Cave of the Bells

Some people call it spelunking but I prefer the less pretentious term caving. My friends Aaron, Nick, Connor and Daina made the journey to this Coronado National Forest treasure, Cave of the Bells. This cave got its name from formations deep within the earth that resonate like bells when struck. To reach this cave by vehicle you will need four wheel drive. If you have enough time you could always park and hike in if you are lacking a four wheel drive vehicle. When caving bring clothes that you do not mind getting muddy, good hiking boots, a head lamp, extra batteries, and a back-up light. The Forest Service keeps this cave locked up to help preserve its beauty. If you enter the cave please leave as little impact on this natural wonder as possible. The key can be obtained with a one hundred dollar deposit from the Coronado National Forest Office at 300 W Congress St. on the 6th floor. Here is the a forest service website with more information on the cave: cave of the bells website

This is a map of the cave's location.



Forest Road 4086, the road that leads to the cave, is labeled so keep an eye out for this road. Forest road 4086 ends at a circle and there is a well worn path leading up the wash to the cave. After unlocking the gate to the cave, the next obstacle is a narrow crawl into the cave. Once in the cave there is a guest registry and some information. The cave is marked with small red reflective tape for the main passage into the cave, and white reflective tape for the main passage out of the cave.



It was sad to see some of the formations broken.



The formations in this living cave are incredible.



These are my friends at the furthest point into the cave that we ventured.

Seven Cataracts Canyoneering Adventure

A view from seven cataracts vista

This is a canyoneering adventure. You will need rappelling equipment and a rope to complete the journey. My friend and I did this in September. The weather was great for our trip but I recommend doing this canyon when there is a lot of water flowing through the canyon. I This is a view of the canyon from Seven Cataracts vista. As you are driving up Mt. Lemmon Seven Cataracts vista will be on your left about mile marker 9. It is good to leave a car here and take another car up to Windy Point. My friend and I took one car to Windy Point and hitchhiked back up which is possible as well. Windy point, about mile marker 14, is the beginning of the journey and is labeled in green. The red line is the approximate path down the canyon.

The Start



This is Carrie and myself at Windy Point. Windy Point is about mile marker 14 and the beginning of the hike. From Windy Point follow the path past the bathrooms on the left side of the road. Once past the bathrooms start to head right. You will need to bushwhack your way into the canyon but if you continue heading right, there is no way you can miss it. The following picture is Carrie fighting with the bushes on the way into the canyon.



Into The Canyon

I was relieved to step into the canyon because I knew the bushwacking was over. The downhill bushwacking can be intense but it is not long I think Carrie and I made it from trail to canyon floor in 20 minutes. From here the route finding should be pretty easy, just follow the canyon. We brought a 60 meter rope and needed to do a total of 6 rappels down 4 drop offs. All the webbing and rap rings appear in good condition. If you brought your own, you would need enough for 6 rappel stations.



This is a picture of me being happy I made it into the canyon.



This is Carrie at the first rappel station.



This is looking down the first rappel. After you reach the bottom, cross the stream using the log in the picture. The second rappel station is just on the other side.



This is the fourth rappel.



The fifth and very short rappel. If you have a 70 meter rope, then you do not need to use this rappel station as you will reach the ground from the fourth rappel. There was a tree slung with webbing and set up with rap rings.



This is a frog.



This is Carrie pulling the rope from the last rappel. With a 60 meter rope this is the ledge we got of the rappel on. From this ledge you can jump into the water, or scramble over some rocks to the ground. We chose to scramble over the rocks and save our lunches from being soaked.



This is the final pool after the last rappel. I was really excited to find a rope swing in Tucson. From this pool there will be a path leading back to Seven Cataracts Vista. You are able to see the parking pullout from here; so finding your way back shouldn't prove too difficult

Vision

I want to create a space where I can post directions and photos for Adventures in the desert. Recently a friend and I did the Seven Cataracts rappels on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ. I would like to post the information about this trip and this seems like the perfect place to do it.