We drove to the Visitor Center at Chiricahua National Monument to hike to the Heart of Rocks via the Lower Rhyolite Canyon and Sarah Demings Trails, 7.3 miles round trip with 1,600 ft of overall gain.
We saw several Mexican blue jays in the parking area and along the trail.
The trail starts off gently through a lovely forest.
We saw some wild turkeys.
As the trail gained in elevation we saw hoodoos up on the canyon rim.
There was a light dusting of snow at the lower elevations
The manzanita blossoms were the only wildflowers we saw today.
Heart shaped lichen on a boulder
View further up the trail
zoom of some of the distant hoodoos
There were large hoodoos on the side of the trail as we got nearer to the Heart of Rocks.
We were hiking in the clouds, with foggy views of the hoodoos.
We were up at 6,000 - 6,900 ft, we saw icicles on some of the rock formations.
So many rock formations and hoodoos, a wonderful area!
some pockets of snow, here a cactus is buried in snow
Climbing higher up into the rocks
Pinacle Balance Rock
Old Maid
Thor's Hammer
Thor's Hammer
It was windy with snow and sleet, enhancing our wandering through the rocks.
Kissing Rock
A fabulous hike, we only saw 5 other hikers on the trail today, giving us a sense of solitude through most of the hike.
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