Going Furthur: Chiricahua Mountains & Indian Bread Rocks

Spring Valley & the Chiricahua's

Bonita Canyon Campground

Beautiful cliff faces

We were heading east and saw a sign for Chiricahua Mountains National Monument and neither of us had ever heard of it so off the highway and down south on a 2 lane road we went to see what it was all about it. Another beautiful place! The access was across the beautiful huge grasslands of Spring Valley dotted here and there with old homestead ranches, and then into this island of mountains that rise over 9000 ft. This monument has been here since the 20's and protects an amazing array of balanced rocks and pinnacles. It was developed in the 30's and has some fantastic rock CCC structures and elegantly designed rock step trails. We spent the night in the wooded campground in Bonita Canyon and then went early up to the hiking trails. Cold wind blowing and a little snow on the road, reminded me of going up to Hurricane Ridge. We were at 6700' and Steve was being a diehard still in his shorts. We hiked a few short trails in amongst the rocks and hoodoos and pines, oaks, and firs. This is Apache country, and we had views out to the south of the Dragoon Mountains and the Cochise Stronghold and to the other side a view of the Cochise head rock profile on the neighboring mountain. We need to come back here in the spring or fall when the ice and patchy snow are gone off the trails and hike the Echo Canyon trail down through the balanced rocks and to the campground. We are intrigued by the Cochise Stronghold but will wait for a warmer season to go to that high mountain hideaway.
We returned to the grasslands and rather than go back to the highway we took the 25 mile dirt road over Apache Pass and past Fort Bowie. Fort Bowie is a hike-in to ruins where the US Army set up their garrison to keep the Apache Indians from their main water source, a spring, they had been using for thousands of years, and this forced them out of the area and eventually into a war that lasted 10 years. Cochise finally surrendered and the tribe was relocated to Oklahoma. So sad.

Sue winding her way thru the rocks

We then went to a BLM site called Indian Bread Rocks where we camped for the night at a place that was sacred to the natives. More beautiful flatter stacked rocks and no one around and we could imagine that we were holed up in our new-age "covered wagon" and it was easy to see the Apache's watching us from the ridges. (But there was no "thunk" of the arrow hitting the side of our fiberglass wagon in the wee hours of the morning) We don't have the courage that it would have taken to travel this country with the Apaches raiding and destroying wagon trains and settlers as they fought to preserve their homeland from the white invasion.