The following is an excerpt from "Cochise Stronghold: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave", an article recounting one author's experience visiting Stronghold Canyon:"I wonder how long water has flowed in this short strip of canyon. And I find the answer carved in stone: more grinding holes in boulders in midstream and at streamside, including some that are not round but sluice or trough-shaped, perhaps for washing clothes.
Like the others I've found, these mortars are in the 'best' places. Places where black and yellow butterflies dance through dappled light above a small waterfall; places where the fragrance of mint leaf floats up the canyon on a light breeze; places where brown towhees scratch around in dead leaves on the bank; places where water striders dart across the surface of a still pool in which a single white feather floats among fallen leaves.
Constantly in this spot, I'm reminded of the human quest for beauty. Philosophers speak of the "collective unconscious" or of "archetypal patterns" in human experience to explain this need to discover beauty in the natural world and, having found it, to celebrate both the beauty and one's response to it, to leave something behind-- a red-ocher swirl on a rock , perhaps--that says, 'I was here; I saw this'."
-Tom Dollar
You too can experience the beauty and wonder of Stronghold Canyon-
Getting there: In wet weather, travel into the west side of the stronghold should be attempted only in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. In fair weather, access is possible in a light truck or auto with high-ground clearance. Take interstate 10 to Benson and turn south on State Route 80 to Middlemarch Road, approximately 1 mile north of Tombstone (milepost 315). Travel east on Middlemarch 10 miles to Forest service road 687. Drive north approximately 6.6 miles to FS 687K; turn east to Counsil Rocks. The trailhead into West stronghold Canyon is approximately 4.0 milea northeast of Council Rocks via FS 687.
The east side of Cochise Stronghold is the easiest to get to by auto. Take I-10 east from Tucson to state Route 666 (milepost 331). Turn south approximately 12 miles to the sign marking entrance to the stronghold. Turn wesr approximately 10 miles to the Forst Service campground.
Other area attractions: The American Foundation museum and archeological research facility near dragoon (exit I-10 at milepost 318); Tombstone: the town "too tough to die;" scenic Willcox Playa; the Cochise Visitor Center at Willcox; the ghost towns of Courtland and Gleeson.
Where to stay: Motel accomodations and restaurants are available in Benson, Tombstone, and Willcox. Twenty-three campsites are available at the Forest Service campground on the east side of Cochise Stronghold.
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