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| | | Massai Point to Bonita Campground, AZ | | | |
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Massai Point to Bonita Campground, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.16 Miles |
1,141 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.16 Miles | 8 Hrs 4 Mns | | 1.47 mph |
| 1,141 ft AEG | 1 Hour 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Was invited to join some friends for a weekend in Chiracahua National Monument. Left the valley, nervously checking and refreshing the weather report, which had been calling for rain for the evening and following day. It seems my luck held out with regards to the weather - while we saw some rain activity from the clouds on the drive, we arrived to scattered clouds and slightly damp ground in the campground. We set up camp under the supervision of a group of mexican jays and relaxed for a bit before prepping dinner. Stayed up late to look at the sky and try to take some nighttime photos. May have heard some coati, but didn't get an actual sighting.
Originally, I had planned on a potential solo hike stringing together nearly all of the established trails in the park from the campground. One of my friends expressed interest in joining me, but wasn't up for the full distance, and also is not an early riser. Another friend in the group offered to ferry us up to Massai Point, allowing us to trim the mileage and hike mostly downhill back to the campground.
Got up early to the sounds of the mexican jays making the rounds, hoping to mooch some breakfast treats. Saw some white-tailed deer wandering nearby while most of the others in the campground were still sleeping. Eventually made it up to Massai Point to start our hike. The parking area had a number of cars and a decent number of folk milling about. Opted to walk the Nature Trail and enjoy the interpretive signs and exhibit building before doubling back to start down the Ed Riggs Trail. Once we started heading down the trail, we lost most of the other traffic. The walking was slow going with all the beautiful views. Many photos were taken, but few were able to capture the landscape well. If it wasn't photos of the landscape, it was photos of wildflowers slowing me down  thanks to the recent moisture, there were also plenty of mushrooms to photograph in the latter portion of the hike. We had a brief scare when we stumbled across a danger noodle mid-brunch trailside. We gave it as much space as we could as we skirted by, and warned a few returning groups of hikers to be aware as we crossed paths.
As you might expect, the trails are very well established and clearly signed. I was surprised to hear and see water flowing in the drainages along the upper reaches of the hike since there wasn't any observable water in the watercourses near the visitors center or campground. We managed to startle a white-tailed deer as we crossed Hunt Canyon on the Mushroom Rock trail on our way towards Inspiration Point. Sadly, all I got was a very heavily obscured photo of a deer butt as it headed into the shrubs along the creekside.
After checking the time, we decided to head out to inspiration point, where we enjoyed watching a kettle of turkey vultures playing in the thermals while we took a break and had a snack before continuing on to the Big Balanced Rock Trail and the Heart of Rocks Loop. After slowing considerably going through the Heart of Rocks area, we attempted to pick up our pace along the Sarah Deming Trail, but were thwarted by numerous varieties of mushrooms. We eventually hit the Lower Rhyolite trail, enjoyed the sunset, and broke out our headlamps to finish the last bit of the descent to the visitors center where we took a brief break to use the facilities before heading back to camp.
After cleaning up and enjoying dinner, me and my hiking partner for the day decided to head back up to Massai Point for some more night-sky viewing. We were the only ones up there and arrived just in time to catch the moon heading fast for the horizon. We were able to catch some photos of the milky way (I wish I had brought a proper camera), in addition to some distant lightning. As we started getting chilled from the dropping nighttime temps, we headed back to camp - catching sight of a ringtail along the way (unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to try to catch a photo of it).
It was a fantastic day, with plenty of puffy clouds in the sky that cleared out for a great night of stargazing.
Other people: only had one person (a trail runner) lap us, but we also had a ridiculously late start. All of the other groups (several) we encountered were returning to Massai Point on the Ed Riggs trail.
The Bonita Campground restrooms were undergoing repair/construction when we visited - original completion date was estimated to be October 1st, but with ongoing shutdown the closure has been extended to an unknown date. Portable toilets and handwashing stations were available, and at the time of our visit, the toilets were pumped out and cleaned on Monday morning. The visitors center restrooms remained open and available during our stay - it's a relatively quick walk between the campground and the visitors center via the Silver Spur Meadow Trail or via the road. During daylight hours, I walked the trail - after dark, I opted to walk the road for easier footing. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
thanks to the recent moisture, there were also plenty of mushrooms to photograph in the latter portion of the hike. We had a brief scare when we stumbled across a danger noodle mid-brunch trailside. We gave it as much space as we could as we skirted by, and warned a few returning groups of hikers to be aware as we crossed paths. 
