Mark's Cycling & Hiking Blog
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups

Loop Hike in the Dragoon Mountains

2/22/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Amy and I were invited to hike with some of our favorite hiking buddies, starting at the Cochise Stronghold campground in the Dragoons. Our loop would take us up the Cochise Trail then onto a social trail for the return.  As we ascended, the views became very nice.
Picture
Many interesting rock formations. After 3 miles of ascending at a moderate grade of 6.8%, we reached....
Picture
....the Stronghold Divide.  We continued on the trail for about 1/4 mile before finding a cairn that marked the off ramp and a descent....
Picture
....into a ravine where we follow an obvious, social trail, up to a jumble of boulders where we took a lunch break and enjoyed....
Picture
....awesome views.
Picture
Monoliths soared around us including one called, Rockefellow Dome.  Some of these are favorites of the rock climbers, who we would encounter later.
Picture
Check out the colors on this Rainbow Hedgehog.
Picture
Note the rock ball that has fallen between the two vertical slabs, above.
Picture
Wow! Check out that view!  Lorna wanted to explore a route to a nearby saddle but this modern day "Daniel Boone" explorer had to turn around, thwarted by bushy plants.  We got back on the social trail and began the most interesting part of our hike that began with....
Picture
....walking beneath these two boulders and soon.....
Picture
....pausing beneath a rock that appeared to be poised to slide at any time.  Amy on the left, Kathryn on the right.
Picture
The trail was well marked with cairns, some of which were creatively displayed in a notch.
Picture
Bill B, a very knowledgeable guide, reached a point that gave him a good vantage of what was a very, very steep descent.  There is more than one route down and we chose the right side of the canyon which followed the base of a wall for a good distance.  Meantime, to our left....
Picture
....we watched two climbers ascend, with ropes.  That looks like fun, with ropes, of course.
Picture
We continued our descent, steeply, finally reaching the road below and then a short walk to our vehicles.  We finished with 6 miles and 1500' of climbing.  We shared a drink in the parking lot before starting a 2 hour drive home which included.....
Picture
....passing a field having at least a dozen, almost life-size, dinosaurs. The location is known as "Rattlesnake Ranch" and there was a "Welcome" sign out front but our day was already a long one with a ways to go. In AZ, around every corner, you never know what you will see.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

    Categories

    All
    April
    California Riding
    Grand Canyon Backpacking
    March
    The Characters

    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.