping when you hear a rattlesnake next to you to see where it is and realizing it's 6 inches from your foot on the side of this mountain making you an olympic track star. Sounds monotonous, but this one wasn't black like the rest, so it added a little spice.
Eventually I made it to Herb Martyr trail which was a nice change of pace. Well, the pace was still DOWN but now we're in green trees instead of rocky mountainsides. I was able to move much faster on this section and was making the plan to just pick a spot at the campground potentially for the night. I knew when I was getting close: the scent of hot dogs and burgers could be smelled from a mile out. I eventually made it there around 6. I found a spot right outside of the campground by the creek that had obviously been used for tents before and just pitched mine, which became more interesting than it should have. Halfway through, I feel someone smacking my back. I turned around ready for anything to see... a 12 year old boy. Who was immediately mortified and let out a small, "I thought you were my dad", before running away. No, small child, I don't believe I am. That was the first person i saw since setting out the day before, though. Then I checked out the vault toilet in the campground. Review: 5 star. Think they had cleaned it for labor day as it was spotless, the toilet paper was fresh, and it smelled like lysol.
Day 3: Just a quick 1.5 mile hike out along forest road. Nothing special but still a pleasant area. Found a family car camping right near mine which surprised me but it's a beautiful spot, so I get it. Drove out to the National Monument for some more hiking.
Final Thoughts: This is an absolutely beautiful, phenomenal, amazing, and remote area. It's also extremely rugged, tough, and affected by fire. These factors result in a trail that at times is trying to throw you off the mountain due to erosion and, other times, trying to separate your legs from your body with the vegetation. I also saw more wildlife in this one trip than I have seen on many trips combined including two bears, a scorpion, snake after snake after snake, a couple coatis, 6+ herds of deer, and all sorts of birds I haven't seen before. I would recommend the area and these specific trails to anyone wearing pants in decent physical condition and I will be going back soon. |
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