Despite the numerous fires raging throughout the western US in 2021, the only flames we’ve seen up close were from a controlled burn occurring in Montezuma Canyon, AZ.
Once past the burn, we began our scenic drive over Montezuma Pass which peaks at 6575ft of elevation in the Huachuca Mountains. Southeastern Arizona’s Huachuca Mountains are one of the state’s seven “Sky Islands” overlooking desert “sea” below. These isolated ranges can rise more than 6000 ft above the desert floor, making them very dramatic and providing for a wide range of biodiversity with high elevation habitat in a sea of low-level desert.
There are several hikes in the Coronado National Monument area but since we were just passing through, we chose the Coronado Cave Trail. This just over 1 mile round trip hike only gains about 500ft in elevation. It is well marked and has good scenery, even if you don’t like cave spelunking, which I don’t. Bats, bacteria and cave crickets are just not my idea of a good time.
There is no organized cave tour…you’re on your own with those crickets. At the end of the hike, you can enter the cave through a relatively small opening by bouldering down about 20ft to the cave floor. The cave itself is a large cavern about 600ft long and in most places about 70ft wide. It goes without saying that pets are not allowed, you need to bring your own light and care must be taken to preserve the cave (e.g. avoid touching features, eating in the cave, etc).
Following the hike, we toured the Coronado visitor center as I still have huge gaps in my historical knowledge, so it was good to learn more about Francisco Vasquez Coronado and his quest.
Synopsis: They were Spaniards, Africans, and Indians from central Mexico, over 1500 strong. With their dogs, they moved over 5500 sheep, cattle, and horses during a 2-year quest seeking the fabled Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Round trip they covered more than 5500 miles between 1540 and 1542 (map below)! They didn’t treat the natives they encountered well and found no riches, but they did “discover” the Grand Canyon and the Continental Divide. This expedition was considered a failure at the time of Coronado’s return to Mexico, but historians agree that it was pivotal in opening up the settlement of southwester North America by European colonizers.
Wouldn’t say this area was my favorite Sky Island but it was a nice day trip and a sneak peek at more to come in the southwestern area!
