The Wonderland of Rocks

[Chiricahua National Park, Sep 27, 2026]

I like to start my hikes early, but the 4 am wake up call was still tough. I wanted to be done with my hike no later than noon because I am sensitive to heat and the hike had no shade. That meant I’d have to start the hike around sunrise at 6:30 a.m. In addition, I needed to get breakfast and then drive 50 minutes to the trailhead. There was no getting around the 4 a.m. alarm.

I had set my sights on the Big Loop trail. This 10-mile loop is a grand tour of the park’s best features. However, it is a challenging hike due to the distance and elevation gain. Of particular concern to me was the big climb out of Upper Rhyolite canyon to the Heart of Rocks loop (the lower left corner of the photo below). I decided to cut that out and connect Echo Canyon and Heart of Rocks loop via the Hailstone trial. Overall I saved just a little bit of elevation gain and distance but the climb up to Heart of Rocks loop was much more manageable this way. FYI the 8.2 miles Alltrails lists for the Big Loop is totally wrong. It’s closer to 10 miles.

Unfortunately, I had a bit of a stressful morning because of a situation that had arisen overnight with my parents back in Bulgaria. I woke up with my 4 am alarm to a bunch of messages but luckily, everything got sorted out fairly quickly. Still, the whole situation got me a little bit frazzled.

I grabbed breakfast and coffee from the McDonalds down the street from my hotel. It was the only place open that early in the morning! As I drove to the park, I could see daylight break behind the Chiricahuas to the east and I was excited but also a little nervous for my 10-mile hike.

I got to the trailhead at sunrise, just as planned. The clouds made it extra dramatic and I was hoping they were going to stick around to provide some much needed shade!

However, because I was still out of sorts from earlier, I got going clockwise on the trail when I wanted to go counterclockwise. Luckily, I realized it pretty quickly and backtracked. Still, this section was very pretty and i took a bunch of photos!

Once back at the trailhead, I started down Echo Canyon like I was supposed to. The trail descends gradually into the canyon among the rock formations. It is a masterpiece of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and it was exquisitely carved among the towers. I took a ton of photos here but I managed to walk right by the Grottoes, one of the most striking features, without paying them much notice despite the sign! I must have been still out of sorts from my stressful morning. I only realized this later when I was reviewing my footage from the day.

To my surprise, there were no other people on the trail. I had passed a son and mother early on once I started on Echo Canyon trail. So once I noticed a ledge that would serve as a prop for my phone, I took advantage. I wanted 1 photo of me that was not a selfie! It took a couple of tries but I succeeded!

Once I was at the bottom of the canyon, I even encountered a tiny creek!

From there, I cut over on the Hailstone trail. It was almost level with sweeping views of the canyon. Agave, cactus and desert yucca were abundant on the trail’s southern exposure. I really enjoyed this section, it was so green!

Instead of completing the loop and going back to the parking lot, I continued on the Mushroom trail. Its namesake rock formation was not too far in.

From here, the big climb up to the Heart of Rocks loop began. The elevation gain was gradual but long, and the rocky terrain made for tricky footing. The clouds stuck around for most of my time on this trail, providing much needed shade for the climb.

At the top of the ridge, one of the most famous rock formations in the park awaited – Big Balanced Rock. It is massive and square, about a thousand tons, 26 foot tall massive rock perfectly balanced on a tiny eroded base about a foot wide. It was surrounded by other interesting rock arrangements!

Soon, I dropped into the Heart of Rocks loop. This mile-long section took me through even more amazing rock formations. There was were lots of rock steps and some climbing among the rocks, but that just made it even more fun. I finally encountered another person on the trail.

As I was exiting the loop, a small lizard startled me with his short, sudden bursts of motion! He was almost jumping. According to ChatGPT, this is Yarrow’s spiny lizard. Even though he is missing his tail, you can see the turquoise color they are known far on his hind legs and the tail part that’s left.

My return to the trailhead was long, hot and arduous. The clouds had dissipated and temps were nearing 80F. I was so happy when I finally reached the trailhead.

I didn’t do much in the afternoon besides have dinner. I attempted to drive out to Fort Bowie. It’s a historical site from when the white settlers clashed with the Chiricahua Apache. The last couple of miles to the site are gravel, and then there is another mile and a half of hiking involved. Temps were in the 90s now, I was tired from my hike and the gravel road was too bumpy for my taste.

Nevertheless, the day was a success! Chiricahua had been on my radar for awhile and I was excited to finally see this wonderland of rocks for myself.