To get to the trailhead of this hike requires about 10.4 miles of driving on a US Forest Service road 687 that occasionally requires a high clearance vehicle.  Drivers should know in advance that you might get some scratches from tree branches and you might bang the bottom on your vehicle.  This is a short but moderate hike of about 3.4 miles round trip if one goes all the way to the saddle separating the east and west sides of Cochise Stronghold and returns by the same route.  There is a fence and and sign at the saddle and so it is easy to know when you have arrived at the top.  When hiking up the trail, the first half mile or so is fairly easy.  But then one starts a long steady climb with lots of switchbacks that brings one up to the saddle.  The total elevation gain is about 800 feet.  The trail is generally a good one and the footing is not difficult for the most part.  In February 2014 when the pictures were taken for this hike there had been a  snowfall the night before and in spite of this the footing was good except for a few places where there was ice on the rocky sloping trail.  Much of the upper portions of this hike follows an east facing mountain slope that offers many spectacular views of the west facing slope.  

There are no toilet facilities associated with this hike. 

There are no signs on this side of the Cochise Stronghold Hike that limit dogs.

A good way to do this hike as a one way trip of about 5 miles is to have one vehicle drive to the East Side of Cochise Stronghold and the other vehicle drive to the West Side of Cochise Stronghold.  Hikers follow the trails until they meet and exchange car keys so that they can continue on to the other trailhead.