Cochise Stronghold

Hiked the beautiful Cochise Stronghold Trail yesterday with the Mule Team, a short six-mile hike through some serious orogeny. Here’s some commentary I had with my Facebook pal, Steve:

Steve: This is not the famous 'Laramie Orogeny,' of course, which is one of my favorites. On account of the sound of the words. Say them out loud. I don't know about you, but I get an undefined but real pleasure out of it. All right, maybe that's abnormal. I don't care.

Me: Well, how do you feel about subduction?

Steve: Never experienced it firsthand, but I understand it's absolutely tectonic.

Me: It is rather up-lifting. 

Silver Peak

This was my first visit to Silver Peak, with my newfound friend Ira Yedlin, whom I'd met at the Bisbee courthouse fountain for a Muleteam hike a couple weeks earlier; Ira is now a lifetime friend.

This is a challenging hike, and back then, before I had a smart phone, we had to trust the trail markings to navigate.  Lucky for us, this is an easy trail to follow, and well-kept.

This is a beautiful area in the Chiricahuas, and the views from the top are stunning. Beautiful day, with moderate temps in the 50s and 60s for February. It is a haul from Bisbee, but well worth the drive time.

Ira showing his inimitable gusto for life.

The trail in 2026, goes all the way to the summit vs. the remains of the tower as it did in 2015. The hike is also over ten miles, about 1 ½ miles longer than ten years ago.

Ira goofing.

You wouldn't find me doing this due to my high anxiety, to quote Mel Brooks.

Ira sitting atop a defunct cistern from when this wazs a fire lookout station.

The Chiricahuas With Friends

Took our good friends Mark and Judy to the Chiricahua National Monument an hour and a half northeast of here yesterday for a hike through Echo Canyon and Massai Point. Beautiful weather and warm temps.

The Chiricahuas were formed ten to fifteen million years ago, when tectonic plates spread and subducted, lifting up mountains and dropping valleys, while erosion formed the canyons and exposed the rock. The rock was then eroded by wind, rain, ice, and sun. And finally, lichen (the green that covers many rock faces), which contains a mild acid that eats into the rock, across the expanse of geologic time, forms these amazing structures.

Judy's glam shot.

Me, Patty, and Judy.

Mark and Judy, glad for a respite from the Iowa cold.