Wilderness Waters: Chiricahuas – Portal Springs

This will be a longer car camping trip to assess some springs in the Chiricahua Wilderness.

SIA has taken on a project to help the Coronado National Forest inventory and assess water resources in the Galiuro, Miller Peak, Rincon, Chiricahua, Mt. Wrightson, Pajarita, and Santa Teresa Wilderness Areas. This weekend, we will be working to assess springs and other water resources in the Chiricahua Wilderness.

For these assessments, no special skills are necessary, but we are looking for strong hikers, and tracking skills, plant identification skills, invertebrate identification skills can be helpful. Prior spring assessment training or experience is preferred, but not required.

Trip Leader: Sami

Trip Itinerary

Day 1
3:00pm Meet at SIA and pack up. Caravan/carpool out to a campspot out near Portal. Set up camp. Figure out teams for the weekend.

Days 2-3
Spend the day hiking to spring near Portal. Some trailheads will probably require some 4WD.

Day 4
8:00 Pack up, spend most of the day getting a few more springs assessed.
4:00 Head back to Tucson by this time.

We will be camping at ~5000-6000′ elevation. The hiking should be between 5000-8000′. Some springs will require only a 4WD drive and a short hike on trail, but several springs will require a longer hike on trail, up to about 3 miles one-way, and 2000′ of elevation gain). Be prepared for some off trail hiking near any spring. Several of the springs we will go to this weekend require short, but steep, off-trail hikes, so you should be comfortable with rugged terrain and bushwhacking.

Weather: Here’s a 7-day forecast you can keep an eye on. My guess is that we will likely see highs in the 80s, and lows in the 60s, with a good chance for afternoon thunderstorms.

Water: If we camp at a developed site, there should be water available, but if we camp at an undeveloped site, you should plan to bring your drinking water. We will let you know more details before the trip.

Food: Bring your own food. You are welcome to collaborate with other folks coming on the trip, though.

Gear: Bring your usual gear for a car camping and day hiking, including raingear! Closed toed shoes are required for working on the forest, and long sleeves and pants are recommended. If you need to carry an EpiPen, please bring it.

Springs gear: Make sure to bring a larger daypack and save some room in your pack for some springs gear that SIA will provide (1-2 liters of space).

Questions: Email sami@skyislandalliance.org (or call me 624 7080 x16)

Vehicles: We will bring the 4WD SIA trucks that can carry 2 additional people total. We will need some other volunteers to drive 4WD vehicles.