Once again I found myself in the Chiricahuas on a Saturday, 8-23-14, with six other hikers: Rod, John S, Paul, Steve A, Ryan and Gina from a volksmarch Ryan led a few days ago in Sierra Vista. We met in Sierra Vista at 7am and got to the Barfoot Lookout trail head at 9:20am. We were only a mile away from where we were last week.
The plan was to hike up to Ida Peak, a hike of just under five miles, but when I saw the steep bushwhack on unstable soil, I thought "No way!" and luckily three others in the party agreed with me. We ended up turning around (while the other three continued on) to hike up the Barfoot Lookout peak, a 8826' peak overlooking the northern range as well as the distant peaks.
From the Barfoot lookout one can see in all directions, from Mount Graham and Dos Cabesas, Sulphur Springs Valley, Cochise Head and the Chiricahua Monument, and most of the burned area from the 2011 HorseshoeII fire. The forest is coming back with new growth, but it will be another generation before there are shade trees to replace what was lost a few years ago.
The group of seven people was thus split early, with Rod, John and Ryan hiking up Ida Peak, and Paul, Gina, Steve and I returning to the parking area and hiking up the lookout. This lookout trail was just 3/4 miles long, meandering up a heavily-burned area where now young aspens are emerging. I was the first one from the group at the lookout, and was able to enjoy the view with just Sadie before Paul, then Steve and Gina, and Rod and Ryan joined us later.
MORE TO COME
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