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| Hiking | 6.10 Miles |
3,346 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.10 Miles | 4 Hrs | | 1.53 mph |
| 3,346 ft AEG | | 30 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | This was the first part of what was to be a multi day trip in the Chiricahua mountains. After meeting Johnny Ringo I drove past the trail head on the main access road twice before noticing it. I parked my car on a pull out section, wasn't sure if I could but this was the best I could find. Hard to find is a recurring theme.
The Mormon Ridge trail is currently clear of any downed trees, but it is rugged and not marked well. It is also very faint in many places. Quite often I found myself double checking to make sure I was still on. It is pretty much straight up with only a few sections of switch backs. Really nice views as you get closer to the top. As you get closer to the top some older trails maps and triplogs say the trail veers right. I found and the Green Trails map I had confirmed it would veer left in a long switchback that eventually comes and meets the Crest Trail #270, the Chiricahua Peak trail and very close to the Anita Park/Spring trail. Some trail signs are on the ground,some very worn, so I was glad I had maps and GPS to assist with navigation once I reached that section.
Again, nice views, and you are definitely earning them with this straight up climb.
Additionally Anita Spring trail is marked but faint, and you will do some tree hopping to get to the spring.It was trickling,full of water, cold and refreshing. A tree fell right next to it to make for a nice seat while you enjoy.
The other trails I hiked ranged from good to terrible. The Crest trail was clear and easy to follow with signs at many junctions. However, take that with grain of salt and check your headings, I found myself not trusting them that much.
I spent the night near Ojo Aqua Frio spring but never looked for it as I had plenty of water from Anita Spring. There is a lot of dead fall in the area but there is also a wonderful site to camp on that is east of the Crest trail and looks directly west. Tent and hammock friendly.
Unfortunately,for me the weather turned bad that night. High winds, rain and the clouds just sat on me all day. After half a day it wasn't clearing I headed back down. Trying my luck I went via the Saulsbury Trail. This is just a bad trail until you get way down in the canyon and even then it meanders and is hard to follow. The lower portion has some orange flagging tape but eventually that person got lost too and stopped marking it.  At the top, it went from obvious, to faint, to is this a game trail to where did it go? Using map, compass and GPS I ended up doing a bit of bushwhacking (the rain and fog did not make following this any easier). I even found remnants of other hikers as well, a fleece jacket stuck on some thorns. All told I went over, under or around 103 trees from top to bottom.
I understand the whole area is much like this due to the past forest fires and weather events. It was hard, and if looking for a challenge, these are your trails. Eventually, I will try to get back to finish the rest of my trip.
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Anita Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Have to climb over quite a few trees but the water was flowing nicely. The tank holding quite a bit and overflowing. | | | |
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