The Snowshed Trail in the Chiricahua Mountains

The Snowshed trail #246 is one of those trails that climbs into the high country in the Chiricahua mountains, but the lower part of the trail is fairly gentle as it slowly climbs out of Cave Creek Canyon.  I had the opportunity to walk part of the trail yesterday along with entomologists from the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum who are currently in residence at the Painted Pony Resort on their annual collecting trip.  The goal was to do some collecting as well as recover a trail camera from last years collecting trip.   A warm sunny afternoon with a few scattered clouds and it up the trail from an access point just across the road from the trail to Chiricahua Crystal Cave.  A slow assent brought the group to some open meadows full of junipers and large stands of grasses, mostly Hairy Grama grass.  With the reds rocks in the background the views were typically spectacular.  The trail camera was recovered and with over 3000 images there should be some interesting wildlife captured in images.

Red rock cliffs from the Snowshed trail

A view south back into Cave Creek Canyon

The image above is the same outcrop in the photograph below, taken last year from the McCord trail.  In this instance the view is looking up canyon while the above image is looking down canyon.

Same outcrop as above but viewed from further down canyon.

A Finished Image from the Chiricahua Mountains in Southern Arizona

Water is vital to the health of all living things and in arid climates such as the desert southwest this is even more important.  Below is a partially desaturated image of a well known landmark in the south fork of Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua mountains.  Known as the Bathtub, it is a small waterfall that pours into a deep pool along the trail.  On a hike with guests from the Painted Pony Resort the group stopped for photographs at this spot and everyone spent time composing and capturing images.  This is my contribution.  The blue of the falling water stands in sharp contrast to the desaturated background highlighting the importance of water in the desert.

Blue water in a black and white landscape (click to enlarge)

An Afternoon Walk in Cave Creek Canyon

It has been awhile since visiting the canyon from the Painted Pony Resort but with guests in residence who were interested in some hiking the opportunity seemed ripe.  So off into the canyon for a nice winter riparian hike along the nature trail which runs from the ranger station/visitors center along Cave Creek to Sunny Flats campground.  Upon emerging into the campground the view below presented itself.  A crescent moon setting over the rim of the canyon, a perfect photo opportunity.  Out came the cameras and everyone recorded the view.  With warm temperatures and a deep blue Arizona sky it was a perfect afternoon of walking in the canyon.

The crescent moon setting over Sunny Flats campground

Update: Waterfalls of the Chiricahua Mountains

Locating Cave Creek Falls in the Chiricahua mountains adds another waterfall to the list and the previously published posts on waterfalls.  The waterfalls in Turkey Creek, North Fork, and Cave Creek appear to have year round water making them ideal locations for wildlife viewing, especially in dryer years.  An updated map of waterfalls is provided below showing the relative locations of waterfalls of the Chiricahua mountains.  Presumably there are other waterfalls not yet encountered but the north south line of 8 waterfalls across the interior of the Chiricahua mountains provides days of exploration activity for those interested in visiting permanent water sites in this sky island.  Access to these waterfalls are all off trail (except for the overlook at Winn Falls) and may include some strenuous hiking but the effort in visiting these places is well worth the effort.

Waterfalls in the Chiricahua mountains

Jhus (Whos) Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains

Jhus canyon, pronounced WHOS, is located off the road into Whitetail canyon in the northern Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona.  Jhus canyon is a mid elevation hike on the north side of a ridge making it an ideal late winter/spring day hike. Sixteen members of the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club met up at the intersection of Foothills and Portal Road for a trip up Jhus canyon.  Upon driving up the access road a parcel of private land is reached and visitors must sign in and out when crossing private property.  A short distance beyond is parking at a gate onto public lands.

The trip started with a short detour to the grave site of Frank C. Caldwell.  A rough sandstone slab marks the grave which has offerings of pottery shards from a nearby Mogollon village and the inscription reads "Frank C. Cauldwell murdered July 26, 1903".  According to A Portal to Paradise Frank and another fellow, one-armed Jim Gould, were interested in the same women.  Frank had a prospect in Jhus canyon and frequently spent days at a time in Jhus.  One summer evening in 1903 Frank was exiting the canyon when he was shot in the back.  Jim eventually confessed to the killing and was tried for murder but claimed self defense.  He was convicted and sentenced to the territorial prison in Yuma.  After serving only 5 years he was released.  This odd occurrence was the result of the closing of the territorial prison in Yuma and moving it to Florence.  But Jim's sentence was specifically to Yuma so he was released, moving back to the San Simon valley. 

Next it was up the canyon.  Following the old road which parallels the stream bed the group headed up hill first stopping at the waterfall.  Perhaps 20-30' in height a dam below the falls was used to collect and pipe the water downstream, all now abandoned and silted in.  Continuing up the old track a large empty pool by an old homestead was encountered.  Varying in depth from about 3' to about 10' this "pool" may have also served as a water supply for either irrigation or household use as evidenced by several pipes leading out of the "pool".  Continuing up the stream bed/old road an old tailings pile was encountered.  Evidence of workings from sometime in the past.  Copper ore and pyrite were in evidence in the adit tailings.  Pushing on the group soon arrived at a second adit along the stream bed and the group adjourned for lunch along the stream bed.  The group then divided into 2 with half continuing to the ridge summit while the remaining members headed back down the canyon.  An easy 7 mile round trip it made for a nice late winter hike.  The map for this hike may be found in the sidebar or here. 

Grave of Frank C. Caldwell at the mouth of Jhus canyon

Jhus canyon waterfall

Copper ore in Jhus canyon mine tailings

Hiking in the High New Mexico Desert

Thursday and it's hiking day and another trip with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club.

This trip was scheduled to depart from the Paint Pony Resort, with hiking over to large outcrops at the base of the Peloncillo Mountains on the east side of the San Simon Valley just north of Rodeo.  Upon going outside around sunrise though the scene was one of snow.  The previous night the valley received snow and the mountains and landscape were blanketed with about 1-2 inches of water in its solid form, but with clear blue skies and rising temperatures it looked to be a nice day for winter desert hiking.  Twenty one hikers arrived at the Painted Pony Resort and the group then drove over to the edge of the riverbed to start their weekly cure for nature deficit disorder.  The group made its first stop at a small Mimbres hamlet discovered on the Painted Pony Resort property and after a short description it was onward onto BLM land.  Crossing the old El Paso and Southwestern railroad bed the group continued toward the goal of the outcrops.  These large outcrops show bedding planes of tuff, conglomerates, and some debris from earlier volcanic activity and differential weathering created wide ledges used by former inhabitants of the area for grinding seeds.  Pictographs and 30-40 grinding holes were found along one ledge and additional grinding holes were discovered on top of the outcrop by those daring enough to make the climb.  After a relaxing lunch in the winter sun the group headed back to the vehicles covering between 7 to 8 miles of easy high desert hiking out and back.  The map for this hike may be found here or in the side bar.

It is difficult to adequately demonstrate the scale of features in the high desert and things that look close frequently turn out to be miles away.  Below is a 360 degree photosynth created from below the outcrops in the small valley created by the surrounding rocks.  Hikers may be found in the image which give a sense of scale of this feature everyone locally sees while driving along highway 80.  Click on the image to interact and navigate around the panorama (it requires installation of Microsofts Silverlight and the photosynth should prompt you if you do not have it installed).  Below the photosynth is an additional panoramic view of the outcrop also with hikers for scale.

Outcrop at the base of the Peloncillo Mountains with tiny hikers

Ledge of grinding holes
 

Hiking with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club

With winter snows at the higher elevations in the Chiricahua mountains the location for the weekly Portal Rodeo hike was at lower elevations in the Pelocillo mountains.  Twenty three hikers, including a number of visitors to the area gathered at the Chiricahua Desert Museum for the drive north.  After reshuffling hikers into 6 vehicles the group headed out.

Just south of I-10 on the east side of the San Simon Valley in the Peloncillo mountains lie several faults with old mines and prospects.  One of these, the Johnny Bull mine, "produced an unknown amount of copper, mostly before 1905" (1).  The site sits below McGee Peak on the west side of the Peloncillo mountains just across the ridge from the Carbonate Hill mine, another mine which produced lead, zinc, and silver.  Parking at the turnoff to the mine the group headed up hill.

The area is characterized by Mississippian aged Escabrosa limestone
with an intrusive band of volcanic rock.  Along the contact between these 2 groups and near the visible fault lines mineralization occurred and the mines and prospects are found along this interface.  Vertically oriented bands of mineralization may be seen at the surface and in the old adits and shafts, see below.  In the mine dump outside of one of the adits turquoise may be found.  Small pieces, light to medium blue in color, dot the dump that spills down the hillside.

The groups first stop was an old stone 3 room building.  Perhaps the mine headquarters, this building shows some interesting architectural details including arched windows and doors.  Continuing uphill the group came to 2 adits.  Above this were several vertical shafts with a headframe, and 2 ore shoots leading down to the level of the adits.  After some exploration, the group scattered with some heading south at the elevation of the headframe while others wandered back down hill before heading south across the exposed limestone slope of the Peloncillo mountains to other adits and prospects.  Passing a number of dugouts along the walls of the arroyos, these may have served as simple miners sleeping quarters.  Arriving at another major working the group took a break and ate lunch while looking for small chips of turquoise.  Similar to the other workings, this site was composed of 2 horizontal adits with a vertical shaft leading to the surface above the adits.  A bird, perhaps a raven, had built a large nest on a ledge in the vertical shaft next to an ore vein, see image below.  Sheltered from the wind and predators this nest still has a nice view of the greenery but in this case it is exposed copper mineralization.

A short winter hike of only about 3 miles, everyone seemed to enjoy a day out on the landscape.  The map for this hike may be found here or on the hiking page.

1.  Mining Districts of Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Old house at the Johnny Bull mine.

Headframe at the Johnny Bull mine.

The last load, an ore shoot below the headframe.

The nest egg.  Bird nest next to ore vein.

Mineralization in a vertical shaft.

Hiking Maps of the Chiricahua Mountains

The Coronado National Forest lists 60 trails in the Chiricahua Mountains suitable for day hiking.  Enough to keep anyone busy for quite awhile.  But access to information about trails, difficulty, locations, and conditions is always changing.

The last commercial compilation of hiking trails in the Chiricahua Mountains was published in the late 1970's and used copies are still available.  Entitled "Hiking Trails and Wilderness Routes Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona" this publication was considered the authoritative guide to the Chiricahua Mountains by many.  But times change and access to information also changes.  The amount of web based information available has exploded and information on outdoor activities was not lost in the change.

In addition to trail information provided by the Coronado National Forest, users have also contributed information.  The Portal Rodeo Hiking Club is out weekly exploring the back country in the Chiricahua Mountains and maps of the hikes are published here, here, here, here, and here, and of course on this blog.  All of these maps are published through Google Maps and index independently in a Google search.  Bootheel Maps is another source of updated trail maps available for hikers.  These trails are all personally inspected, have additional information such as an annotated gazetteer, and may be printed out for field work.

The newest place to find Portal Rodeo Hiking Club maps is at Wikiloc.  Wikiloc is a layer in Google Earth found under Galleries (in the tool bar on the left).  This layer displays uploaded hiking maps of your favorite trails contributed by others.  This tool allows interested visitors access to information about hiking trails, in this case those hikes from the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club.  These maps are linked to the original Google Maps of each hike where additional photographs, contributed my hikers, may be viewed. Or alternatively, the "photos" layer may be activated to view other Google Earth photographic submissions.

Below is a sample map of the trail up Silver Peak in Cave Creek Canyon from Wikiloc.  To view additional hiking maps, open Google Earth and click on the Wikiloc layer under the Galleries tab.  As time permits additional maps will be included in Wikiloc.


Addendum: A list of maps uploaded to Wikiloc may be found here.

South from Sulphur Canyon

Along the east face of the Chiricahua Mountains there are a number of small unnamed canyons that act as drainage for water from higher elevations in the mountains.  This weeks hike with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club was along the east face and up one of these smaller canyons below Magnus Dome.  Starting in Sulphur Draw 14 members of the hiking club and one dog headed south along the east flank of the Chirichuas hiking through open grasslands recovered after the Horseshoe 2 fire last year.  Ungrazed, the grasslands appear to have recovered nicely with a carpet of grass over a foot tall across the lower slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains.  The first stop was a wildlife watering station.  Consisting of a large concrete apron connected to a underground cistern the watering station has a small open pool for wildlife.  Continuing south along the slope with magnificent views of the San Simon Valley and the Peloncillo Mountains the group eventually started climbing up a small canyon.  At the base of the cliffs the group stopped at the granary.  Perched on a ledge in a shelter cave, the granary is a mud, stone, and wooden structure that was used for food storage sometime in the past.  The presence of wood in the structure suggests it is of historic construction, possible Apache though no confirming pottery or other material was present.  This site as well as other shelter caves in the area have been mapped and studied by the Forest Service as evidenced by survey pins.

Leaving the granary the group continued up the canyon past fading petroglyphs on the cliff walls to 2 shelter caves with evidence of occupation.  Hidden behind large pieces of breakdown from the cliffs above and not visible from below these soot covered shelters were home to someone in the past.

The final stop for most of the group was another shelter cave even higher up the canyon with a keyhole view out onto the valley.  At that point the group divided into 2 with the majority heading back down the canyon while a hardier group continued up looking for a route to the top Magnus Dome.

Although only 3 miles was covered, hiking across the steep inclines made the trip more difficult. 

For a photograph from inside the granary please follow this link.

Portal Peak from Sulphur Draw

Granary or a room with a view

A view through the keyhole

A Trip to Paradise

Just before Christmas the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club weekly hike was a trip to Paradise.  Starting at the old corral on FS 42 (1 mile past the research station on the right) 10 hikers and 2 dogs headed up a ridge on the south west side of Silver Peak for a trip to Paradise AZ. Cutting cross country the group eventually found the trail and headed up the drainage toward the ridge top.  Passing a number of old gabions placed for erosion control the gentle incline made for easy walking.  Upon reaching the ridge top and passing through a gate the group headed down hill to eventually meet FS42B just outside of Paradise.  The return trip followed a slightly different route with a side trip for lunch on top of a knoll just below the Elephant rocks.  Following the main drainage and trail the group ended up in a large meadow before returning to the cars.  Covering about 6.4 miles with less than 500' of elevation gain an easy outing for a nice winter day.  The map of this hike may be found here.

Old corral in the Chiricahua mountains

Gabion in the drainage

The Chiricahua mine above Paradise

Rock Art Interpretation

Interpreting images created by a person from another culture and from a different time is fraught with problems.  The cultural threads become thinner and thinner as the time span between the creation of an image and the interpreter becomes larger.  This inverse relationship makes interpretation of pictographs and petroglyphs left by the former inhabitants of the southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona a best guess.  One approach to the problem is through the use of ethnographic studies where modern descendents maintain a stronger cultural link with the past than an interested observer.  But without direct cultural and lineal descendents this approach can at best only provide a rough guide as to the possible meaning of rock art.  Cultural materials associated with rock art may provide clues to the cultural affinity of the original creator but this requires careful excavation and recovery of associated materials and does not help the interested observer in drawing conclusions about the meaning of particular rock art found in the field.  We are left then to fall back on personal views about the meaning and these are a function of an individuals world view which may or may not coincide with those around them.

As an example the image below is a pictograph panel in Antelope Pass in the Peloncillo mountains.  The panel is 8-10 ft in length, 3-4 ft in width, and is on a large piece of breakdown which was originally part of the ceiling of a shelter cave which at some point collapsed.  Faint pictographs may still be seen on the lower surface of the exposed shelter cave wall indicating the original location of the breakdown blocks.  The collapse occurred sometime during the period of occupation as evidenced by shallow grinding holes on the broken upper surface of the breakdown.  This panel is protected from the elements by the the breakdown and the colors remain bright and the overall pattern easily observed.

At first glance the panel appears to contain connected straight lines and squiggles with the only identifiable feature being an element in the lower right that would appear to be a sun representation. One professional Biologist viewing the panel commented they observed a millipede with legs and segments. But by comparing the view from this shelter cave towards the west across the San Simon Valley to the silhouette of the Chiricahua mountains with the panel several features coincide.  Compare the pictograph panel image with the screenshot from Google Earth captured from the same location.  The squiggly line at the top may be interpreted as the silhouette of the Chiricahuas seen from the shelter cave.  The riverbed is then represented by the series of rectangles from left to right across the panel.  The riverbed would have been the most intensively farmed area in the valley and drainage from Horseshoe, Sulphur, and Cave Creek once met in this area.  The four serpentine vertical lines coincide with drainages from the Peloncillo Mountains around Antelope Pass.  The single short squiggle coincides with a short drainage that abruptly widens found just downstream (north) along the San Simon Riverbed where there are a number of recorded archeological sites.  Based on these correlations, the large blob of red pigment would be representative of the location of the shelter cave and view.  Below these are 2 additional linear features which, if a map, would coincide with the Animas and Hatchett mountains.  Below this lie 2 parallel lines of dots perhaps representing a north/south road or trail similar to the one proposed connecting Paquime with Chaco Canyon or a trail headed into the Mimbres Valley.

The only unidentified feature on this presumptive map is the hatched feature in the middle right on the panel.  It is unclear what this feature may represent but it is perhaps worth a look sometime to look for a corollary.  While evidence of landscape representations (maps) in pictographs and petroglyphs seems to be lacking, perhaps this is the first example of a landscape rendered in a pictograph or alternatively a just a lot of hand waving.  To rise to the level of a scientific hypothesis testable predictions must arise from the hypothesis otherwise it is just a good story.

Addendum:
If this interpretation is correct, a map based on the view from the rock shelter, it contains elements from 2 sources.
1.  A direct view of the landscape from the shelter cave.
2.  Information about the landscape that was in the artists mind.  Painted features on the right side of the panel (starting at the short wide drainage) are not visible from shelter cave, the view is blocked by the Peloncillo mountains, so the information represented could only be held in the mind of the artist and added from memory.

Addendum:
It was pointed out that the "map" as currently viewed is upside down and that when on the ceiling, as originally painted, the silhouette of the Chiricahua mountains would be at the bottom.  This observation is correct but the orientation of the pictograph with respect to north is the same.   When viewed by an observer in the past north was to the left (currently north is to the right in the photograph because of the rock fall).  The position of the sun feature currently in the lower right of the photograph would have orientated a viewer.  Also of note is the location of the sun feature.  It is in the northern part of the sky suggesting the painting is during the summer months and not the winter when sunrise is further south.

Addendum:
Another pictograph with a "sun" feature and "mountains" is found about 4.5 miles further south in the Peloncillo Mountains at the base of Gray Mountain, view here.

pictograph panel

Google Earth screen shot view from shelter cave

Owl Canyon

Back to Owl Canyon was the mantra this week for the Portal Rodeo Hiking club.  Lower elevation hikes in the Pelocillo Mountains are especially attractive in the winter with hiking at warmer elevations and it was another sunny day in the valley as 13 hikers and a single dog began the trip up Owl Canyon.  About 1.5 miles in the group stopped at the dam for a break and group photograph.  Lunch was below a large spire in the canyon with the group scattered up the hillside eating and enjoying the views.  The trip covered 6.6 miles and the map for the hike may be found in the sidebar or through this link.

North ridge line in Owl Canyon

Photograph of Portal Rodeo Hiking Club at the dam in Owl Canyon by Pat Owens

Lunch in Owl Canyon

Hiking with Friends

There were 2 different hikes with members of the Portal Rodeo Hiking club this week.  One group headed down to Pine Gulch in the Rucker Canyon area while a second group hiked Silver Peak.  Five hikers along with 2 visitors from Canada chose the Silver Peak trail and met at the trail head at 8:30 AM on a warm overcast morning in the canyon.  As the group approached the first gate along the trail Susan found a number of horses and mules grazing along the trail side.  Several were branded with "US" suggesting they were Forest Service animals or other government workers.  These friendly animals came up for petting and any spare food.

The group moved on after photographing the animals stopping next at the turn off after the second gate to debate the merits of heading off trail to see Bill Willy's cave but several had the summit in mind so the group continued up the trail.  At the halfway point overlook under the pine 4 hikers decided to head back while 3 continued on to the summit.  The summit group made the top of Silver Peak while the rest wandered down the hill.  Chiricahua Sky Island Rodeo and myself encountered the horses and mules again but this time they followed us down the trail again looking for food and affection.  A nice ending for another hike in the Chiricahua Mountains.  The Silver Peak trail map may be found at this link or in the sidebar.

Susan many places at once petting every horse and mule.

Coming down the trail accompanied by 4 footed friends.

Contemplation at the halfway overlook.

Chiricahua Mine with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club

This weeks hike with the Portal Rodeo hiking Club began in the historic former mining town of Paradise Arizona north of Cave Creek Canyon.   Paradise traces its' roots to 1901 with the Chiricahua Development Company work on the Chiricahua mine.   Two shafts were sunk and several other adits are found in the area as well as a 2 story stone building just south of the shafts.

The area was heavily burned in last years Horseshoe Two fire and evidence of high intensity burn are visible.  While the hillsides are covered in grasses and new growth, little new growth at the base of the trees is apparent.  The stream bed experienced significant down cutting with erosion channels up to 5 ft deep in places, a result of last years monsoon rains.  With the loss of vegetation the geology and evidence of past inhabitants is visible across the landscape.  The route along the old road is littered with artifacts from the development of the mine.  Small donkey shoes, tools, and pieces of machinery were found along the stream bed as well as iron/iron ore and evidence of copper.

Granite is visible at the mine entrance and in the mine dump indicating the shafts reached through the overlying limestone into an intrusive granite zone that was probably the source of the copper ore which filtered along the contact zone resulting in mineralization.  Although the mine was not successful it gave Paradise its start.

The hike covered 5.7 miles (including the detour up a side drainage) with an elevation change of 750'.  Thirteen hikers and 4 dogs made the trip including the Gypsy Carpenters who were back in town for Portal Irish Music week.  The map for this hike may be found at the following link.

Hiking route to the Chiricahua mine above Paradise. 

Erosion channel

Building site at the Chiricahua mine.

Shaft at the Chiricahua mine

Oak tree above Paradise

Waterfalls of the Chiricahua Mountains

Waterfalls are inspiring, evoking images of cool mountain streams and dense lush forests, but in the desert southwest there are also many waterfalls.  Found in the sky islands of the basin and range province of the southwest these desert waterfalls rely on moisture from the winter rains and summer monsoons for their displays.  Depending upon the time of year these waterfalls may range from a trickle to something truly spectacular to see.  In the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona the best known waterfall is Winn Falls.  This 400 ft high waterfall is viewed from the Greenhouse trail and may explain it's familiarity to many.  But there are a number of other waterfalls without names which are not as familiar.  These seldom visited sites are high in the interior of the Chiricahua Mountains and access takes time and energy since these waterfalls are off trail and generally require a significant elevation gain to reach.  An interesting observation about the waterfalls in the Chiricahua Mountains is their location.  A string of waterfalls is is located on a north/south transect in the interior of the Chiricahuas, see below.  Each waterfall or set of falls is reached by hiking up a series of canyons that bisect a band of harder material that comprise the base material of each waterfall.  This line of waterfalls may be extended north and south where other little know waterfalls may exist, but will require some further exploration to to test this idea.

Waterfall transect in the interior of the Chiricahua Mountains.

Greenhouse trail #248 with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club

A group of 7 hikers from the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club met at the preappointed time at the Silver Peak trail head and carpooled up FS 42 to the Herb Marytr road then regrouped at the turnoff on FS 713, a 4 wheel drive road, where everyone piled into a truck for the mile and half drive to the trail head.  At the trail head a brisk pace was established up the Greenhouse trail quickly passing the new sign at the wilderness boundary placed during a Friends of Cave Creek Canyon work day awhile back.  The Forest Service has accomplished a great deal on this trail since last year.  The trail has been cleared up past the Winn Falls overlook which makes for easy walking.  Spring wild flowers are currently in bloom in the high country including the wild strawberry which was found all along the creek bed.  Blueberry and Blackberry bushes were also in evidence along the trail though not yet blooming.  The first stop was at the Winn Falls overlook.  A small amount of water was flowing over the almost 400' waterfall and some members scrambled around looking for the best place to photograph.  Then it was onward to Cima cabin, a former summer ranger station near the top of the ridge.  Completed in 1934, the Cima Park Fire Guard Station is listed on the National Resister of Historic places and was the stopping point for lunch.  Afterwards, a number of hikers continued on the short distance to the crest trail for a look over the west side of the mountain range.  Covering about 9 miles round trip the elevation gain was about 2700'.  The map for this hike may be found through the following link.

Winn Falls from the Greenhouse trail

Cima Fire Guard Station

Portal Rodeo Hiking Club on the Greenhouse trail

South Fork Canyon to Red Rocks and Log Canyon

Ten hikers from the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club met at the Silver Peak Trailhead to sort out vehicles and then drove up South Fork Canyon to trail head.  South Fork canyon was full of birders, with many hanging out near the bridge in South Fork, presumably looking for the Trogons that had been reported. 

The plan was to hike up South Fork canyon to the Burro trail then up to Red Rocks where those wishing more adventure would continue down the trail to a point where it intersects a side canyon (Log Canyon).  Then proceed downstream to the next intersection and head back upstream.  Eight hikers continued past Red Rocks and dropped into Log Canyon while the remaining hikers waited and waved from the ridge top several hundred feet above.  Log Canyon contains several 8-10 ft waterfalls which were dry making the down climbs fairly easy.  These should be quite active during the monsoon season and a return trip would be well worth the minimal effort in accessing the area.  Upon reaching the next intersecting canyon the group headed upstream and within 30 minutes was rewarded with another Chiricahua Mountains waterfall.   Approximately 25-30 ft in height it is clear that a significant amount of water passes over this falls during wetter periods as evidenced by logs jammed against one another and only supported on one end by friction just downstream of the falls.  After finishing a snack the group headed back down the canyon eventually intersecting the trail in South Fork.  The route covered between 4.5 and 5 miles (GPS coverage was lost in Log canyon) and the elevation change was around 900'.  The map for this hike may be found here or in the sidebar.

Illuminated tree above the waterfall

Friction, a 20' log suspended over the creek bed

 

Close Friends

A waterfell in Log Canyon

Falling Waters in the Chiricahua Mountains

Deep in the interior of the Chiricahua Mountains and several miles off trail the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club took the day to experience the falling waters of the Chirichua Mountains.   A stream exiting a canyon along a popular hiking trail was the turnoff for the falling waters hike.  No trail exists and a steep ascent was accompanied by the constant sound of falling water as hiking club members passed numerous small waterfalls in the stream bed.  The floor of the canyon cuts through a variety of colored bedrock ranging from green to black creating these small and entertaining waterfalls.  Finally, rounding a bend in floor of the canyon the final objective came into sight, an alcove with a beautiful 50 ft. high waterfall cascading over angled water worn black bedrock.  Although fire has swept the area the trees along hillsides are intact in many places, but several blowouts at side drainages are evident along the route.  The fire removed most of the fallen small trees and brush which had clogged the canyon and made the first mile a hike through open forest, but the second mile was either boulder hoping along the stream or negotiating steep slopes above the water.  Staying high allowed a number of hiking club members to enjoy lunch on top of the falls while others chose to stay low and ate in the alcove at the base of the falls.  Two flying trees were photographed during the hike in the high country one of which is shown below.

50 ft. waterfall in the Chiricahua Mountains

Cascading water

A flying tree in the high country of the Chiricahua Mountains

Silver Creek and the North Slope of Silver Peak, Elephant Spotting.

A large turnout for the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club visit to the north slope of Silver Peak to find the elephants.  Twenty two hikers and assorted dogs made the easy 2 mile hike from the camping area along FS 42B, between Portal and Paradise, up Silver Creek then up a ridge line to view the elephants.  Although not a species native to the Chiricahua Mountains, these elephants are rather the result of weathering granite.  At least 2 elephants are visible in the large granite outcrop on the north slope of Silver Peak.  The first one is visible while approaching the overlook and is a rear 3/4's view of an elephant moving away from the viewer.  While the second on is best viewed from the lookout.  The elephant's face is turned toward the viewer with the body continuing along the right.  While the biodiversity in the Chiricahua Mountains is high this was an unexpected find to come across elephants in this sky island.  The map for this hike may be found at the following link or on the hiking page.  For a view of hikers riding one of the elephants, see this photograph.

Chiricahua Mountains Elephant

Another elephant