Aravaipa Canyon is 11 miles of burbling stream, warbling birds and greenery swaying in the breeze. It is one of Arizona's best hikes and most popular wilderness areas. And it is bird-watching central.
It is so popular that visitation is strictly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, which administers the area. Only 50 people per day are allowed in the canyon: 30 from the more-accessible west end and 20 from the remote east entrance near Klondyke.More visitors than that would threaten Aravaipa's standing as wilderness.
Reservations are taken up to 13 weeks in advance, but BLM supervisory outdoor-recreation planner Steve Knox warns that in peak season - spring and fall - reservations often are taken on the first day of availability.
So, because the western entrance is the most popular, your best bet is the eastern end of the wilderness. The problem has always been the scarcity of accommodations. Klondyke is little more than a tin-roof post office and store down 45 miles of dirt road. The town is surrounded by huge ranches and empty ranges.
But now, one of those ranches, Cobra Ranch, offers beautiful if rustic cabins for overnighting just outside wilderness boundaries.
Cobra Ranch is 28,000 acres supporting 300 head of longhorn cattle used as breeding stock for rodeo animals.
"None of our animals go to slaughter," explained ranch manager Jeff Anderson, a thin, lanky young cowboy right out of a jeans commercial.
"Other breeds are delivered to the feedlot and fattened up for three months before they are slaughtered, but the longhorns can take four or five months to do the same and it's not worth the extra time and money."
He has the rancher's practical nature.
The Cobra's cabins are refurbished ranch buildings and come with a kitchen, living room, bedroom with twin beds and a large bathroom with modern fixtures. The decor is cowboy kitsch, with a standing lamp with a faux cowhide shade, a bedroom lamp made from a bronze sculpture of a cowboy boot, a six-gun and some playing cards and poker chips.
Paintings on the walls are old cowpokes, the furniture is Hopalong Cassidy boy's bedroom, and the curtains are all cattle brands. A small bronze deer sits on a rough wood bar, and a boy's saddle straddles the rafter in the bedroom.
At night, the stars are magnificent. The Pleiades look like "a spattered handful of diamonds," according to my wife. And when we were there in March, the Comet Hyakutake was visible. From most places in Arizona, it could only be seen with binoculars, but from the ranch, it could be seen with its gassy tail spewing out behind it, 20 times the length of its head. It was spectacular. Biblical. "Just like Giotto," my wife said.
As for the canyon itself, its soft sandstone walls towered about 150 feet above the creek, eroded into layers and carved with potholes and caves. Cactus and agave grew at the top and on several ledges. Birds flitted all around us: red-shafted flickers, mockingbirds and the vermilion flycatcher with a breast so red it made a cardinal look dun.
A giant yellow and black butterfly flew within arm's grasp and bounced away again.
There are no paths through the wilderness, and in many places you are forced to walk along the length of the creek in water up to your knees. It is a great pleasure to feel the current pull you along.
In one shallow pool, we saw a few score minnows darting to and fro as we moved above them. A bit farther back upstream, we saw two, then three larger fish, about 6 inches long, scurry from one side of the stream to the other among the cobbles.
We didn't even bother to identify any birds we didn't already know, because the place was just too beautiful to care about such things. We wanted to stay the night, stay the week, stay the year.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Getting there there
Roughly 3 1/2 hours from Phoenix. Take U.S. 60 to Globe, U.S. 70 to Fort Thomas, look for "Aravaipa Canyon-Aravaipa Wilderness/Klondyke" turnoff, turn south to Klondyke, then turn right and continue, following signs to the wilderness. If in doubt, stop at the store and ask.
Where to stay: Cobra Ranch cabins are $100 per night or $467 per week. Phone (520) 828-3560. For detailed directions how to get there, phone the ranch.
What to do: Hiking and bird-watching are the main activities in the canyon. You must make reservations to enter Aravaipa Canyon. Phone the Bureau of Land Management office in Safford, (520) 428-4040. Permits cost $1.50 per person per day. There is a two-night limit in the canyon.
Weather: It can get very chilly at night, so bring warm clothing.
Tips: Two things to look out for: After Klondyke, the road forks and a sign points to Aravaipa on the right. This is the ghost town of Aravaipa, not the wilderness area. Take the left fork instead. And, the last mile of road may require either a high-clearance vehicle or strong nerves.
- Richard Nilsen, The Arizona Republic