Three Miles Up Three Miles Down

For several years I’ve wanted to hike the Cochise Stronghold trail—Michael and our schnauzer Jazz hiked it one year while I was on a business trip.  Today was the day.  In spite of the best laid plans we ended up not getting on the trail until 9:30am which was too late—it got warm today!

“This rugged natural fortress was, for some 15 years, the home and base of operations for the famed Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise. Cochise and about 1,000 of his followers, of whom some 250 were fighting men, located here. Sentinels, constantly on watch from the towering pinnacles of rock, could spot their enemies in the valley below and sweep down without warning in destructive raids. No man, woman or child within a hundred miles was safe from these attacks.

Cochise is reputed to have been a master strategist and leader who was never conquered in battle. In 1872 he came to terms with the white man and lived out the remaining two years of his life in peace. Upon his death, he was secretly buried somewhere in or near his impregnable fortress. The exact location has never been revealed nor determined.”  Pearce/Sunsites Chamber of Commerce

The trail wanders through the pinion pine and live oak forest before reaching the summit among the huge rugged rock piles.  There are even areas where water was present in the creek.  This area is so incredibly dry this year—probably drier than we have ever experienced.

   I called this one “balancing act”.  That green lichen was really that green on some of the rocks.

We made it!  It was hot going on the way up, we went through almost all the water I brought—we sat, rested and had our lunch before making the trek back down.

With relief we sat ourselves into the jeep seats and headed home.  Late this afternoon Jeanie and Ray stopped by to introduce themselves.  If you read the Bayfield Bunch, you’ve heard of Jeanie and Ray.  Al and Kelly have ranch sat for them and for additional places Jeanie and Ray arranged.  What great people, we sat in the shade and talked and talked—they are doing some work on the house just across the road for an aging friend.  We made plans to get together later in the week. 

We are all crashed right now, Emmi is one pooped puppy after traveling the six miles we hiked today.