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"Fort Bowie"
~ Offered Thursdays - Weather
Permitting ~
 Fort Bowie was built in the 1860's to protect the infamous Apache Pass, where
many a wagon train was attacked by braves led by Chief Cochise of the Chiricahua Apaches
and Chief Mangas Coloradas of the Mimbres. Normally, visitors to the Fort have to walk
along a Forest Service trail from the parking area 1 1/2 miles away, but on horseback we
can ride the Butterfield Trail, retracing the old stage coach route from a wagon train
massacre site on the top of Apache Pass, all the way to the Fort. We ride past the ruins
of the stage station, by what is left of the old Fort Bowie cemetery, where the remains of
soldier and Indian lie buried side by side. We pass through the canyon where the Battle of
Apache Pass took place, by the foundation of the house where Tom Jeffords, friend to
Cochise and Indian Agent at that time, once lived; past Apache Springs, the only source of
water for miles around, and thus one of the causes of contention between the white man and
the Indian, and finally onto the summit of the pass, where we see the United States flag
waving lone and tall on the long ago deserted parade ground of old Fort Bowie. Today Fort
Bowie is fast disappearing, crumbling back into the earth, but it is a fascinating and
nostalgic reminder of the tough pioneers who won the West for us...(Trip takes all day.
All levels of experience.)
 
"Chiricahua National
Monument"
~ Offered Tuesdays - Weather Permitting ~
This spectacular
canyon with its fantastic rock formations is probably the least known of America's
National Parks, and yet is one of the most beautiful. For many years after the early
settlers arrived in this valley, the canyon remained totally undiscovered by the white
man, although it was used as a place of refuge by the Apache. In the 1870's, a detachment
of Buffalo Soldiers, the famous black cavalry, was camped at the mouth of Bonita Canyon,
to prevent Indians from escaping into its wilderness. It was not until the 1920's that an
early settler, Ed Riggs, discovered its wonders while looking for lost cattle. He
petitioned the government to protect the area for future generations by designating it a
National Park. In the 1930's the Civilian Conservation Corps camped in the canyon and
constructed the miles of winding, superbly designed trails which enable us to explore the
area today. We trailer the horses to the parking lot of the Far-away  Ranch, once the home
of Ed and Lillian Riggs. From there we ride past the recently restored homestead, an
interesting example of early Arizona architecture, through rolling meadows of ranch
country, and then up a steeply ascending trail winding through tall pines reminiscent of
Montana. After many switchbacks, each one revealing more breathtaking scenery, we arrive
in the almost lunar landscape of Balancing Rock and the Heart of Rocks - an outing you
will never forget. This trail is not for novice riders, as it is steep, with switchbacks
and steep drop-offs. This trip may not be possible in winter, as the elevation is 7,000
feet. Turkey Creek is offered as an alternative.
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