February 1, 2022

By Tim Briese

4.0 miles, 500’ elevation gain, 3:20 roundtrip time

Teresa and I left Tucson in the morning and made the two hour drive to Chiricahua National Monument in the far southeast corner of Arizona. It was somewhat chilly and windy today as a storm system approached but we were undeterred. This place is a little off the beaten path but it was spectacular, with innumerable rock towers and pinnacles, partly covered with colorful green lichen. We hiked the popular Echo Canyon Loop, which is said to afford some of the best scenery in the monument. There were a number of other hikers here today but it was certainly not crowded.

this is an interesting area called the grottoes

other hikers are visible near the center of the photo

Upon completing the loop hike we drove a short distance to Massai Point at the end of the road, which afforded grand sweeping views.

a view from massai point

From here we could also see Cochise Head, an impressive mountain with a profile resembling the Apache chief Cochise.

cochise head.  the chief's brow is in the middle, and his nose and mouth are to the left.

While driving out of the monument we saw several coatimundis, or coatis for short. Their range extends from the far southern US down into South America.

a coatimundi trotting across the road

That evening we observed large flocks of thousands of wintering sandhill cranes near Willcox, where we stayed for the night.