I have wanted to visit Arizona’s largest known publicly-accessible caverns, located nine miles south of Benson, for several years now.  A few days ago, tickets to the two tour routes were purchased and I set aside Saturday, Jan. 4, as my Cave Man day.

After a pleasant night’s rest at Quarterhorse Motel, and a hearty breakfast at the Farm House Restaurant, I headed down the short stretch of U.S. 83.

I pulled into the gate, showed my ticket receipt and went to the Discovery Center, to get my actual tickets, which are collected by the tour guide and reused by many visitors.  I was unable to take my camera or cell phone with me, into the caverns, so my own photos are of the Whetstone Mountains, which serve as the roof of  Kartchner Caverns.

To the east, one can see the San Pedro River valley, southern Arizona’s most active riparian system.

While I wasn’t able to take my own photos of the caverns, the Park itself graciously posts several, on Google.  Here are three  representative scenes.

Soda Straw Stalactites are made from the mineral deposits of  a single drop of water, suspending over time.

^ @Copyright Arizona State Parks

Below is a drapery, which is a horizontal, rectangular mineral deposit.  This is called bacon drapery, for obvious reasons.

Finally, we see Kublai Khan, a stalagmite, named for the Mongol Emperor of China, celebrated in verse by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  This formation, found in the Throne Room, is the centerpiece of a delightful laser-light show, at the end of the Throne Room tour.

^ @ Copyright Arizona State Parks

I also toured the Big Room, in the afternoon.  This room is closed, from May-October, as large colonies of bats roost here then, whilst giving birth and nursing their young.

^ @ Copyright, GoCalifornia.com

The staff goes to great lengths to keep human oils, peeling skin and hair, as well as clothing lint, from getting in the cavern formations.  Visitors stay on a paved pathway, there are drain cups all along the paths in the caves and no animals are allowed in the caverns.

Ironically, the first exhibit that greets us, in the Discovery Center, is that of a Shasta Ground Sloth, one of the smaller ground sloths of Pleistocene North America.  The remains of one such sloth were found inside Kartchner, when the first two known explorers, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts entered the caverns, in 1974.  A dead coyote was later found in the caverns.  These finds suggest an earlier passageway into the caverns, perhaps from Guindani Wash, which flows through the area, seasonally.

The Caverns, as mentioned earlier, are surrounded by the Whetstone Mountains, largely comprised of gray chert, which resembles the stone used in sharpening blades.  These small mountains may be explored further, by way of Foothills Loop Trail (2.5 miles) and the Guindani Trail (4.2 miles).  These two trails may be areas I explore later.  For Saturday, the caverns were more than enough to occupy my attention.

Reaching the turning point of any journey is nearly always fulfilling- and last Friday’s arrival at the Falls was no exception.  Getting up and in there is ALL the fun.

There are three falls that are accessible to the casual hiker.  I imagine the rock climbers could manage to get permits to go down to the upper four cascades, but I was glad just to have a bear’s eye view to the top.

I spent about ten minutes examining the first cascade, and its pools- both the feeder and receiver.

Climbing up a short ledge to Cascade # 2, we find this:

Going up to Falls # 3 is a slight alley-oop, through a safe rock ledge, to the left of the creek flow.

There is a small beach here, at the hiker’s terminus.  I always count myself fortunate to find others at these sorts of places, so that I may take a photo of them as a couple or, as with the other day, a group of three.  I’m always glad to get a record of my own visit, in kind.

Looking backwards, I feel blessed by the power of water.  For me, a child of fire, that’s huge.

Going down the trail, back towards Sabino Visitor Center, I was  always reminded that it has been a work in progress to keep this sacred spot in the state that it was known to the ancient Sonorans.

The first people here made their marks, but no doubt found the passage to the top of the ridge as formidable as we do.

I got a nice warning from Mr. Sun that our time together in this breathtaking canyon was getting short.  The flashlight in my day pack wasn’t too fazed.

Besides, this is another place where I was being closely watched and guided.

These Seven Falls, in a dryer climate and lower in elevation than their Colorado counterparts, nonetheless inspire, comfort and reassure- just as much as the falls to the north.

The upper part of Bear Canyon features the last two creek crossings, then takes one up a moderate switchback and along a ledge trail, for the 2/3 mile remaining to Seven Falls themselves.  I found a few families returning from the Falls and at least one hiker looking exhausted.  Somehow, though, I did not get the feeling I was about to share his fate.

The striations on the boulders increase with the level of water activity, indicating heavier mineral deposits upstream.

Here is a look westward, back at Bear Canyon.

The wispy cloud rising up reminded me of Penny.  There has not been a time that she has been more missed than right now.

Heart-shaped rocks always seem to pop up, when I start to get a bit down-hearted.  Guess it’s a message that I can get  over whatever is weighing me down.  This lovely canyon was just the right place, on that day.

Next:  Seven Falls themselves

I had the pleasure, on Friday of  this past week, of hiking the eight mile round trip, between Sabino Canyon Visitor Center and Seven Falls, in the Santa Catalina Range, northeast of Tucson.  Bear Canyon Trail provides a generally easy path, for the first 2.5 miles,then  7 crossings of Bear Canyon Creek, which are quite straightforward, and have MOSTLY stable steppingstones.  A walking stick, or two, are advisable for the stream crossings, though.  Here are some views of the first 2.5 miles, including a heart-shaped rock.

Bridge crossing Sabino Creek.

The trail to Bear Canyon diverges from Phone Line Trail here.

Note the striations on the rocks, which result from centuries of hard water activity.

Here are several shots of Bear Canyon Creek.

There are some interesting rock overhangs, and the long view to the canyon rim, along the way.

Next, Upper Bear Canyon