After two days of weather, we were anxious to get out for a hike. We headed out early to Chiricahua National Monument in the south eastern portion of Arizona. Chiricahua became a national monument in 1924. It protects a rhyolite rock formation. We arrived at the visitor center to find that the scenic drive was closed due to rock slides, caused by the previous days storms, as well as snow and ice. We explored the exhibits, watched the park film and collected our 66th Passport Stamp. The hike we intended to do, the Echo Canyon loop, starts at the end of the closed scenic drive. So after talking with the ranger about our options, we hiked up the Lower Rhyolite Canyon to the junction and took the Sarah Deming Canyon trial until we could just see Balanced Rock in the distance (4 miles, 719 feet of elevation gain and 1163 calories burned). As we climbed up the trail the snow and slush became deeper and the trail more slippery. With our boots worn from over 500 miles of hiking this year and not a lot of tread left, we decided to turn back rather than risk a fall. After hiking back to the visitor center, we checked back in and were told the scenic road was still closed and they had not estimate for when or if it would be opened again today. So we headed back to Tucson.
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| Entrance Sign |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations and a Yucca stalk |
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| David on the snowy trail |
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| Frozen Bushes on the ridge |
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| Yucca in the snow |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations |
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| Leslie on the snowy trail |
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| Rhyolite Rock Formations |
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