Chiva Falls

Distance: at least 8.6 miles r/t

Elevation 961'

Significance seasonal swimming hole and waterfall

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/chiva-falls-trail?search=true  The navigation tool on this app worked flawlessly on this hike, so we never wandered off trail.

Hiking to this waterfall on the north side of the Rincon mountains east of Tucson was one of my goals over fall break. It's a trek on a busy jeep road best done on a weekday.  We, however, only met two dirt bikers and one hiker during the entire 3.5-hour hike.

SteveA and I arrived at the trailhead  at 11:10am with only two vehicles in the parking area. Dark clouds hovered over the Rincons but it never rained on us.  Those clouds never left the peaks and helped cool us down.  Hansel never seemed overheated, either.

We lucked out with the weather. Forecast said 83F and sunny, but it was 71F and partly cloudy, with a cool breeze on the ridge.  Hansel had no problem today running around.

Recent rains left puddles for Hansel to walk through, to include one stock pond. Water in the Tanque Verde wash was about four inches deep and up to a foot deep on our return hike.  I never had to stop to give him a water break.

The road has many ups and downs and is exposed. This would be a hot hike in the summer and a perfect winter hike.  There is no shade along the way until one gets to the falls, and the road is badly rutted.

 

We could see the falls from two miles away when we crested the ridge looking south. We got to the falls at 1:05om. The water was calm and s was a sandy beach to walk on, but that trickle of water quickly turned into a flash flood five minutes later and we had to seek higher ground.

Steve stayed safely away from the water, but I took Hansel up to the shelter cave.  There are trails leading to the top of the falls, but I will save those for Saturday, when I lead this hike with the Huachuca Hiking Club.

The mist quickly got us damp, so after a snack break we began our return hike. 

We came across a gopher snake, a garter snake, and two tarantulas. Hansel spotted a white-tailed deer and later a small herd of cows, but thankfully he didn't harrass them. He stayed near us for most of the hike.

My only complaint were the many beer bottles and beer cans along the way. Steve helped me pick up most of the cans. I'll be recycling them in Tucson on Wednesday.  I'll pick up the glass bottles on Saturday's hike.

My feet were damp and cold the rest of the day once we forded the creek.  My feet didn't warm up until a few hours after getting to Steve's place when we relaxed to the nightly news.  I did develop a blister on my right foot, though.