Chiricahua Peak from Rustler Park TH • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 04 2024
		bjonson • Triplogs 261

Hiking	12.02 Miles	2,422 AEG

Hiking	12.02 Miles	5 Hrs 14 Mns	2.39 mph
	2,422 ft AEG	12 Mns Break

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Anita Spring Trail - Chiricahua

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

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Oct 12 2023

dhelder

Triplogs 71

male

Joined Jan 23 2025
Seattle, WA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 12 2023
		dhelder • Triplogs 71

Hiking	12.00 Miles	2,300 AEG

Hiking	12.00 Miles
	2,300 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Jul 01 2023

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 01 2023
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hiking	8.50 Miles	1,750 AEG

Hiking	8.50 Miles	5 Hrs		1.82 mph
	1,750 ft AEG	20 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Mike_W

Started off the 4wd road just past Hillside Spring and nearby Bootlegger Saddle. This really cuts the stats down and was done to save time. Trails hiked were all clear of dead fall and well maintained, just a little loose and dry in spots.

Visited both Flys and Chiricahua Peaks. Flys Peak was more scenic than Chiricahua Peak. Chiricahua had little to no view and was completely forested. If not a one and done, it will be a while before I return to Chiricahua. Hiking back was hot after 3 PM. I thought Buena Vista Peak the next day was the best summit of the trip.

We camped the night before and after at Rustler Park, which was very nice. It was virtually deserted for the holiday weekend. Breezes during the day briefly turned calm and cold both nights for several hours after sunset before milder air and severe gusty winds arrived. It was really weird and made sleeping hard. After the 2nd night we visited Barfoot Camp and we agreed that it would have been nicer camping in the shady Ponderosa and Arizona Pines at Barfoot. I left for home and Mike was going to stay the night there.

We had intended to meet up at Pinery Camp. There is no sign for this camp site, no tables and it is pretty small as well as primitive.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Engelmann Spruce

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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May 28 2023

BubbaJuice

Routes 30
Photos 893
Triplogs 28

male

Joined Oct 14 2021
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		May 28 2023
		BubbaJuice • Triplogs 28

Backpack	19.37 Miles	4,564 AEG

Backpack	19.37 Miles	1 Day 44 Mns
	4,564 ft AEG		27 LBS Pack

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7 linked trail guides

Bear Wallow Trail #333

Centella Trail #334

Anita Spring Trail - Chiricahua

[ checklist ] Benchmark Campsite Informational/Interpretive Sign Reference Mark Trail Signs and Markings

Greenhouse Trail #248

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TL;DR: Very pretty, senic, and green set of trails. There's good water at Tub Spring, Anita Spring, and Cima Spring right now. Stick to the Crest Trail to avoid deadfall.

I've wanted to go up to Chiricahua Peak for a while and I was able to arrange plans to go this weekend. The road up from the west we were able to go up with 2WD and 8 inches ground clearance. On the way up, two deer dashed in front of our car and down into the canyon on a very steep section right by the saddle. Up at elevation, it was probably in the 70s in the mountains with wind blowing east. Stopped before the road to Barfoot Campground to hike up to 31.9132, -109.2658 for a wonderful view into NM and the expanse of the mountains. After this we parked at the entrance to Barfoot Park.

The park was very pretty with irises all along the flowing creek. The park was fenced off so there was only one way in/out. After this we hiked up to the Crest Trail. The trail up to it had ~5 trees crossing the trail. One of these gave my splinters so avoid touching them with your hands. One or two of these we had to squat under. The views of Barfoot Peak were very pretty from the trail with the peak's lush aspens and beautifully colored scree. Up to the peak it was slow going but offered pretty views. At the top there were views to all sides and everything was very pretty. There was a benchmark, summit register, some sort of antenna at the top, and a few ladybugs. These would be the only few we saw on the hike. Under the summit register from 2022 in the center of the foundation of the lookout house was a ladybug graveyard. Headed down to the Crest Trail again and took that to the Bootlegger Trail. The only deadfall on the crest trail was here and it was easy to step over. What was surprising is all around this area we had 4G signal with Verizon. The trail in this section had a few plants bleeding onto it and the soil and therefore the tread was loose, a common theme with the Crest Trail. From here continued on to some cliffs which were nice to lay underneath and look at the views.

We stopped at Hillside Spring for a lunch bar. It was very tasty and the shade of the pines made it cool. Here we saw the only person we would see on the trails on the road beneath the spring. They were wearing all white and carrying an insect net. After this we moved to Fly Saddle and then up to Flys Peak. At the saddle were good views westwards. Going up was hard since my legs were already starting to get tired. The peak was so pretty though because of all of the aspen surrounding us on the way up, a green tunnel. At the top was a fire pit and a couple camping spots. There was also the concrete piers for the lookout tower. There 3 benchmarks up here in 2010, but we could only find the reference marks. The arrows were known to be off and we weren't sure exactly the spot the mark should have been. We searched for 30 minutes but to no avail. Looks like I might have to bring the metal detector to find this one in the future, if it is still there.

Going downhill was fast but time was passing by quickly. There were cairns on this side of the peak but the trail was easy to see. We decided that we would look for water, then camp and do Chiricahua Peak in the morning. We walked right past the junction for the Anita Park Trail as the sign was on the ground and not obvious. At the park we saw the perfect camp spot but continued on to the spring. There were 15 pieces of deadfall on this trail. The way down from the park was cairned well although it helped having the route on my phone. The spring had water so we filtered a few liters and carried it up to the campsite. The campsite had a few stumps and was situated right next to a stand of aspen, protecting us from the winds. A bit north there were two fire pits where we boiled water and rehydrated our dinners. Before this we realized we forgot our sporks so we widdled a dead aspen tree into forks with a multitool. I had beef stroganoff. It wasn't bad. A bit more north of this we hung our food and other smelly items in a dead tree. I was in my sleeping bag by 8 and fell asleep afterwards.

My sleep wasn't the best, waking up several times during the night for a matter of minutes. At 12 or so I looked up at the stars. I could just make out the cloud that makes up the milkyway. It was the most I'd ever seen of it. All the pictures I see of the sky seem fake. How am I supposed to make out so much detail? I woke up at 5-ish.

We slowly packed up and got ready. My breakfast was rehydrated biscuits and gravy. It was hard to finish by the end, not the best one I've had. We decided that we had enough water already so we would go to the helipad and then Chiricahua Peak without our backpacks and then come back and depart for Barfoot park. The helipad offered impressive views. Do not skip this if you come past here. The climb to the top was slow and steady through a tunnel of green aspens. We saw some stale bear scat on the trail. There was maybe 3 ground-level pieces of deadfall on this trail. At the top was a benchmark with the elevation off by ~20 feet. Saw Chumley had summited the day before. Headed down, got our bags, and headed back. I wanted to survey some of the springs on the way back so we went down to the cabin down the Greenhouse Trail. There was no deadfall on this trail. The stream was flowing pretty good but there were a ton of gnats/flys. There was a bathroom as well which was in good condition, if you bring your own toilet paper. Cima Spring can be spotted from the trail because of the typical lush plants that grow around water here. Approach the spring from the east, not the west. The scent of the pine forest was really nice here. It was a bit hotter today though because the sun was right on us and the wind had died down, although the skies seemed a tiny bit clearer.

We turned down the Bear Wallow Trail to the Bear Wallow Spring. NOTE: The sign for the Booger Spring Trail has the arrow pointing the wrong direction. The Bear Wallow Spring had good water. Before this, the trail was pretty visible from the saddle but so much deadfall appeared out of nowhere. For the next tenth of a mile or so it was just tree after tree that we navigated over and around. Some of the trees I crossed required decent flexibility so be prepared if you want to cross this section. We linked back up with the trail and made it to the Centella Trail. The trail was much more defined but there was still some smaller deadfall on the trail. An unmarked spring at (31.8781842, -109.2802300) had good water, on par with Tub Spring, which we saw next. This section of the trail was surrounded be trees so we couldn't see much.

We met back up with the Crest Trail and decided to check out Fly Park Spring (31.8813200, -109.2839600). I saw on OpenStreetMap there was supposed to be a trail there. Nope. Ended up cutting myself on some deadfall in the process of making it to the spring. The spring was some seepage out of the ground and was only a small trickle. Don't bother with this. Take the hike to Tub Spring instead. We took a break under the shade of a pine and headed up the hillside to the Long Park Trail, which had little deadfall and was pretty short up to the trail. This is definitely the recommended way. We went back to the Crest Trail and trucked our way all the way back to Barfoot Park. We fixed/propped up any signs that we were able to fix at junctions along our way. Some of them need replacing. We saw one turkey fly away from us when hiking back. We also saw two deer on the way down the road. We got chocolate dipped cones at the DQ in Wilcox afterwards. Also gas is a dollar cheaper in Wilcox than in Tucson right now. Stop in Wilcox or at a Loves.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rocky Mountain Iris

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Rocky mountain irises were common in the grasslands at saddles. Some other purple flowers, maybe purple locoweeds or new mexico lupines were also present, although less frequent. The occasional small yellow flowers were around as well.

	Anita Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Rocks seep from rocks into the basin which is overflowing slowly in the canyon. The basin had some earth at the bottom but still plenty of water which was clear and tasty after filtered.

	Barfoot Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Really good water flow. Didn't open spring box but safe to say it had quite a bit in it.

	Bear Wallow Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Spring box had cover off which revealed good quality water pretty deep. The creek adj. to the box had a light flow.

	Cima Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring box did not have overflow water. Didn't lift the cover but dropped a rock under it which revealed water in the box. Water was seeping in the surrounding area. By the cabin there was good water flow.

	Hillside Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Didn't open catchment. The exposed box had water slowly seeping into it with about an inch of murky water. The spring source had deeper water of better quality.

	Tub Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Box is a couple inches deep but filled with leaves and sticks. The stream is running pretty well probably a couple quarts per min, although it is shallow which might make it hard to collect water from it.

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4 archives

May 27 2023

BiFrost

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 27 2023
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	9.40 Miles	2,053 AEG

Hiking	9.40 Miles	5 Hrs 43 Mns	1.89 mph
	2,053 ft AEG	44 Mns Break

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	chumley	John9L
	slowandsteady

Spent the weekend in the Chiricahua Mountains. Great hike on the Crest Trail starting from Long Park trailhead near Rustler Park and heading southbound towards Flys and Chiricahua Peaks. Open trail with great views from past fires and minimal uphill.

We hit Flys Peaks first and took a nice break on top. As are most of the peaks in the area not much of a view but still a summit. After the break we continued towards Chiricahua Peak on the Crest Trail. Another nice stretch of crest trail but the winds picked up with strong gusts. Otherwise it was a pleasant summit at Chiricahua Peak where we took another break.

We took a somewhat off trail route of the peak before connecting back into trail and rejoining the Crest Trail. On the way back 9L and Chumley decided to hike back to Rustler Park while Kathy and I returned to Long Park shorting the hike by a few miles. We met back at Rustler Park to call it a day and great hike!

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1 archive

May 27 2023

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 27 2023
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	12.81 Miles	2,501 AEG

Hiking	12.81 Miles	6 Hrs 29 Mns	2.23 mph
	2,501 ft AEG	44 Mns Break

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Anita Spring Trail - Chiricahua

Booger Spring Trail #347

[ checklist ] Anita Spring Booger Spring Headquarters Spring - Chiricahua

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	BiFrost	John9L
	slowandsteady

9L put together the plan for this easy 8-mile lasso loop shuttle peak adventure thinking it would be a reasonable warmup hike. Funny.

Sure, the aeg isn't too bad, but the miles might have been underestimated. I did tack on a few addons, checking out the springs we passed near.

The crest is in great condition trailwise. We had a red flag day and that hit us with some solid winds in excess of 30mph that was most impactful on the peaks and saddles. The rest of the day was quite enjoyable weatherwise. Except for the brief graupel shower that made the 0% chance of rain still be accurate.

It was nice to start at Long Park and fork the end to finish up at Rustler. After a brief separation from the others, I enjoyed a few minutes on what I'll call Anita Peak where I realized that from the crest you can see all the major sky island peaks in a single view: Chiricahua, Miller, Wrightson, Mica, Rincon, Lemmon, Bassett, and Graham. Pretty cool!

We had nice breaks on Flys and Chiri, and made a terrible mistake attempting to get to Headquarters Spring. No idea what shape Ojo Agua Fria is in, but after the HQ there was no desire to put in the effort to get there.

A few miles more than planned, but we made it back to camp in time to prepare for the bizarre trogonistas.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Anita Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Clear cold water in the spring box, and a steady drip coming in and flowing out.

	Booger Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Difficult to determine actual flow. No water in the old concrete springbox. Spring source itself is enclosed with a heavy concrete lid that can be removed to reveal a 30" deep cistern full of clear cold water.

	Headquarters Spring - Chiricahua	Dripping	Dripping
	Just a little bit of mud and a small puddle below the old metal spring box. Not worth the deadfall hell it took to get there.

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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Jun 25 2022

wallyfrack

Routes 93
Photos 7,758
Triplogs 1,691

64 male

Joined Mar 11 2003
AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 25 2022
		wallyfrack • Triplogs 1,691

Hiking	11.64 Miles	2,413 AEG

Hiking	11.64 Miles	4 Hrs 26 Mns	2.67 mph
	2,413 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

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Bear Wallow Trail #333

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DarthStiller

Chris had the plan for Chiricahua Peak and I was along for the ride. I decide to change things up and remember my backpack and wallet this time. I was ready for a warm hike but it ended up being a cool hike. The cloud cover and some light rain made for a chilly ascent. The trail was easy to follow and outlines by ferns in the lower section. The moist earth kept the dust down. We took a lunch break on the summit and Chris found some bee friends. It warmed up on the hike down but still nice. We took a detour on the Bear Wallow trail but no bears were to be found. A nice hike in a far away place.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

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2 archives

Jun 25 2022

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 25 2022
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	11.64 Miles	2,413 AEG

Hiking	11.64 Miles	4 Hrs 26 Mns	2.67 mph
	2,413 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

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Bear Wallow Trail #333

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wallyfrack

This was the first of two really nice hikes for a great weekend. The ride up FR42 ad 42D is a little rough, but not like 4Peaks Road. The Xterra is finally in working order for this kind of drive, so that was a nice test.

We got to the trailhead a little before 9:30am and had to figure out the pay system and where we could park. It can be a little confusing. Even the envelopes that you tear and use to seal the $8 fee and then hang on your mirror were confusing. Part of that problem was all the recent rain got them wet and they were somewhat compromised.

The trail heads up the hill from the road to the Crest Trail, then you turn left to get to Chiricahua Peak. At first the trail looked almost invisible from the road with all the ferns coming in, but once you’re on it, it’s pretty easy to hike. The trail wraps around the campground and then heads southbound along the ridge to Chiricahua Peak.

Almost immediately you’re high up enough to get some amazing views. The overall scenery in this area was looking more like Washington state than Arizona. The combination of this time of year and the more active monsoon seems to have made things a little greener than usual as well. The ferns are around waist height at this point, and will likely get a little higher. All the vegetation was wet from the rain, but not so much that you would get soaked walking by it.

The weather was cloudy and cool for the entire hike. When we started, I had a cell signal at the trailhead and checked my weather app for lightning. The closest lightning was 464 miles away. Perfect, hiking with some peace of mind. A couple miles in it started to drizzle a little, so we put on the rain gear to prevent getting soaked if the rain picked up. It didn’t. By the time we got to the peak, it had stopped and wouldn’t come back. The final push up to the peak was a bit of a slog, mainly due to the elevation and thin air at 10,000 feet. Just enough to get your lungs going and legs burning.

I had lunch at the peak, using the benchmark as my table to eat off of. After 15 minutes, a bee was overly interested in my Gatorade Zeroes, then it was two bees. Time to finish up and head out. Checked the weather app again and it said the closest lightning was 106 miles away.

Got some bits of sun trying to shine through on the way back, enough to make the pictures nicer. Also saw some darker patches of clouds rolling in here and there. On the way down from the peak it started to warm up a bit, which was odd. Seems like you should normally be warmer when you’re hiking uphill. It cooled off soon enough and stayed comfortable the entire time.

I was too lazy to try Flys Peak after the push up to Chiricahua Peak at this elevation, so I suggested we take the Bear Wallow Trail around the base of Flys Peak on the east side. We had one saddle to climb over, but that wasn’t too bad. The slightest uphill climb at this point was beginning to takes its toll, however.
After getting back on the Crest Trail, we took that to the turnoff to the lower road that drops elevation quickly and heads into the campground. When we went past the junction for the Long Park Trail I had contemplated taking that to the road, but there was another saddle to hike over and were done with that. The views down the road were nice, Silver Peak was very prominent and looks like another really nice hike to do sometime.

Finished up in a little over 5 hours, which was surprising. Had plenty of time to drive down to Portal for check in time at the only hotel in this area and recharge for the next day’s hike. It’s amazing that this area is so green and cool in contrast to Phoenix right now and almost no one was there. There were a few people around the campground when we got back, but not many. Seems like this is a little known gem to the general hordes who make the trips to Flag, the Rim and the White Mountains. Probably not likely to stay that way for too much longer, but I enjoyed it today.

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3 archives

May 26 2022

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Crest Trail #270 - Barfoot LO to Wilderness

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 26 2022
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Hiking	12.10 Miles	2,149 AEG

Hiking	12.10 Miles
	2,149 ft AEG

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From the campground.

first stretch along the Crest trail - in good shape. i went up and over Flys Peak on the way out. That trail is also in pretty good shape. maybe one downed tree i think on the trail to summit of chiricahua peak. came back on the crest trail, then brought her home on the Long Park trail - which is in great shape

It has been a long time since I have been out here and I missed these mountains. The hike is different after the fire, but these trails are all in good shape and the views are spectacular as always.

Spent the night at the Ruster Park campground and had the whole place entirely to myself. as a consequence, i was visited by several wild turkeys and a large herd of deer grazed right around my campsite all night. super cool

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rustler Park

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Oct 02 2021

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Chiricahua & Monte Vista Peak Loop

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Oct 02 2021
		JoelHazelton • Triplogs 410

Backpack	18.00 Miles	2,300 AEG

Backpack	18.00 Miles	2 Days
	2,300 ft AEG

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Car camped at Barfoot Park on night 1. Beautiful dispersed campsite next to a meadow, totally empty on a Saturday night in early October.

Lazy start Sunday morning after sleeping in and taking our time packing up, didn't get going until almost noon. Parked at the trailhead just outside the entrance gate to Rustler Park, currently it is $8 to park at the trailhead, but I displayed my Coronado National Forest recreation pass which covers the parking fee.

Hiked 42D to Long Park since it's shorter and more shaded than the first stretch of the Crest Trail. Encountered some "hunters" near Long Park shooting across East Turkey Creek Canyon toward the opposite ridge, which would be the wilderness boundary. We stopped and watched them for a minute, concerned and slightly perplexed that they would be shooting across a very large canyon. Guy claimed they spotted a deer on the opposite ridge, about 800 yards away

I don't hunt so I am not familiar with hunting best practices, although I do fully support responsible hunting for anyone who eats meat. That said, 800 yards seems a bit wild, and if they are lucky enough to hit at that distance I imagine a kill shot would be unlikely, and more likely that they would disable the animal and then probably never find it if they actually attempted to retrieve it.

Crest Trail was in good shape the entire way, as expected. Wear pants if you have sensitive skin, as the vegetation can get scratchy and slightly overgrown, but nothing that clings to you like locust or catclaw. Tons of aspen along the trail framing wonderful views to the west. Climbing out of Cima Park there were some incredible scenes of late-summer wildflower blooms intermingling with autumn-hued aspens. I've never seen a juxtaposition like that before. Thank you, record-breaking monsoon.

That evening we set up camp at Anita park under a young aspen grove. From Anita Park it's a short hike with a couple hundred foot drop to Anita Spring where there was plenty of water. That evening hiked a bit of the Monte Vista Peak trail to get some nice views to the northwest over Chiricahua National Monument and Dos Cabezas.

The next morning we hiked Chiricahua Peak for sunrise. The views are mostly non-existent, but you might as well bag it while you're there. On the hike out we checked out Cima Springs, Booger Springs, and Bear Wallow Springs. All had plenty of water.

Cima Springs: Didn't realize there was a spring box at Cima Springs until reviewing past triplogs today, but we observed a nice trickle in the canyon near the FS cabin in Cima Canyon with small pools that one could easily grab water from. Sweeping with the filter bag for a Sawyer squeeze filter could be challenging. Camping near the cabin looks great, and the Greenhouse Trail from the crest to the cabin is beautiful and in great shape.

Booger Springs: The trail to Booger Springs is overgrown from Round Park, but easy to follow. There are 2 catchments about 20 feet from each other, both had water, the farther upstream catchment has a cement cover that is difficult to remove.

Bear Wallow Springs: Cement cover over catchment has handles, so much easier to move than Booger Springs. Plenty of water, gorgeous canyon around the springs.

Bear Wallow Trail and Centella Trail were the prettiest of the weekend. Bear Wallow Springs is very lush, as is the Centella Trail approaching Fly's Park. Didn't do the side trip to Centella Point this time, although we've done it before and it is probably my favorite spot in the Chiricahua Wilderness. We got rained on pretty hard while hiking Bear Wallow and Centella Trails. Unpleasant since I forgot my rain gear (although I had my pack's rain gear), but it did saturate the vegetation which certainly made things prettier.

Wonderful trip into one of my favorite areas of the state. With the endless trails and reliable water sources, Chiricahuas are kind of a hidden backpackers paradise.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cowparsnip Showy goldeneye

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

	Anita Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Plenty of clear water in the catchment. Slightly overflowing.

	Bear Wallow Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Plenty of water in catchment. Cement cover easy to remove with handles. Trickle in creekbed below catchment.

	Booger Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	2 cement catchments. About 6 inches of water in larger, uncovered catchment. Plenty of water in covered catchment, although cement cover could be very difficult to remove for some.

	Cima Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Did not check spring box near cabin, as I didn't realize there was one, and it's not immediately apparent while walking the area. But, the creekbed near the spring had a nice trickle with plenty of pools. If you use a Sawyer squeeze filter, bring something else to use to gather water, as sweeping the filter bag in these pools could be a challenge.

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"Arizona is the land of contrast... You can go from Minnesota to California in a matter of minutes, then have Mexican food that night." -Jack Dykinga

http://www.joelhazelton.com

Nov 15 2020

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Chiricahua & Monte Vista Peak Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 15 2020
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	23.00 Miles	6,000 AEG

Hiking	23.00 Miles	12 Hrs	1.92 mph
	6,000 ft AEG

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9 linked trail guides

Monte Vista Peak - Chiricahua

Saulsbury Trail #263

Pole Bridge Trail #264

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Big counter-clockwise loop starting from Rustler Park. South on Crest > down Saulsbury > up Pole Bridge > then up Monte Vista, Chiricahua and Flys Peaks on the way back to Rustler. Saulsbury from Crest down to Saulsbury Saddle is unmaintained and faint in some places but follows a great route, then from the saddle down to Turkey Creek is smooth and easy. Good conditions on the other trails. Monte Vista is a fine peak, while view-less Chiricahua and Flys Peaks are relatively easy bags if you're passing by.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trail Signs and Markings

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1 archive

Oct 24 2020

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 24 2020
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	11.79 Miles	2,650 AEG

Hiking	11.79 Miles	5 Hrs 57 Mns	2.06 mph
	2,650 ft AEG	14 Mns Break

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Ward Peak 9570 - Chiricahua Wilderness

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LindaAnn

wallyfrack

Linda and I had talked about doing this summit for awhile. She threw together some options and this day worked. Wally gave in to an early rise and we were on our way by 3am. Starting hiking around 7am with some nice temps. Tons of ferns in this area albeit all brown this time of year. Some nice pine forest but lots of evidence of past fires. There were some young aspen patches scattered throughout most of the hike. The ground in the off trail portion was soft and full of holes. Felt like gopher holes everywhere. Still not terrible hitting the two Fly peaks . Chiricahua was on trail. Not in the Supes but Wally Supes Farak still managed to find some potsherds

. Cool. The summits were all nice but the better views were actually on the trails along the way. Linda had 4 peak options but I only had 3 in me. Still a nice outing and the conversation and banter were quite enjoyable!

Thanks to Linda for planning and driving and Wally for getting up so early and joining us! Like HAZ , you two rock!!

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

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Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

1 archive

Oct 24 2020

wallyfrack

Routes 93
Photos 7,758
Triplogs 1,691

64 male

Joined Mar 11 2003
AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 24 2020
		wallyfrack • Triplogs 1,691

Hiking	11.79 Miles	2,650 AEG

Hiking	11.79 Miles	5 Hrs 57 Mns	2.06 mph
	2,650 ft AEG	14 Mns Break

no routes

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Ward Peak 9570 - Chiricahua Wilderness

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LindaAnn

Tortoise_Hiker

I woke up at 1:00 am left the house at 2:00 am and we starting hiking about 700 AM. Not my normal start but interesting.

Linda had the plan so I could just kick back and go along for the trip. The weather was warmer than expected and the breeze cooled us down later on. I thought it might be cold but the temperature was nice and even a little warm at the end. The views were good and the trails fairly easy to hike. After hiking the Flatiron on Wednesday I wasn't sure if I'd do well at this higher elevation but I never really had any shortness of breath. Linda kept a nice steady (easy) pace and even took a detour so I could find some pot sherds.

We were on Chiricahua Peak by 10:30 am and starting back before I even got tired out. A nice area and a good hike, I just wish it was closer. After reading a lot of her triplogs it was nice to hike with Linda and good to catch up with Denny again.

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

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3 archives

Oct 24 2020

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 24 2020
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	11.79 Miles	2,650 AEG

Hiking	11.79 Miles	5 Hrs 57 Mns	2.06 mph
	2,650 ft AEG	14 Mns Break

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Ward Peak 9570 - Chiricahua Wilderness

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Tortoise_Hiker

wallyfrack

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Denny, Wally, and I got started from Rustler Park a little before 0700. Cool and breezy, and very pleasant. Headed south on Crest Trail. Right away, four hunters pointed out two deer, then tried to tell us we’d encounter tons of hunters on our hike. Besides them, we saw exactly zero. Only saw two other hikers the entire day as well.

Enjoyable hiking on Crest. Only one downed tree, and the trail is kind of sandy/loose in a few places, but not too bad. Unexpected fall color was a nice bonus. At the turn for Flys Peak, we left Crest and headed up to Flys. Views are limited, but it’s a nice broad peak, with room to sit and relax. From there, we headed down the south side of Flys to reconnect with Crest. There’s a trail part of the way, but it fades out in places. No matter, because you can see Crest below you and just aim for the sign at the bottom.

At Crest, we immediately left the trail and headed off trail up to South Flys. While not too steep, there was a lot of downed trees and vegetation to deal with. At the summit, which was nice, I declared South Flys a one and done for me. After a few minutes looking around the summit, we headed down the south side of South Flys, and that was significantly better. Easy incline, very little vegetation. I reconsidered my declaration and decided that both and and down the south side is the way to go.

After that, we continued on Crest to Chiricahua Peak, where we took a snack break. Pleasant peak, again, plenty of room to sit and relax. For the return to the trailhead, we stayed on Crest the entire way, which made for easy hiking. The last mile seemed to drag a little since it was getting warmer and we lost the breeze, but at least that portion was mostly downhill.

Enjoyable day in a range I really like. Always good to hike with Denny and nice to finally meet Wally.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Mostly aspens, seemed like the oak was well past prime.

	Hillside Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Little bit of water in the spring box.

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Stop crying and just go do the hike.

May 07 2020

bballard

Routes 1
Photos 356
Triplogs 31

43 male

Joined Nov 23 2007
Tempe, AZ

Crest Trail #270B - Jct Sdl to Monte Vista Pk

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		May 07 2020
		bballard • Triplogs 31

Backpack	12.00 Miles	1,282 AEG

Backpack	12.00 Miles	4 Days
	1,282 ft AEG		45 LBS Pack

no routes

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Crest Trail #270C - Jct Sdl to Sentinel Peak

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bcollins11

Wonderful 4-day backpacking escape exploring the crest trail for the first time! We bagged peaks and springs, saw plenty of white-tail deer, sweated and froze our butts off between daytime highs and nighttime lows. An AZ classic!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Summit Register Log

	Anita Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Beautiful small but deep holding pond with clear cool water. Noticeable flow beyond.

	Bear Wallow Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	The tank was full but kind of cloudy. Not enough water to filter down course.

	Booger Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	The concrete tub was full but kind of cloudy. Barely enough water flowing down stream to filter.

	Eagle Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Very small flow but really nice large clear pool of tasty water contained in the concrete trough. There's an easy to miss short trail to the right of the sign!

	Headquarters Spring - Chiricahua	Dry	Dry
	Damp area and dark murky water in trough. Not appealing to drink.

	Hillside Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	small amount of flow and minimal but clear supply in the tank.

	Juniper Spring	Dry	Dry
	Not much going on here, but really pretty location.

	Ojo Agua Fria	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Wonderful abundant flow from PVC piping direct from spring.

	Tub Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	The trough was disconnected, but a good enough flow was found in the adjacent watercourse.

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Aug 01 2015

cdyerinaz

Photos 73
Triplogs 2

45 female

Joined Jul 23 2015
Whetstone, Arizo

Search for Janet, AZ

4x4 Trip		Aug 01 2015
		cdyerinaz • Triplogs 2

4x4 Trip	9.80 Miles	1,600 AEG

4x4 Trip	9.80 Miles	1 Day
	1,600 ft AEG

no routes

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Silver Spur Meadow Trail

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We participated in the missing persons search for Janet Castrejon, 44, missing from the Chiricahua National Monument, on 19 June 2015 on Saturday. The roads into the NM had sustained heavy weather damage from the rains. We took the roads into The Rustler Park Campground by route of I-10 to Portal, into Paradise, onto FR-42 ending on FR-42D at the campground. We (3 adults, 1 teen) hiked through several canyons and trails with our 4 black labrador retriever cadaver dogs; unfortunately the morning through mid afternoon search turned up no results. There were dozens included in the search, walkers, hikers, people with side by sides, trucks and surprisingly cars traveling the roads around the Park that were involved in the efforts. We were only able to help the one day. Family and friends continued the search through the weekend (Also resulting in no findings) We will be keeping Janet and this family in our prayers. I pray they are reunited. The Sheriffs Dept believes she was abducted. Regardless the sad reasoning behind the visit to the Chiricahua National Monument, the area was gorgeous, green and flourishing with wildflowers, mushrooms and life; we encountered several deer and squirrels as well. The creeks and stream beds were rushing with the heavy rainfall that day producing gorgeous waterfalls throughout.

Wildflowers Observation Extreme
Daisies, several varities of ferns as well as shade-tolerant grasses, broad-leaf plants, mushrooms, and mosses. Lichens could be seen growing on trees as well as on the rock pinnacles.

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Jun 27 2015

Lucyan

Routes 1
Photos 29,225
Triplogs 1,447

45 female

Joined Jan 18 2011
In the Wild

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Jun 27 2015
		Lucyan • Triplogs 1,447

Backpack	12.00 Miles	1,282 AEG

Backpack	12.00 Miles
	1,282 ft AEG

no routes

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none

no linked trail guides

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no partners

Nice backpack to Round Park and Chiricahua Peak via Rustler Park. Great weather, beautiful views, lash green hike.

Wildflowers Observation Light

Anita Spring

Quart per minute

Booger Spring

Quart per minute

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1 archive

Nov 23 2012

Booneman

Guides 9
Routes 33
Photos 780
Triplogs 4,634

44 male

Joined Nov 25 2008
Scottsdale, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 23 2012
		Booneman • Triplogs 4,634

Hiking	11.77 Miles	2,712 AEG

Hiking	11.77 Miles	4 Hrs 24 Mns	3.22 mph
	2,712 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

no routes

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I planned another Thanksgiving trek to the Chiricahuas, this time to summit the high point on Friday and Cochise Head on Saturday. The trip was a success! Matt and Ben joined me and we drove from Chandler to the Rustler Park trailhead on Saturday morning and hiked the crest trail #270 to Flys Peak and then to Chiricahua Peak. Besides most of the area being burned up, the scenery is incredible and the trail is in great condition.

Rustler Park is a really nice trailhead, and the 13 miles up Pinery Canyon Road and FR42 & 42D is surprisingly smooth, even for a passenger car!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trail Signs and Markings

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May 27 2012

RedRoxx44

Guides 5
Photos 26,458
Triplogs 807

female

Joined Feb 15 2003
outside, anywher

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 27 2012
		RedRoxx44 • Triplogs 807

Hiking	12.00 Miles	1,282 AEG

Hiking	12.00 Miles
	1,282 ft AEG

no routes

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Had to see for myself. First, the road in is almost not recognizable to me--on either side is burned pretty badly and now you can see the road beneath you as you drive in/out where before you were in the trees. It actually is a little better at the turnoff and to the Crest Trail parking. Then is it bad again. Rustler park is nothing more than huge black burned trees. The ferns were amazing though, so green against the big black sticks. At the first little saddle there were lots of Wild Iris, some white/albino? ones too. Lots of lupine. Some trees down on the trail but not bad. The old burn areas are mostly cleared off, the brush burned as did lots of the snags so the views are ridiculous. The trail is now going to be a hot one, very little shade. Lots of raspberry bushes coming along and many, many little Aspen. At times the burn is very bad, then not so bad, then other areas seem untouched. Some of the down trees are live ones, sad to see.
Met some Narco Packers about a mile from Anita Park. Five guys with five big packs. I was a little tense but it went ok; I did give them some food. Everything that could be reflective was taped or painted, even the water jugs painted black. The leader or the guy I talked to was wearing some sort of light body armor and they had painted their faces too. What is that, can't they give these guys smuggling 101 instructions to get the hell off the trail when they are resting, and out of sight? I told them they should do that. It was amusing when the leader told me to be careful of a "big bear" they saw about a mile back. Gee, bears or smugglers??? What is a girl to do?? Just remember when you meet someone who might give you a hard time---my rule---show no fear but also no aggression, be confident but have plan B in mind if it doesn't go well.
I didn't have a destination but decided to go to Chiricahua Peak to give them time to move on.
Anita Park is another bad burn site. What a mess it will be when these trees comes down. I think I didn't see a live tree in that area. The spring is looking good, full and nice clean spring box, thank you to the trail angels ( Summergo and others)
Chiricahua peak was a little boring with not much views as usual. Coming back ran into a large group of hikers, who also had run into the Narco Packers and warned me. They passed me. I was in picture mode. Heading back to car looked around and saw one of the Narco guys a ways back---what the heck?? I didn't get any real bad vibes from them but didn't want them tailing me either. The big hiking group was taking a break not far from Rustler park, and as I passed them told them the Narco guys seemed to be headed this way. One of the hiking group said I should hike fast to my car to get away. I thought "F" that, no one runs me out my places.
So all's well that ends well and I got back home. Very dirty from hiking in the burn area. Got some interesting pictures and need to go through them. Will return hopefully later with a collapsible bucket for the raspberry season.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cow Parsnip Rocky Mountain Iris

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Anita Park Anita Spring

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Nov 09 2011

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 09 2011
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	11.50 Miles	2,300 AEG

Hiking	11.50 Miles	3 Hrs 48 Mns	3.03 mph
	2,300 ft AEG

no routes

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