Earth, Wind, and Spires - Side 2

I ended the last blog (Earth, Wind, and Spires) with our arrival at Chiricahua National Monument on 2/22. This area was formed when the Turkey Creek Volcano blew about 27 million years ago with a force about 10 times that of Mount St. Helens. The Earth belched. It deposited a deep layer of tuft across the area, which became compressed into rock. Weathering has exposed these rocks, which formed into many vertical columns due to cracking as the plates lifted in the western US. Elena and I visited Masai Point and hiked the Echo Canyon Loop Trail (3.8 miles with 600’ of elevation gain). We wandered through a wonderland of rocks.

Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua National Monument - Echo Park Loop Hike

On 2/23 I planned to get up before dawn and tackle the hike up and through the Heart of the Rocks loop. This was 7.7 miles and 1,700’ of elevation gain. That morning as I awoke there were three powerful forces acting on me: Gravity, Inertia, and Snuggling with my wife. I first thought, “Check the temperature and see if it’s too cold out.” Nope - 45ºF - just right. I overcame the forces and got up, then walked the dog, put her back in the van, and headed for the trail. It was close to dawn when I departed. I was only about 0.2 miles in when I came upon a deer along the trail, who I didn’t even see until I was about 5’ away. It barely moved and kept nibbling the leaves on a branch, but it startled me a bit. 

My hike used three trails - the Rhyolite Canyon Trail, the Sarah Deming Trail, and the Heart of Rocks Loop trail. It was a nice, but windy morning. The Sarah Deming section climbed about 1,000 feet in 1.6 miles. I don’t know who Sarah Deming is/was, but I had a few select words for her! I finally arrived at the Heart of Rocks loop and had climbed to about 7,000 feet in elevation. It was windy and cold despite the bright sunshine. The loop was awesome with many interesting rocks. I soon headed back down. I did not see a single other person until I was about a mile from the trailhead. 

Chiricahua NM - Heart of the Rocks Loops

Chiricahua NM - Trail to Heart of the Rocks Loop

 We drove to our next destination - Kartchner Caverns State Park. Tomorrow we’ll do two separate cave hikes into the Caverns. The wind was even worse today. Sustained 30mph with gusts well over 50. The dust was blowing and the van was rockin', but we made it to the campground just as the cold front arrived. It was 65ºF for most of the day, but we’ll be in the upper 20s tonight. It's 33ºF and snowing as I type this. This is far better than home (DFW) where they were in the low 20s in the afternoon with freezing precip. Tomorrow will be our coldest day of our trip, with a high in the upper 40s. Fortunately, the cave is about 70ºF, so we’ll go into the Earth for warmth tomorrow. Considering I booked this cave tour months ago, I must be a better weather prognosticator than a groundhog, or the Old Farmer's Almanac.

 

- Paul