Wilson Canyon Trail

Impressive rock formations adorn the sections that opened to public tours in November, the most accessible of 2.4 miles of mapped passages that twist and turn to at least 200 feet beneath the surface. Scientists have found an intriguing scattering of fossils in the new section, including the centuryold bones of a coyote lost in the midst of the Big Room. The body of an ancient bat has been fused with the floor, as were the bones of the 86,000-year-old (now extinct) giant ground sloth. The wide variety of fragile formations, called speleothems, remain the cave's chief draw, both in the new Big Room section and in the previously opened Rotunda Room (230 feet by 120 feet) and the Throne Room (170 feet by 145 feet), where tours are limited to 500 visitors per day and the waiting list for phonein reservations stretches for months— especially on weekends.

The formations, known as stalactites, soda straws, stalagmites, columns, semitransparent draperies of stone, parachutes, turnips, flowstones, popcorn, helecites, birdsnest quartz and boxwork, demonstrate the astonishing flexibility of stone. One 21-foot-2-inch-long soda straw made of dripped calcite rates as one of the longest such features in the world.

The neck-craning, breath-catching tour of the Big Room and the Strawberry Room spurs one long exclamation. Exquisitely thin stone hangs like curtains from the ceiling, as deftly positioned lights illuminate its undulating striations. Ceilings bristle with thickets of stalactites that taper downward to wire-thin points. Massive stalagmite spires of colorful rock rise from the floor, reaching toward the spikes hanging from the ceiling. The whole crescendo of calcite is so fused, melted, strange and colorful that even Disney would not dare such absurd overstatement.

The extravagantly decorated cave offers a vivid lesson in geology and geochemistry. The cave runs along a splintering of faults in beds of 320-million-year-old escabrosa limestone, composed of the compressed skeletons of ancient sea creatures. Buried and fused, the limestone layers were pressed again toward the surface between 15 and 5 million years ago. Groundwater seeping through the fault zones created Kartchner and other limestone caves scattered throughout southeast Arizona. After creating the cavern, water formed stalactites and stalagmites drip by drip. Release of carbon dioxide from the mineral-rich water dripping into the cave prompted the minerals to crystallize. This created the formations that have grown like living things throughout the caves in the past 200,000 years. The rate of growth peaked perhaps 70,000 years ago and dwindled to an excruciating drip when the end of the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago, dried out the Southwest.

Although, Kartchner remains a "living cave," building its formations at a rate almost imperceptible in a single, pitifully brief human lifetime. The bats come each season, the mites dig blindly in the guano, the bones of giants lie frozen into the floor and the Earth takes a sixmonth breath-lost in deep dreams. All the while, the curious humans go down into the cave to stand and stare and wonder in the heart of the Earth-among the tumescent tissues of calcite and crystal. Al [LEFT] Only recently opened to the public, the Big Room, the Strawberry Room and the Cul-deSac dramatically expand the Kartchner Caverns experience. [ABOVE] A "living cave," Kartchner Caverns grows and evolves as deposits from gently seeping groundwater add to its varied formations. ARIZONA STATE PARKS LOCATION: Approximately 50 miles southeast of Tucson.

GETTING THERE: Follow Interstate 10 to the Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca Exit 302, just west of Benson. Turn south onto State Route 90 and drive about 9 miles to the park.

HOURS: Open daily, 7:30 A.M. to 6 Р.М., except Christmas Day.

FEES: Two tours are now offered. The Big Room tour is $22.95, 14 and older; $12.95 for children 7-13. Children under 7 are not permitted on Big Room tours. The Big Room will be open for tours October 15 through April 15.

The Rotunda/Throne Room tour is $18.95 for adults, $9.95 for children 7-13, and there is no charge for children under 7. For visitors without a tour reservation, a park entrance fee of $5 per carload of four people is charged for picnicking or hiking in the park.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: Reservations are often filled months in advance, but a limited number of walk-up tickets are available each day when the park opens. Cavern tour trails are wheelchairaccessible, but strollers for children are prohibited.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Kartchner Caverns State Park, (520) 586-4100; for reservations (520) 586-CAVE, www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/kartchner.html.

Wilson Canyon Offers a Short Trek in a Fragrant Forest Near Sedona

CALLING HIKERS TOWARD RED-ROCK spires and variegated cliffs, Wilson Canyon Trail meanders around fragrant Arizona cypress trees. The graceful trees add a sparkling scent of mint to this easy 1.5-mile trail. The trailhead, only about 2 miles from Sedona, lies in Oak Creek Canyon.

A favorite time to hike Wilson Canyon is late winter. When high-elevation snows melt, the cold, clear water musically trickles down the canyon. Terraced waterfalls in the intimate sylvan world seem to appear around every bend.

The trail parallels the canyon, crossing the unnamed stream several times. Piñon pine trees, one-seed junipers, hollyleaf buckthorns, yuccas and sugar sumacs grace the way. The walking proves easy, allowing plenty of opportunities to view the rock formations that shelter the tree-lined bowl.

Lava-capped Wilson Mountain towers to the north. At 7,122 feet, it ranks as the highest point in all of Red Rock Country. To the west rise Shiprock and Wilson Notch, formations carved from the pale Coconino sandstone. Below stand several spires in the red-orange Schnebly Hill formation.

In this setting, it seems the only real danger might be feeling overwhelmed by the majestic geology. But on a day in June 1885, bear hunter Richard Wilson made a fateful decision that cost him his life and put his name on the canyon.

The Arkansas native, who lived in Oak Creek Canyon, was walking with his dog toward town. A friend, away in Prescott, had Wilson's largecaliber bear-hunting rifle to be repaired. Wilson was scheduled to check on the man's family at their log cabin on the northern outskirts of town. There was no bridge crossing the gap of Wilson Canyon. Instead, the route detoured into the forested side canyon where travelers could cross.

Suddenly, a huge grizzly bear charged. Wilson fired at it with the small-caliber rifle he was carrying. The bear-only wounded-turned and ran away. Its blood and tracks led into the woods. The tough old hunter couldn't resist. He followed.

Nine days later, two horsemen found Wilson's body, his faithful dog waiting nearby. Wilson had been mauled. Half of his face was missing. Teeth marks cut deep into his boot heel. The men speculated that his last desperate act must have been climbing a nearby tree, its branch twisted and broken.

Modern-day hikers need not fear confronting a grizzly bear in Wilson Canyon - they no longer exist in the Arizona wild. Hikers might instead see the tracks of deer, javelinas or coyotes, and hear the echoing calls of ravens and scrub jays. Beyond 1.5 miles, the trail fades into the streambed. Turn around anywhere that feels satisfying. Perhaps, before heading back, take a moment to pause. Breathe in the primal energy of this sylvan canyon world, and save the memory for later.