Ramsey Canyon Preserve and Karchner Caverns

As the morning warmed up we headed for the first of our two explorations, Ramsey Canyon Preserve.

According to Nature Conservancy, an early settler named Gardner Ramsey built a toll road in the 1880's leading into the Huachuca Mountains canyon to provide access to the Hamburg mine area. The Hamburg was one of the early area mines, where prospectors mined gold, silver and other precious metals. Over time a small community grew up with its own school and Post Office.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Ramsey Canyon gained a reputation as a cool retreat from summer heat. Guest cabins, a dance hall and other attractions ensured its frequent mention in tourist brochures. But as time passed, the mines played out and people moved on. By the 1940's, few people lived year-round in the canyon. The canyon was designated as the nation’s first National Natural Landmark in 1963 by the National Park Service due to “the significant plant, animal and geological formations found here.”


In 1975, Dr. Nelson C. Bledsoe of Bisbee willed 280 acres in the canyon to The Nature Conservancy. He directed that the area be used for scientific, educational and aesthetic purposes. Through later acquisitions, the preserve grew to 380 acres. We arrived around 11:00 am and set out up the canyon for a hike.

Our goal was to make the two mile round trip up to the edge of the ridge called "Vista Viewpoint" as shown in the upper right corner of the map. The first three quarters of a mile followed the stream bed in a gently winding path. We were amazed at the abundance of deer and other wildlife. Interestingly, along the stream grow a wide variety of cactus, bushes, small trees and huge Arizona Sycamores. The trail was thickly carpeted with leaves from Maple, Oak, Sycamore, Madrona and others as it wound through the trees towards the original Ramsey homestead.

As we headed higher, the trail became steeper with more rock outcroppings and changes to the types of vegetation - more pine trees and fir, less lowland bushes. The walls of the canyon became shear in places with unusual rock formations protruding here and there. There were nine benches placed at strategic places along the trail so we could rest periodically during the climb up the switchbacks to the top. We finally reached the viewpoint where the trail forked south along the ridge and looked out over the canyon and the far town of Sierra Vista.

We spent some time admiring the view before heading back down. After passing the third bench from the bottom we were surprised by another family of white tail deer, including a young buck who seemed very nonplussed by us. He looked us over then sauntered across the trail to look at one of the females. Several large gray squirrels were playing in the trees and gathering seeds and nuts from the ground.


As we neared the lower portion of the trail we took the loop trails back to the trail head. This allowed us to get closer to the stream and pass some of the remaining log cabins and outbuildings. One only had the fireplace and chimney remaining. The play of the sun on the leaves created hues of gold, silver and orange which contrasted with the dark trunks of the Sycamores and green of the pines. A very beautiful area and nice hike capped our first exploration.



We returned to the car and headed back north to Hwy 90 and the Karchner Caverns.


The caverns, located about nine miles from Benson were apparently unknown until 1974, when two cavers, Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen, found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole and followed a source of warm, moist air toward what ended up being more than 2½ miles of pristine cave passages. Concerned about vandalism, they kept the location a secret for fourteen years, while deciding the best way to preserve the caves. Eventually they worked with the property owners and the Arizona State Parks Department to develop the caves for tours.

Today the site is managed by the Parks department with strict control over the number of people that can go in the caves. They have instituted strict regulations on what goes into the caves, including no cameras. All tours are guided. This photo is courtesy of the Arizona State Parks Department.

To see a good set of Karchner Cavern photos, click on this link:
http://www.amwest-travel.com/awt_kartchner.html

We were fortunate. Since I had booked our tour for late in the afternoon, Tina and I were given a special two person guided tour by a very knowledgeable park ranger. We boarded a tram and were hauled about a quarter mile up the hill to the cave entrance. After passing through the first two environmental control doors we were surprised to experience warm, moist air. Our guide lead us through the various caverns and with special lighting showed off the features of the cave formations. The caverns consist of numerous very large rooms connected by small passages. We were able to visit the Rotunda, Throne Room and home of Kubla Khan, a 50,000 year old column over fifty-three feet tall. Though not as impressive as some caverns, we enjoyed our tour. An hour later we passed through two more environment control doors and, with a short tram ride, returned to the information building.

After taking the dogs for a short walk we drove home and had dinner. Another great day!!

To see all our Ramsey Canyon Preserve photos, click on this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski