As the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail nears the 7,310-foot summit (above), hikers get an early morning glimpse of Echo and Rhyolite canyons in the Chiricahua National Monument. Called the “Land of Standing Up Rocks” by the Apache Indians, the monument covers close to 12,000 acres. © Steve Bruno >> Click on image to view it larger in a separate window.

by Brian Minnick

The rising sun illuminates with brilliant morning rays Sugarloaf Mountain in the heart of Chiricahua National Monument, some 35 miles southeast of Willcox. The peak juts from the landscape, at 7,310 feet, the highest point in the monument. A trail, built by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, spirals upward to the Sugarloaf Mountain summit, where a lonely stone firehouse stands. The structure doesn’t require a tall lookout tower, because no trees interrupt the long-distance views.

From the parking lot, empty except for our car, the trail begins modestly on its way to climbing 479 feet in a little less than a mile. After 70 years, the laborious work by CCC picks, shovels and dynamite remains evident. An early stone arch over the trail displays the craftsmanship of the workers nicknamed the “tree army,” participants in a national effort that employed some 3.4 million desperate men. The higher we climb through the diverse flora, ranging from Arizona white oak trees to fruiting Schott’s yuccas, the more we appreciate the difficult work done by the Corps.

The views from the trail grow increasingly beautiful toward the summit. The odd-looking formations of the Chiricahua Mountains showcase geologic time, with spires melded and shaped by ice and erosion over a period of 27 million years.

The trail grows steeper with every turn, and resting spots, like one featuring a stone table and two chairs right out of “The Flintstones,” provide welcome reprieves for our burning calf muscles. The elevation gain forces a change in the plant life, from the 6-foot hallways of blood-barked manzanita to stunted Mexican piñon pines closer to the summit. As we climb, we see a few of the wide array of birds that has made the Chiricahua Mountains a top destination for bird-watching. A Strickland’s woodpecker, also known as an Arizona woodpecker, gently taps an oak; a hermit thrush forages in reeds; and a titmouse protests our passing with a trill.

The summit’s 360-degree view—accented by a turkey vulture soaring effortlessly below us and white-throated swifts darting about in fighter-pilot flourishes—Cochise Head to the east, the San Simon Valley to the southeast, and Echo Canyon to the south. The bizarre fused-ash hoodoos and pillars of the canyon form the heart of the national monument, including the thousand-ton Big Balanced Rock. The Dragoon Mountains, including Cochise Stronghold, lie to the west beyond Sulphur Springs Valley, and to the north, the dog-eared Dos Cabezas Mountains watch over Apache Pass. Just beyond, the metallic glimmer of Willcox sparkles in the sun.

Absorbing these sights, I envision a Chokonen Chiricahua Apache scout looking south for a platoon of Mexican dragoons, north to the pass for a vulnerable stagecoach with a precious load of ammunition or southeast for some hapless pioneers. I imagine the CCC laborers pushing on to reach the summit to take in the views.

Today, Chiricahua National Monument remains unmatched for travelers with a distaste for crowds. With the quiet day and expansive views, Sugarloaf Mountain Trail offers a beauty equal to more mobbed treasures like Utah’s Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks.

>> To see a map, driving directions and a list of attractions in the area, click the When You Go link below.

When You Go