Hailstone Trail • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 02 2025
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	15.49 Miles	2,982 AEG

Hiking	15.49 Miles	6 Hrs 2 Mns	2.80 mph
	2,982 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

no routes

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12 linked trail guides

Bonita Canyon Campground

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Camping trip to the Chiricahua National Monument. This hike is similar to one Kelly and I did 11 years ago. I added on the Hailstone trail and got some extra credit on the Heart of Rocks trail.
I started from the Bonita Canyon campground trail to the visitor center then up Lower Rhyolite. I made a big loop higher up taking in most all the trails.
Lots of stopping and gawking and picture taking. Many very cool sights. Highly recommended.
Only saw three people all day. One hiker from campsite #21 and two others near the visitor center.
Besides my achilles barking, a great day!

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Apr 16 2025

CannondaleKid

Guides 44
Routes 162
Photos 24,766
Triplogs 2,411

75 male

Joined May 04 2004
Mesa, AZ

Echo Loop Inspiration & Massai Points, AZ

Hiking		Apr 16 2025
		CannondaleKid • Triplogs 2,411

Hiking	7.60 Miles	1,463 AEG

Hiking	7.60 Miles	4 Hrs 1 Min		1.89 mph
	1,463 ft AEG		18 LBS Pack

no routes

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6 linked trail guides

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partners

trixiec

Day three of four in SE AZ.
This, our first hike on our second day in the Chiricahua National Monument, will be the longest in mileage and time as well as the most AEG of all 6 hikes we will do on this trip to SE AZ. While it was expected to require the most effort, in the end it didn't feel like it at all. And even for the effort we put forth, it returned a very enjoyable hike including a wider variety of scenery than we'd encountered in the Chiricahua or Dragoon Mountains.

We had such an easy descent the first half-mile down Echo Canyon I didn't experience the usual hip joint pain and by time we hit the steeper descent I had loosened up enough as long as I was careful on the larger step-downs things went well.

Just past the grottoes we caught up to a recently retired couple from South Carolina taking their first trip to AZ in years, and possibly thinking about moving 'back here' as they were originally from Arizona and moved to SC some 2 dozen years ago. Once the pleasantries were exchanged we moved on.

When we reached the sign denoting 'Echo Canyon' (at the confluence of Sarah Deming, Rhyolite and Echo Canyons) I loudly yelled 'Hello' which got a quick response from Tracey of 'what are you yelling for?' To which I responded, what is the point of an echo canyon if one doesn't take advantage of it... at least to verify it is worthy of the name.

Moving on, after 'turning the corner' we headed up Upper Rhyolite Canyon, connecting with the Hailstone Trail which we will follow until the junction with Ed Riggs and Mushroom Rock Trails. At that point we continued up Mushroom Rock Trail until reaching the Mushroom Rock, Inspiration Point and Big Balanced Rock Trails junction. From there we did a round-trip to Inspiration Point... which was a slight let-down in more ways than one. First, after experiencing so much of the park already no particular 'inspiration' came to mind. Second, due to all the rock spires there was no single point where one could see directly down into the canyons below. Sure one could look ACROSS the canyons, of which the views were scenic.

Once back on the Mushroom Rock Trail we had a reasonably easy descent in preparation for the steep ascent up Ed Riggs Trail to our planned turn at the Massai Point Trail. Once we reached that junction, we took a few moments to decide whether to head over to Massai Point or continue up to the Echo Canyon trailhead. Thinking the route to Massai Point was a simple 'around the contour' we chose it. And then of course it turned out to be a 200' climb to the Exhibit Building.

At the Exhibit Building we took the time to read all the various panels covering geological and human history.

Decision time again:
#1. Back DOWN Massai Trail to experience the steep ascent up the end of Ed Riggs Trail to Echo Canyon TH.
#2. Short road-walk to Echo Canyon TH.
Since we were about to eat lunch at the car before tackling Sugarloaf Mountain, it was an easy decision... we've had enough AEG for this hike so we went with #2.

Ambient Temps: 64-75°
HR Avg/Max = 95/133

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Sugarloaf Mountain

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CannondaleKid

Mar 28 2025

Grimey

Routes 5
Photos 485
Triplogs 25

57 male

Joined Oct 17 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Chiricahua Rhyolite Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Mar 28 2025
		Grimey • Triplogs 25

Hiking	11.00 Miles	2,027 AEG

Hiking	11.00 Miles	3 Hrs 41 Mns	3.38 mph
	2,027 ft AEG	26 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

7 linked trail guides

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none

no partners

Truck camped at Bonita Canyon CG for an early start. Fun loop with enough challenge to be interesting. Trails are in great shape. Awesome views of course. Had to skip the Heart of Rocks loop due to time constraints. Next time!

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Nov 26 2024

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 26 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.00 Miles	600 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles
	600 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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linked

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partners

AddSanz

Day trip with Addie to show her brother this amazing place.
Counter clock on Echo ending with Massai loop on top.
Fun Trip!

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Sep 24 2024

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Sugarloaf Mountain 7310 - Chiricahua NM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 24 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	5.50 Miles	750 AEG

Hiking	5.50 Miles
	750 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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linked

Partners

partners

AddSanz

We have had many visits to the Wonderland of Rocks, but my partner had never been on Sugarloaf, Ed Riggs or Hailstone trails ... let's get'um done!

First up Sugarloaf - Nice warmup to the top. Excellent 360 views with a cool fire lookout on top.
Lookout on the National Historic Lookout Register.

Next up Echo Canyon - We completed the loop counter clockwise.
Hoodoos, lunch at Echo Park & then more Hoodoos back to the parking area.

Got a tad warm at the end under the clear blue skies.
Just a couple of deer on Sugarloaf and many buzzards overhead was the wildlife spotted.

Stopped at Big Tex Bar-B-Que in Wilcox for burgers before the drive back home.

Rock Wonderful my partner called it, good trip!

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Jul 05 2024

mcontreras

Photos 23
Triplogs 5

52 female

Joined Aug 12 2004
Goodyear, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 05 2024
		mcontreras • Triplogs 5

Hiking	3.30 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	3.30 Miles
	544 ft AEG

no routes

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linked

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no partners

We started at the Echo Canyon Parking lot. We had originally planned to go down and back up the same trail, but we met a Ranger on the way down and she suggested we try the loop. Echo Canyon to Hailstone Trail to Ed Riggs. It was a great suggestion. It was about 92 degrees and nothing eventful, but saw some great rock formations on the way. NOTE: Ed Riggs is about 95% exposure (not much shade per Ranger and she was right).

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Michelle - Finally Retired

1 archive

Jul 02 2022

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 02 2022
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	10.39 Miles	2,120 AEG

Hiking	10.39 Miles	3 Hrs 39 Mns	3.10 mph
	2,120 ft AEG	18 Mns Break

Linked

8 linked trail guides

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no partners

I did this hike as a figure 8, starting down the Echo Canyon part thru the grottoes. I added in the Hailstone Trail and the Inspiration Point Trail. Clouds were prominent all around so I checked my weather app again since I had a signal at the TH and it said the closest lightning was 400+ miles away.

the views from Inspiration Point live up to the name. Very nice. Signed into the book in the ammo box there. Checked the weather app again and lighting was 200+ miles away.

Headed down Sarah Deming Trail, hiking a section of the trail that I did with my family 5 years earlier almost to the day. Odd thinking how they've grown up so much just in the last 5 years since then.

the hike back up to the trailhead from the low point wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The hike up Mushroom Rock Trail seemed more strenous thinking back. Hiking Hailstone the 2nd time around the lighting was better since the sun was out. I slowed my pace at that point since I felt like I could relax and also because I was pretty tired. The hike up to the trailhead from the next turnoff was also not as nearly as bad as I was afraid it might be.

Right as I got to my car, the rain started to hit. it was only a trickle and died out after a bit. But then the lightning and thunder started. I was very happy at that point that I avoided all of that. On my way out, I could see that a thundercloud had hit the area near Chiricahua Peak. Very glad we didn't do that hike this weekend.

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Apr 26 2022

Charger55

Guides 4
Photos 542
Triplogs 573

46 male

Joined Oct 19 2010
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2022
		Charger55 • Triplogs 573

Hiking	4.50 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	4.50 Miles
	544 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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linked

Partners

none

no partners

From Massai Point for some extra mileage...

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"I've driven across deserts, driven by the irony, that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
- Frank Turner "The Road"

Apr 26 2021

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2021
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	5.50 Miles	650 AEG

Hiking	5.50 Miles
	650 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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linked

Silver Spur Meadow Trail

Partners

none

no partners

Day trip with Jayden.
Massai Point

Echo Canyon

Faraway Ranch & Silver Spur

Back up to Massai Point for sunset.
Very windy today, but only really a problem on Massai Point. We had to chase a hat down.
All trail were hoodoo wonderful as always.
Wildlife spotted on this day was

10 turkey including a strutting tom, many Mexican Jays, several hawks, couple rock squirrels & at least 30 counted white tail deer in the dark as we left the entrance.
Great trip, will we be back
:yes:

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Oct 09 2020

jochal

Guides 2
Routes 25
Photos 1,890
Triplogs 604

41 male

Joined Sep 13 2009
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 09 2020
		jochal • Triplogs 604

Hiking	3.30 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	3.30 Miles
	544 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Went counter clockwise. Lot of bang for the buck on this hike, especially in the upper half of the Echo Canyon Trail. Gorgeous day.

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Nov 04 2019

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 04 2019
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	13.50 Miles	2,867 AEG

Hiking	13.50 Miles	6 Hrs 30 Mns	2.27 mph
	2,867 ft AEG	33 Mns Break

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9 linked trail guides

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slowandsteady

Monday we hiked the Chiricahua National Monument big loop and my first time hiking in the monument. Starting from Rhyolite at the visitor center it’s 1.5 miles to the first junction where we took the Sarah Deming Trail up to Heart of Rocks Loop. The loop was fantastic and exceeded my expectations based on what I knew about the area. If we were not doing the big loop we could have spent several hours exploring this area. As it was we still took 1 hour to do the 1 mile loop and see everything we wanted to check out.

From there we moved on to Inspiration Point and lunch. The point is great but after leaving Heart of Rock area there is not as many cool rocks. At the point we could see almost the entire park, Massai Point across the way and cool rocks that line the main canyon.

After lunch we hiked down the Mushroom Rock Trail to the main canyon. This was another nice stretch of trail over to Echo Canyon which traverses below some cool spires and also views of the hoodoos on the other side of the canyon.

At the Echo Canyon junction we hiked uphill into Echo which was on par with Heart of Rocks. I would say that Echo and Heart of Rocks are the must see sections of the monument. When we do this again I’d probably spend 1 day in the Echo Canyon side and 1 day on the Heart of Rocks side because there is so much to see. We spent another hour in Echo on a ¾ mile section that was very scenic.

We headed back down Echo and continued to Rhyolite Canyon back out the same trail finishing the loop at the visitors center. Great hike with so much to see in such a small area. Will definitely be back for another exploration. Would be awesome to see this place with several inches of snow

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1 archive

Aug 26 2019

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 26 2019
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	6.50 Miles	750 AEG

Hiking	6.50 Miles
	750 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Silver Spur Meadow Trail

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no partners

It's been a while!
Still my all-time favorite SE playground.
Everything looked hoodoo great, except Echo Park ... what a mess.
Unbelievable amount of deer along Silver Spur (18-20) including 2 very nice bucks.
Big lightning cell hitting as I left.
Monument has been recovering well from the fire.
Shall be back ... this place rocks!

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May 26 2019

emilystardust

Routes 386
Photos 49
Triplogs 792

43 female

Joined Jun 23 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 26 2019
		emilystardust • Triplogs 792

Hiking	3.30 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	3.30 Miles
	544 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

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May 24 2019

markthurman53

Guides 187
Routes 989
Photos 12,068
Triplogs 864

72 male

Joined Jun 27 2015
Tucson, Arizona

Chiricahua National Monument Trails Loop, AZ

Hiking		May 24 2019
		markthurman53 • Triplogs 864

Hiking	11.56 Miles	2,184 AEG

Hiking	11.56 Miles	6 Hrs 14 Mns		2.41 mph
	2,184 ft AEG	1 Hour 26 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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9 linked trail guides

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I have lived in Tucson for about 60 years and have never been to Chiricahua National Monument. Better late then never I guess. On My way back from Texas and New Mexico I stopped in Wilcox for the night and would hike the monument in the morning. I had 20 miles of hikes planned to hike most of the trails in the park. I only got 12 miles done because I took too much time gawking at all the scenery. Oh well this will give me reason to come back.

The trails are in excellent condition, the weather was perfect (no wind) and only a few people and most were in the parking area. I believe I saw 3 on the trails. The only trails I didn't get to were the lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail, Sugar loaf Trail and Natural Bridge Trail. This is one of those places that I will have to come back to when the weather is different, Monsoon, snow, very early morning or evening. The photo opportunities are endless. My favorite trails were Echo Canyon Trail and Heart of Rocks Trail, I could of spent a lot more time on those sections.

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Oct 24 2017

tdwood

Guides 3
Routes 40
Photos 47
Triplogs 60

56 male

Joined Jul 04 2016
Phoenix, AZ

Chiricahua Nat Mon Alt Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 24 2017
		tdwood • Triplogs 60

Hiking	11.00 Miles	1,870 AEG

Hiking	11.00 Miles	6 Hrs 2 Mns	2.10 mph
	1,870 ft AEG	47 Mns Break

no photosets

Linked

8 linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

After 12 years as an Arizonan, this hike marked my first visit ever to Chiricahua National Monument. I can't believe I waited so long. The weather was perfect; not a cloud in the sky, cool and breezy.

I call this route an alternate because the official Big Loop begins up at Echo Canyon TH and utilizes different trails. To avoid having to deal with park shuttle, I hiked from camp at Bonita Canyon Campground (that trip will be covered elsewhere) to pick up the Lower Rhyolite Canyon TH near the visitor's center.

The trails are in great condition. As a monument of a different sort to the engineering and construction prowess of CCC crews, I marveled at the crazy waterchecks, rock cribs and other stonework that ensure the trail system will remain in place for generations to come. For better or worse, we don't make trails like these anymore.

Heart of Rocks is not to be missed. Inspiration Point I found to be more stunning than inspiring; that's just me. The view is spectacular. This is one of only two points along my entire route where I encountered other hikers.

Due to capture error, linked route is 1.5 miles less than actual. True distance is included here.

Rhyolite Canyon

Dry

Sarah Deming Canyon

Dry

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Sep 30 2015

AZWanderingBear

Guides 27
Routes 61
Photos 2,620
Triplogs 700

69 male

Joined Jan 23 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 30 2015
		AZWanderingBear • Triplogs 700

Hiking	9.71 Miles	3,140 AEG

Hiking	9.71 Miles
	3,140 ft AEG

Linked

10 linked trail guides

Chiricahua Shuttle

Partners

partners

AZBeaver

We were up at dawn on day 4 of our 8-day SE AZ road trip. The night before we'd been chastised by the camp host at Bonita Campground for taking a shower. Apparently no water was allowed to touch the ground inside the campground. We were also not to tie anything to a tree or use the sink in the rest rooms for anything beyond washing our hands. She said we should have brought a lot of baby wipes if we planned to camp and then returned to her 40-foot motor home and ran the generator all night. With a quick breakfast we headed out to the Echo Canyon trailhead, conspiring along the way on the best method for stealth showers.

Started the Big Loop counter clockwise, so down Echo Canyon trail. Doesn't take too long to get to the grottoes. The rhyolite formations are reminiscent of the Fairyland Loop at Bryce in a way. We were all smiles and anxious for what might be ahead. Wall Street was impressive and then we descended into the cool of Echo Canyon. Progress was slow as we took time to ooh and ahh and photograph everything.

Hit the Hailstone Trail and could see across the canyon where we'd be gaining back the elevation we were losing. The Upper Rhyolite turned us back west with several stream crossings. Soon we began the slow slog up the Sarah Deming trail along the west side of the canyon of the same name. While it was a steady uphill, there was shade and the grade was such that we made good time until the last hundred yards or so. The last bit of scrambling brought us back up on top of the formations and right to the beginning of the Heart of Rocks Loop.

The Heart or Rocks Loop is a geologic playground. The trail requires a bit of scrambling and can be difficult to follow at times. We did notice that back in the day someone had painted red footprints on the slick rock areas. While worn, these were still faintly visible at just the right time to keep a careful trekker on the trail. A majority of the named formations are along this trail. Signs point out the more famous -- Duck on a Rock, Punch and Judy, Thors Hammer, Pinnacle Balanced Rock, etc. We took a lunch break amongst the rhyolite formations. On our way back out of the Loop we heard voices and ran into the only hikers we'd see during the entire hike -- a group of ladies who were going clockwise and thus opposite us.

Turned east on Big Balanced Rock Trail and paid homage to its namesake. This trail was level and moderately scenic. We moved quickly. I'd kept the Inspiration Point Trail as a way to extend or shorten the total hike. If we were doing well, then it was out to the point. If we were dragging then we'd blow it off. We didn't even stop to discuss it and turned to the point. The hike is pretty flat. This area was burned years back, so there's not much to see until you hit the end. Then it is just pick a way you want to scramble out to enjoy the view and take photos down the length of Rhyolite Canyon. It was truly inspirational.

The only thing left was Mushroom Rock Trail and then Ed Riggs back to the trailhead. We were tiring and we descended along Mushroom Rock knowing we'd have to climb again right at the end of the hike. It was still pretty, but the heat and the climb made us ready to be reminiscing on how great the day had been as we sipped a cold one back in camp.

With high spirits and high fives we topped out at the parking lot. Definitely the highlight of our days in the Chiricahuas.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Coues White-tailed Deer

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rhyolite

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chiricahua National Monument Cochise Head

Wildflowers Observation Light

Echo Canyon

Pools to trickle

Hunt Canyon

Pools to trickle

	Sarah Deming Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Nice flow down in the canyon

Totem Canyon

Pools to trickle

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All you have is your fire...
And the place you need to reach

4 archives

May 25 2014

rwstorm

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 22,415
Triplogs 1,041

77 male

Joined Feb 28 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 25 2014
		rwstorm • Triplogs 1,041

Hiking	3.30 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	3.30 Miles
	544 ft AEG

Linked

linked

[ checklist ] Chiricahua National Monument Riggs Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain

Partners

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no partners

Take a Hike

Normally I don't venture out on holiday weekends, but when I saw that the organizer had reserved the group area at the monument I knew I could have a spot to set up my tent. This would make up for the thwarted attempt to camp here over Easter weekend. There was a chance of showers on Sunday, and indeed we got sprinkled on during the afternoon hike, which was nice and kept things cool.

Monday the group planned on the bigger hike involving the car shuttle, but I decided to just head home, since it was taking way too long for the group to break down camp and get ready to hike. Not to mention it was much warmer Monday.

It was fun hanging out with new people, even though we kind of broke the campground rules for number of tents (we had 12) and quiet hour at 8 o'clock (no way that was going to happen). We definitely were too loud and somehow didn't get reprimanded or told to leave.

The campground host was being very lenient, to say the least. Anyway, I got way more for my $3 camping fee than I should have been entitled to in entertainment alone! :lol:

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Unidentified Flora

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mexican Jay Painted Redstart Western Tanager

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire Lookout Structures

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Feb 26 2014

Nuker3

Triplogs 10

74 male

Joined Feb 27 2014
Fulton, NY

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 26 2014
		Nuker3 • Triplogs 10

Hiking	0.90 Miles	317 AEG

Hiking	0.90 Miles
	317 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Hiked as part of the Echo Canyon 3.3 milte Loop

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Feb 18 2012

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 183
Photos 5,612
Triplogs 1,647

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 18 2012
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Hiking	3.30 Miles	544 AEG

Hiking	3.30 Miles
	544 ft AEG

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Cheryl and I headed up to the Chiricahuas with the plans of hiking this loop. A good year or so ago she sent me an email referencing The Grotto and said "I want to go here!". We finally made the trip down south and it was well worth it. Cheryl is not a hiker but really enjoyed this loop. The rock formations were fascinating and it was very easy going. I made sure we went at a slow and enjoyable pace. The last time we hiked together in Yosemite and it resulted in her not speaking to me for half the day. :sl:

Anyways, we continued on and stopped for a quick snack. From there we connected to the Ed Riggs trail and were back at the parking lot in no time. Cheryl and I both enjoyed the hike and were on to the next adventure.

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Aug 02 2009

tibber

Guides 21
Routes 1,182
Photos 36,858
Triplogs 1,570

69 female

Joined Feb 26 2004
Phoenix, AZ

Chiricahua Shuttle

Chiricahua Shuttle

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 02 2009
		tibber • Triplogs 1,570

Hiking	9.80 Miles	1,600 AEG

Hiking	9.80 Miles	7 Hrs	1.40 mph
	1,600 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

6 linked trail guides