Читать книгу Backpacking Arizona. From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands онлайн

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Along the Super Trail, Santa Rita Mountains, ssss1

Pinnacles, Chiricahua Mountains

Galiuro Mountains

Probably the least known sky island, the Galiuro Mountains top out at 7663-foot Bassett Peak. Vegetation is primarily high desert grassland and pinyon pine and juniper woodland. A few patches of ponderosa pines occur in protected valleys and on cooler north slopes. Deep canyons are the main feature of the range, and these are protected in the Galiuro Wilderness on the Coronado National Forest, and the Redfield Canyon Wilderness on Bureau of Land Management land. A network of little-used trails covers most of this remote sky island, and there are many possibilities for extended backpack trips into areas that rarely have visitors.

Chiricahua Mountains

The Chiricahua Mountains, another beautiful sky island, are in the southeast corner of the state, north of the town of Douglas. The crest of the Chiricahuas is a series of gentle, forested summits, culminating in 9759-foot Chiricahua Peak. Numerous canyons cut the flanks of the range, creating towering cliffs and dramatic vistas overlooking the 5000-foot valleys. The Chiricahua trail network provides many miles of enjoyable backpacking, from the Chihuahuan desert grasslands in the canyon bottoms, through chaparral brush and pinyon pine and juniper woodland, to graceful forests of Apache pine, quaking aspen, and Douglas-fir along the highest ridges.