Portal, AZ - Rodeo, NM

Hike Report, 10/29/26 - Aspen hike

Seven hikers met at the Silver Peak trail head for a hike in the high country to enjoy the aspen trees turning color.  The 42 Road to Onion Saddle seems rougher every trip and we met only 1 other vehicle on the way.  The Long Park road is slow but we picked our way around rocks and got to the end of the road just fine.  We have read that the USFS will close the gate and block vehicle access to the road starting November 1, so plan on walking it until March.

 

Fall weather at 9,000 ft in the Chiricahua Mountains was wonderful.  Cool and moist after our long hot summer:  the forest seemed to be alive again.  We could hear Clark’s Nutcrackers, Steller’s Jays, Red Crossbills and Pygmy Nuthatches calling as we hiked.

  

The large aspen stands had largely lost their leaves, but isolated trees and small patches were as bright as we could have hoped (along with the Ash trees). 

 We met 4 backpackers from Colorado who said they were having a good time.  They had come up the Greenhouse Trail, circled Chiricahua Peak and were headed towards Rustler Park.

We hiked to Round Park, had lunch at the Bear Wallow trail junction then went out to Centella Point.  What a view with the Cave Creek basin and the San Simon Valley laid out thousands of feet below us! 

We lingered to enjoy the whole experience since it will be more difficult to get here till spring.  We noted 5 fallen logs across the trail between the Bear Wallow junction and Fly Saddle and 1 down log at the beginning of the trail from Long Park.

 

Next week we will get to experience the newly repaired trail up Price Canyon.  For those who were not among the 18 people who helped 2 weeks ago, it is located about 15 miles south of Rodeo off Highway 80.  We will meet at 8 AM both AZ and NM at the Rodeo Post office (note the time change!) because of the longer drive.  This will get us to the trail head as the day starts to warm.  It’s not a long drive but the last 4 mile of road is slow and high clearance is preferred.  This is an “up and back” hike so people can turn back whenever they choose.  The first 1 mile to Price Spring is easy with a good trail and not too steep.  Beyond the Spring the trail gets steep and is rough in stretches.  A huge number of trees were cut and pushed off the trail and lots of brush was removed to make hiking easier.  All of this was done by volunteers who love this mountain range and put their time and muscles where their hearts are. The scenery is spectacular with the creek flowing on bedrock sections, giant trees plus towering cliffs and hoodoo spires.  As of this writing the weather is thought to be good next week.  Bring water, lunch, hat, good boots, and clothing appropriate for the season and the cold air drainage.

Report from Al, photos from Carol, Eskild, Peter & Elaine