Enjoying a beautiful sunrise view, with red clouds, gracing the northeastern sky, I drove from the town of Willcox, AZ, to Chiricahua National Monument. This monument is located in the southeastern part of the State of Arizona, on side highways south from Interstate 10.

I first visited the Massai Point (6,870') vista point and parking. It was a bit overcast, so I used a split neutral density filter, to reduce the disparity in the intensity of the light, between the foreground and the sky.

Using Massai Point as my trailhead, I hiked to the Heart Of Rocks loop trail. Views of balanced rocks and other fascinating formations were seen. This required about 10 miles of hiking.

One can spend a full day exploring the area. I had a little time to use, so quickly hiked the excellent trail, with a 0.5 mile side trip to Inspiration Point, where more views were had. A great view is obtained from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain (7,310'). It is a signed, 0.9 mile trail hike to the top, with only a few hundred feet of gain.

There are plenty of other trails in this park. An arch, and many rock formations with interesting names, are located about for your personal discovery. There is a "duck," a narrows, and other points of note.

A campground is available, and there are things for sale at the visitor center. One day was enough for me to see most everything, but if I'm ever again in the vicinity, I'll do more trails and sights. The unusually dry weather was accompanied by mild temperatures. A very small bit of snow lingered atop the trail on the north side of this peak. Photos taken December 30, 1998, by Petesthousandpeaks.

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