TR - biking the Sky Islands in AZ

[evdog]

I did a trip back April to check off some bucket list items in the Sky Islands of Arizona: Mt Lemmon, Chiricahuas, Mt Graham, and Pinal Mtn.


I hit up Tucson first but the main objective was the Chiricahua Mountains, a place I have long wanted to visit. The centerpiece of that range is Chiricahua National Monument which may become the next National Park. But there is a lot outside the monument that is worth exploring and open to bikes (provided the trails actually exist on the ground).


My plan was to do a bikepack around the perimeter of the range and check out as many trails and primitive roads as I could fit into the route. Given the dry winter across the Southwest I was pretty concerned about water. So I decided to access the area from the south via Hwy 80 and do some pre-scouting.


This rock along Tex Canyon Road held promise, but nada.




I camped part way along the drive in, and then continued up Tex Canyon Road the next day.




It became clear that private property could be as much an issue as the lack of water. I saw a number of signs like this on roads that branched off the main forest road. I was hoping to find water in Rucker Canyon as well, but all the streams were dry.




Checked out a side road that looked promising. The grassland habitat in this area is absolutely stunning




More private property. This parcel appeared to be only blocked to motor vehicles.




I continued around to the National Monument planning to do a hike. Also wanted to confirm water at the visitor center a couple miles inside the monument. There was a water bottle fill station there.




There is just one road that climbs up through the monument, and it soon offered sights of the famous rock formations.




Coati crossing. I was hoping to see some!




I went to the uppermost trailhead at Massai Point to check out the view. It was ok : )




There are a number of options for hikes. Echo Canyon looked to be the most scenic so I headed that way via a short connector trail.




The trail wound its way down canyon around and through the rock formations




Very cool




Maybe not quite on the same cool scale as Bryce canyon, but not far off either. Chiricahua NM has its own rugged feel. And way fewer visitors.








Echo Canyon eventually intersects the Hailstone Trail which you climb back up. Not far into it I came across a pack of coati migrating up the slope.




It was getting towards late afternoon as I got back to the top. This is a place worth spending some time in if youre a photographer as the lighting totally changes throughout the day.




I headed back down out of the monument and drove a few miles up FR 42 aka Pinery Canyon Road. Found a nice campsite out of sight of the main road and got dinner ready as well as the bike for the next day. I figured this was as good a place as any to start the bikepack loop.




Noisy neighbor. Tons of deer and turkeys everywhere in this area!

[evdog]

Bikepack day 1

I was camped maybe half mile inside the National Forest boundary and loaded up on water given the dry section I would deal with to start. Temps would be a bit on the warm side but not bad. And I had some easy miles to start - 4 miles of graded dirt road and then 13 miles of pavement.


Leaving the forest




Pavement on highway 181 was easy going. Only a handful of vehicles passed. Not much shade, but there was a decent breeze.




There is a cool looking forest road that exits onto the highway here which would avoid all of the pavement and graded dirt road, but the last couple miles are blocked by private property. Humbug.




After a couple miles on paved and graded dirt roads I was itching to get onto something more primitive. So I turned up Pridham Canyon Road which I had scouted the day before. One possible route option here from Turkey Creek Road was also blocked by private property but Pridham could possibly bypass another blockage and add some singletrack to the route.




Really nice riding up here. I ran into a couple out exploring in their truck and a border patrol truck.




I passed through the private parcel that had the chain barrier and the road got more primitive the farther I went.






Not long after crossing back into the National Forest I came across an AZ Game & Fish bear trap (used for research, and not active). I had seen lots of bear poop so I guess they are around. The road got very primitive beyond that spot.




After 6.5 miles I came to the end of the road. While planning the trip I had gotten a hair brained idea to go cross country over a ridge and descend into the next canyon to the south, John Long Canyon. The lower canyon is blocked by private property but it connects to a singletrack that leads to Rucker Canyon. This shortcut over the ridge looked like nice grassy hillside to hike over on satellite. Hahaha. So rather than backtrack to the main road and ride another 15 miles around on boring graded dirt road with no shade, I opted for the shortcut. It started off fairly well on game trails.




But then it got tough. Real tough. That grassy hillside hid a ton of loose, chunky rock. It was a tough push even though it was only about 400ft of vert over a mile. Of course there was plenty of backtracking as the slope held more yucca and other pointy brush than the satellite suggested.




The descent down the far side of the ridge was only easier because I had gravity on my side. I had to be very careful not to roll and ankle on the loose rock. But I quickly dropped into a very pretty canyon. Just like Pridham it was full of oak trees and alligator juniper and offered lots of shade.




I climbed up the canyon about a mile before I got to the Rak Trail. I did not have high hopes for this one.




It actually wasnt bad on the climb up. I did lose it a few times among the various game trails but it didnt take long to get up top. It climbed about 300ft in 0.4 miles.




Nice view at the top. But where is the trail? Took me a minute to find it, and it was tough going all the way down. No visible tread, just a vague corridor. I had to stop in many places and scout around to see where the it went next. Lots of missed turns. Sometimes Id spot a bench cut below be but not be able to find the switchback turn. I am pretty good at following faint trails and this one was tough. It didnt help that it got dark shortly after starting down.




This was a bit odd. The fur and bone on the left look a lot newer than the skull.




Thats the trail straight ahead in case you cant tell. Finally made it down to the access road. The joke is on me as there was a no bikes sign at the bottom. To be honest this trail isnt currently suitable for any trail user.




I pulled off at the first campsite I came to. Quick meal and I was out. Not huge stats on the day 33mi, +/-2,200ft but that hike a bike whooped me.

[evdog]

Day 2


My campsite.




I pedaled over to the Walnut Canyon campground to use the bathroom and dump the mass of mylar balloons Id collected the prior day. On the way over I ran into an AZ Game and Fish employee. He asked where Id been riding. Was worried for a second I was in trouble but turns out he is a mountain biker and was just interested in where to ride around here. I had some good suggestions where not to ride! Turns out he knows Schillingsworth (shocker haha)




My bad decision on the day would be to ride Devils Canyon. Of course it started off nice (pic above). This is looking back down canyon.




It climbs up about 700ft in a mile and a half. Not terrible, but it got steeper and rockier towards the top. Not much riding on the second half.




Cool cactus




There was a nice campsite just before the top, then after passing through a gate the view opened up to this granite filled canyon. Unfortunately the trail didnt make use of the cool rock, skirting it to the right. It descended into a web of cow paths that were hard to discern from the real trail. There were no cairns or cut logs to help guide. The best I could do was pick whichever path looked most promising and follow it, keeping an eye on the gps track. When Id start to deviate too far it was time to hunt around for a way to get back to the track. Towards the bottom there was no hope. The trail dropped into the oak/juniper forest where cow paths crossed every which way. I followed them in the general direction I needed to go. When I hit the spot where the North Bruno trail should be I poked around but it was the same mess of cow trails with no way to tell which was the proper trail. I had planned to follow it around and connect to the South Bruno Trail but opted to bail out the other direction instead since it had taken way longer than expected thus far. Finishing N and South Bruno was six more miles and I didnt have the water for that. Heading east the trail got better the further along I got. It was mostly hike a bike but I was making better time.




North Bruno Tank. I had climbed over one saddle to get to it and would be going over the one in the distance next.




The trail climbing up from North Bruno Tank to Tex Saddle




There was some carnage up at the saddle. Looks like a new fence might have prevented some cows from accessing the water? There were half a dozen dead right by the trail.




At Tex Saddle the map shows two trails heading towards Tex Canyon Road. The north option doesnt appear to exist on the ground. But the south option was there and pretty clear. Thats where I went.




That trail drops down to Forest Road 721 (per USFS motor vehicle use maps). The road was a mix of nice, rocky, shaded, exposed, and steep hike a bike. It was not fast riding




Interesting gate mechanism here. Rather than a wire loop over the post you hook this bar onto the post and use leverage to pull and then hold it closed. Worked great!




There were a few very steep hike a bikes, and after that the road mellowed out as it dropped into a canyon.




Came across this well just in time. My water was getting low and I still had over 20 miles to go to a water cache Id left near Hwy 80.




The trail alternated between buff doubletrack, rocky wash riding, and rocky doubletrack. There were some cool rock formations along the way as well as some shade.




And a lot of cattle, ranch infrastructure and some more private property. The final parcels require you to sign in and out. Not knowing how to handle this I had "pre" signed in when I passed by doing my pre-scouting and then signed out upon exit. There was no sign in at the north end.




I didnt stop much those last miles as I had a section of paved highway to ride and I wanted to minimize time on that in the dark. Views were pretty good though and I made great time with a tail wind and slight descent.




The Geronimo surrender monument. Worth reading up on. Geronimo led three decades of resistance against the US army and settlers but was tricked into surrendering after being told that his people had been re-settled to Florida.




I found a campsite a little further down on some state land off the highway and settled in after eating. Not a great spot but there arent a lot of options along here.


Stats for day 2 - 47.5mi, +2800/-4,300ft

[up an down]

NICE

[evdog]

Day 3


First up was more miles of pavement to get to Rodeo NM which has a possible food/resupply option. As I discovered there is also a pair of porta potties conveniently located at the intersection of Hwy 80 and Stateline Rd, complete with a hand wash station that an enterprising bikepacker could filter water from if needed.



Unfortunately the resupply option in Rodeo was kind of a bust. Breakfast food at the cafe smelled great but I just wanted a few snacks. And that is literally all they had - one type of gummies and one type of cookies. And some water bottles in a cooler.






I opted to continue on pavement rather than cross back to dirt Stateline road so I could ride past the Sky Islands Grill & Grocery (not open yet for the day, but looks promising for resupply). Also noted the Chiricahua Museum advertises drinks and snacks but also has limited hours.



Passed some minions out recreating in a field. It was all uphill to Portal but a pretty easy climb. And the scenery kept getting better and better.






They call Cave Creek Canyon the Yosemite of Arizona. And it is pretty stunning. This pic definitely doesnt do it justice.






The Portal Cafe was my planned breakfast stop. Only problem, I was 45 min early. And not due to the NM-AZ time change like everyone else. I was just faster up the hill than expected. Its not often that happens.


No problem, there were lots of people stopping in to chat with. The Chiricahuas are a major birding location and the bird watchers were out in full force even mid week. Got a breakfast burrito and then some snacks for the trail.






Found a bit of dirt on the way into Cave Creek canyon.






And even a bit of singletrack






I picked up the Cave Creek nature trail just past the visitor center. It was a nice pedal, gently climbing.






And had some rocky wash crossings and rock formations further along.






It was empty...






Back on pavement but not complaining as the ride up canyon was scenic with quite a bit of shade. Much of the canyon floor is private property with no alternate to the paved road.






hehe






Just before the road turns to dirt near the Southwest Research station I turned onto the Snowshed Trail. A friend had visited recently and given me intel that this and a few other trails were good to go. I would have checked them out regardless but it was nice knowing what to expect. Thanks Scott! Snowshed had a tough climb to begin with then got pretty nice. I was told later it had been logged out last year.






Snowshed Trail connected to Snowshed Basin trail which climbed up to the Herb Martyr Campground before continuing into the Chiricahua Wilderness. Right at the boundary was my turnoff to the campground.


Some people collect trinkets. I collect pics of my bike in front of Wilderness boundary signs.






Cave Creek had flowing water up this high so I stopped to filter and have some snacks. Then I picked up the Ash Spring Trail which climbs up to the west from the campground, connecting to the Basin Trail near its mid way point. Basin starts near the Wilderness boundary sign and goes into Wilderness, but Ash Creek offers access to the rest of the Basin Trail outside the boundary. Perfect.






Ash Sprint started off rocky and exposed to the sun but soon entered a nice forest canopy. As the name suggests there was a spring with water at the intersection with Basin Trail. Not nice water, but water. Filter from Cave Creek instead if youre in need.






Basin Trail traverses along the mountain side with great views straight down Cave Creek Canyon






The trail was in good shape with rolling terrain






Then a short stretch climbing Greenhouse Canyon Rd. It was more work, but mostly in the shade






After 3/4 mile I picked up another section of Basin Trail which would take me back to FR 42 just below Ambush Saddle. The first mile of Basin was nice, contouring along the slope. Then a steepish climb up about 400ft vert before the trail drops back down. A short section before that climb up was kind of sketchy with damaged tread and a steep dropoff to the right. I walked these spots.






Then climb was a tough one. Just steep enough to force me and tired legs off to push most of the way. There were some ruts and loose rock.






And yucca invading the trail corridor. Otherwise brush wasnt really an issue. But Id say this trail would be easier to ride the opposite direction. The climb is same size either way but tread would be more rideable heading south.






It was getting on towards sunset and I had a decision to make. My planned route was to climb up to Rustler Park and check out some trails there before dropping back down and checking out either Pine Canyon or the Shaw Peak and Pinery Canyon trails. On the other hand I could also bomb back down to the truck where beers and better food awaited, and do those other trails as a day ride. Since I had no recent beta on anything at Rustler Park or the other trails I opted to head straight to camp rather than end up in another bushwack situation with a loaded bike.


I still had to climb up to Onion Saddle though. And Trailforks was glitching. The map showed a few miles to get to Onion Saddle but TF was saying I was already at the high point. I knew that wasnt right. There should still be 1200ft to go. Not a big deal and the climb was soon done with.






I got up to Onion Saddle right at sunset. With 7.5 miles of descent remaining I dropped down determined to get back to the truck without using my lights. Made it, barely!






Stats for day 3 - 48.5mi, +4,400/-3,500ft


While I wouldnt recommend the Pridham to Rak shortcut this was otherwise a pretty decent route. There was more pavement and graded dirt road than Id like but those were pretty easy with the tail wind I had, and the scenery is great everywhere here. Remove the singletrack sections and you have a 105 mile gravel route using all of FR42 and Rucker/Tex Canyon Road plus the pavement stretches that is doable in one big day or as an over nighter. Ive seen a number of trip reports of people riding that exact loop. I liked the stretch I did on FR 721 but not sure Id do it or Devils Canyon again given all the pavement needed to make it a loop. Honestly I think the ticket for a proper mountain bike bikepacking loop is a shorter loop focused around Cave Creek canyon. I had a couple more days to do some scouting on that. So...more to come! Plus Ill add reports for the Lemmon drop and other rides I did. Thatll have to wait until next week though.

[raisingarizona13]

Awesome! Thanks for the post and photo tour. I've been wanting to visit that area for over 20 years now I just can't seem to make it happen. I really want to hang out in Bisbee too.

[406]

Good to see an Evdog TR.

[coldfeet]

That's awesome. I need to sit down with a map and try to piece together your route. The Chiricahuas are just far enough away from everything that they don't get enough love, but also you can spend time in them and barely see anybody. As you probably know, there was a huge fire (Horsehoe 2) that burned over a lot of the range in 2011. I went there for a short backpacking trip in about 2018, doing a loop out of Turkey Creek and reaching the crest and Chiricahua Peak. That was largely in wilderness, so no bikes, but the trails were mostly not bike friendly anyway, and some not that people-friendly. There is a lot of post-fire overgrowth and due to the remoteness I don't think there is much trail work being done. There is a good website for hiking trails and conditions at https://chiricahuatrails.com/ but I don't know how often he updates it.

We did see a huge black bear near the Crest Trail in Anita Park while trying to find a water source. One of the few times I have actually seen a bear while backpacking.

[XtrPickels]

You're an F'ing Legend.
Just so you know.

[east or bust]

This was a nice welcome back to TGR post. Thanks Evdog.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[wendigo]

nice evdog! we head down that way on the regular for some biking, awesome area (though living in a rain forest the water stress for us is real!)

[climberevan]

Awesome, as always! I was in that region last year on the way back from a dual sport moto ride in Mexico. The Chiricahas are incredible! I explored a little on my Husky but as always, you got deeper. The private property thing is pretty annoying--almost Texas-like in places.

Cave Creek looked really appealing for me as a climber, but my research indicated that it is pretty chossy.

Thanks for bringing us along.

[evdog]

Thanks guys! Lots more to come. And yeah, the private property thing does seem quite Texas-like. Though we have encountered it here in Socal too.


Bonus content....


I wanted to explore more of the area and check out some other possibilities to incorporate into a bikepacking route. I also wanted to take it easy after some long days in the saddle. So I slept in and relaxed for a bit, and in the afternoon fired up the moto to do some exploring. I like to set aside some time on trips to explore forest roads, look for good campsites, and check for access for future rides.


This side road was nice until I got to a locked gate that was signed No trespassing. Annoying, because it is shown as a public road on the Forest Service motor vehicle use map (MVUM).




Another side route to check out was Downing Pass Rd to the bottom of Pine Canyon. It had some nice views.




Pine Canyon #357 is one of the descents down from Rustler Park. It was an old road, long closed, and for decades had a Methodist bible camp near the bottom. That camp was demolished in 2017 after raging floods in the aftermath of the Horseshoe Two fire made the canyon unsafe for permanent establishments. A recent hiker report said there is not much left of the road. I hiked in to where the bible camp had been and there wasnt much left.




I rode up to Onion Pass at the top of Pinery Canyon. Looking back...




Spent some time checking out spur roads for campsites. Found a few nice ones




Map of the north part of the forest. North Fork Horsefall Canyon is where I found the locked gate. That road should go through all the way to Hilltop. I also spotted Jhus Canyon trail on the map, another possible option.




Stopped to stretch my legs and did a short hike to a view point



Not bad! That ridgetop line of trees on the right is above Rustler Park where I plan to ride next




I decided to check out the Portal to Paradise Road north of town




Literally....




The road soon got into ranch lands. Looking towards Hilltop and Cochise Head. I stopped near Hilltop and talked to a local guy. He said the road from Horsefall Canyon used to go through but got wiped out by heavy flooding. He recommended Jhus.




I had one more spot to check out which was Horseshoe Canyon Road just south of Rodeo. It runs through a remote canyon before turning south to Hwy 80.




I planned to include it on my bikepack route but there was yet another locked gate and No trespassing sign there at the Hwy 80 end. From this end where there is legal access I could at least see if it is worth looking into more.




Lots of cattle gates and lots of cobbles. A decent portion of the road runs along cobble filled washes.




It was very rugged and pretty back in there. Forest service maps show the entire road as open to the public so Ill be looking at this one more. Turned around when I got to a steep spot I wasnt sure I could climb back out of. Probably for the best as it was getting dark.




It was already a long day on the moto and I still had to ride back past Portal and over Onion Saddle. Fun day out there.....

[evdog]

Self shuttle - Rustler Park to Shaw Peak and Pinery Horsefall trails

I had skipped them on the bikepack but wanted to get back up top and check out these trails around Rustler Park on an unloaded bike.


They're watching you. Every day these guys or the deer would come skulking through camp.




I wasn't in a big hurry to get going since it would be nice and cool up top




Shuttled up and parked in a campsite off the main road. I had a route planned out that would navigate the area in the most logical way, but also wanted to check out some other options. First up was the short trail above the sad looking campground. No one there, and no trees for shade.




I started the climb up Long Park Road




An alternate called Telephone trail runs parallel just to the east but it was pretty clear from all the deadfall that it sees little use. So I kept going up the road. It was a grunt.




Up top there was a trailhead and a campsite. I had lunch and then started out on Long Park Trail which continues out on the ridge to Fly Saddle.




The trail was a short one, less than a mile At Fly Saddle it intersects the Crest Trail. Unfortunately for bikes the Wilderness boundary is 200ft before that saddle. But the trails are only 100ft apart at that point on easy terrain, so I just walked cross country to the Crest Trail. Old school Wilderness signs don't mention bikes or mechanized equipment, only motors.




180* pano




Views were excellent all along the Crest trail




The trail was pretty nice all the way to Bootlegger saddle




At Bootlegger saddle the trail crossed from the west side to east side of the ridge. It got narrower and rocky with some short punchy climbs. This part was not a cruise, it required full concentration and a number of dismounts. Plus a careful traverse around the top of a small landslide.




Crest trail climbs up and then traverses to Barfoot Saddle before dropping back down to the road. Looking down towards Cave Creek Canyon.




I had considered checking out Pine Canyon trail but opted for Shaw Peak Trail instead. The start of it was pleasantly not brushy.




Nice view to the north. That rocky peak on the left is Cochise Head. Hilltop is near the flat area on the right.




The trail did get brushy in a few places but mostly it was these tufts of grass that obscured the trail but didn't hold me up. There were a few times when I had to stop and scan around to see where the trail went next. In the last half mile the trail drops down a series of switchbacks to Jhus Horse Saddle. A couple switchbacks had several trees down and almost no tread. It was easy to walk across this part. Other sections had recent trail work including bench cutting, so hopefully the trail will continue to see maintenance. It was good as is, but would be an awesome ride if it was in good shape.




At the saddle I poked my head down Jhus Horse Saddle Trail since this is one that would make a great connection down to Hilltop and the Paradise road. The trail exists but is overgrown and had debris on the tread. It's only a mile long so might be worth doing some work on to get it going.


Shaw Peak trail continues another 3 miles to the Hilltop mine. I wasn't planning on riding it but checked it out past the intersection as well. I lost it in the overgrowth within a couple hundred feet.




The Pinery Horsefall trail on the other hand looked great. It drops down to the west to Forest Road 42. It started off contouring along the side of the narrow canyon before dropping to the canyon floor as it widened.




Wasn't expecting or needing this trough at Iron Spring but good to know its there




The trail climbed over a low saddle and then began the final drop down to Forest Rd 42.




It had a few techy spots and some downed trees but mostly rode well. It dropped right down to Pinery Creek which actually had a very small flow and then ran along the creek bed for 2/3 of a mile before intersecting FR 42 just a few miles above camp.




I was pretty happy with all the trails I rode. A couple short connectors did not exist on the ground but the main trails were tough but passable. I would ride them again.

[evdog]

Silver Peak Trail


This was one of the first trails I noticed when looking at ride possibilities in the Chiricahuas.


3k of vert in 5 miles, and one recent activity (2 yrs old, ha) on Trailforks and a posted video. That's pretty good intel for around here. Worst case if it sucks, just turn around and head back down.


I didn't get the early start I wanted but oh well. Views were great




The trail climbs up the slope on a series of switchbacks for the first mile. Grade and terrain were pretty mellow.




Not much for flowers given how dry it was, but the ocotillo were blooming




Higher up the terrain got more rugged with some rock slabs and steps. The rock formation top right of the pic is called The Fingers




Looking across the valley towards Rodeo NM




After gaining some elevation the trail traverses around to the north side of the mountains. The peak on the right is where the trail is heading.




Lots of rocky trail on the traverse across plus a few series of sharp switchbacks. At around 7,200ft I finally got into the treeline.




Once up top I tried to hike out to Silver Peak proper as shown on the map but there was barely a trail and it wasn't really the high point. I headed back to the top of the trail and then up to the old fire lookout.




It had better views and an actual platform to hang out on and have a snack. Looking west towards Onion Saddle. That is FR42 climbing up and Rustler Park on the left up top.




Looking north. That is Cochise Head on the left.




I was hoping for a great view of Cave Creek Canyon but it is partly obscured by Mount Sceloporus. In fact, the best views of the ride were all in the first mile or so.




Heading back down




I took some go-pro footage to give people an idea of what the descent is like. Almost all of it is rideable downhill but it's not a fast or very flowy descent. Lots of rock waterbars, switchbacks, narrow exposed tread and rock outcrops will have you picking lines carefully. These same features made it a treacherous climb up, easy to have a pedal strike and get bounced right off the trail. I pushed up a lot of it. It was a six hour return trip. Good adventure ride!