Mount Graham and the Pinalenos

Mountains of contrast: from desert to dense forest, from ice age to tomorrow's technology...

From the beige desert valleys at its base, the massive dark green bulk of Mount Graham thrusts abruptly to an elevation of 10,717 feet, forming the highest peak in southeastern Arizona's Pinaleno Mountains and the greatest vertical rise of any mountain in the state. Within this span are life zones ranging from the lower Sonoran to the Hudsonian, encompassing virtually every type of climate encountered from the southern Arizona desert to Canada's Hudson Bay. But this striking contrast between verdant mountain forest and arid lowland did not always exist. At one time all was green above the desert like a cool green archipelago in a sea of tannish brown.

About 11,000 years ago, when the Pleistocene Epoch and its last ice age were drawing to a close, piñon and juniperstudded grasslands covered the vast basins, and Canadian-type fir forests clung to the flanks of all the rugged ice-capped mountains that punctuated southern Arizona. As the climate slowly warmed, the ice receded, the fir forests climbed to the mountaintops, and the Sonoran Desert invaded the lowlands. Today, on a scattering of ranges the Pinalenos, Santa Catalinas, Huachucas, Chiricahuas, Santa Teresas, Galiuros-the forests remain, floating On Mount Graham's northern and eastern exposures, scientists have found protalus ramparts, remnants of that last ice age. These semicircular alignments of piled boulders, sand, and clay were pushed downhill by the ice that capped the peak year-round and were left behind when the climate warmed and the ice melted. These deposits, scientists claim, are evidence of some of the southernmost examples of permanent ice in the world.

Several kinds of plants and animals, isolated when the Sonoran Desert first surrounded the mountains, have evolved over thousands of years into separate species and subspecies. Among Graham's unique plants, Rusby's mountain fleabane, a wild daisy, is best known. Three animals-the white-bellied vole, the Mount Graham pocket gopher, and the Mount Graham spruce squirrel-exist here and nowhere else in the world.

Because of the Pinaleno range's climatic diversity, a wide variety of wildlife roams its 200 square miles. Scurrying among the cacti and creosote bushes at the base of the range, the kangaroo rat has best adapted to its desert environs. By means of a superefficient metabolism, it extracts from its food all the moisture it needs to sustain life. The black-tailed jackrabbit, another expert at desert survival, stays comfortable in the high summer temperatures by dispersing excess body heat through numerous blood vessels in its thin outsized ears. "Pig-like" javelinas are actually wild peccaries whose favorite food is the prickly pear cactus. Herds of 10 to 20 of these animals roam the lower elevations of the Pinalenos and are known to be somewhat cantankerous. Javelinas also have been sighted at elevations up to 6,500 feet.

adapted to its desert environs. By means of a superefficient metabolism, it extracts from its food all the moisture it needs to sustain life. The black-tailed jackrabbit, another expert at desert survival, stays comfortable in the high summer temperatures by dispersing excess body heat through numerous blood vessels in its thin outsized ears. "Pig-like" javelinas are actually wild peccaries whose favorite food is the prickly pear cactus. Herds of 10 to 20 of these animals roam the lower elevations of the Pinalenos and are known to be somewhat cantankerous. Javelinas also have been sighted at elevations up to 6,500 feet.

Coyotes, perhaps the most adaptable mammals in North America, occur here through a wide range of elevations, serenading campers year-round. They perform their nightly concerts in the warm foothills and high deserts during the winter and in summer move to higher, cooler elevations. Among the other mammals that migrate up and down the mountain with the seasons are whitetail and mule deer. Campers often see them grazing in the lush meadows of the upper slopes in summer. An animal most people would rather not encounter is the skunk, but no less than four species of the little intimidators wander these mountains.

In the Pinalenos, black bears are the mammals voted most likely to get your attention (yes, even more so than skunks). And a handful roam over much of the range. Brother Bruin eats nearly everything from roots and berries to rodentseven carrion left by mountain lions and bobcats. Bears also can acquire a taste for the food we humans like-one reason campers and picnickers are admonished to dispose of their trash properly, either in refuse containers at campgrounds or by carrying it out. Never feed the bears. Although a bear will occasionally wander into a campground and stir up excitement, no one has ever been attacked in the Pinalenos. In truth, the chance of actually seeing a bear is pretty slim. The animals usually spot humans first and avoid them.

Carrie Templin is an exception. As a resource clerk with Coronado National Forest, which takes in the Pinalenos, she's seen a few bears on her backcountry rambles and always thought it exciting to watch the large lumbering beasts from a safe distance. But once a yearling bear gave her more than the usual thrill. As she hiked down the Ladybug Trail, the young animal appeared ahead of her in the middle of the narroWpath. Carrie made plenty of noise and tried to shoo it away, but the yearling wouldn't budge. So she detoured in a wide arc through the brush, making sure she kept plenty of space between her and the bear.

But once back on the trail, she found the bear waiting for her at the next switchback. Again she detoured, and again the bear cut her off. Then, inexplicably, the animal tired of the game and ambled off, and Carrie made it safely home.

Later she learned that campers had been feeding the bear at Turkey Flat; so probably all he wanted was a handout. "All I wanted," Carrie exclaimed, "was to get off that mountain!"

At the end of the last ice age, mammoths, not black bears, were the biggest beasts roaming the region. Stone spear points used on weapons of early hunters have been found within mammoth remains excavated along the San Pedro River by teams of archeologists from the University of Arizona led by C. Vance Haynes. Dating of evidence from these sites tells us early man hunted the huge creatures 11,200 years ago.

After the ice age passed and the deserts claimed the valleys, members of what anthropologists call the Cochise culture foraged successfully in the lower elevations around the Pinalenos. Later, traders from Mexico and Central America brought pottery and farming to the people of the Cochise culture, which then evolved into what scientists call the Mogollon. The Mogollons crafted beautiful sturdy pottery, of which the most highly prized is the Mimbres, made in western New Mexico's Mimbres River Valley (Arizona Highways, January, 1984).

Successful farmers, the Mogollon people cultivated nearly every arable acre in the upper Gila River Valley, even to the lower reaches of the mountains. Furrowed fields still mark several mesas where prehistoric workers tilled the land, watering their crops with runoff from the steep slopes above. During the late Mogollon era, some of the Hohokam, another advanced farming culture in central Arizona, moved into the upper Gila Valley and coexisted peacefully with the Mogollon. Dr. Pam Rule of the Museum of Anthropology at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher reckons the valley was more heavily populated then than now.

Although predominantly farmers, these people also hunted the abundant game of the Pinalenos and held religious observances on the heights. In time the advanced Mogollon and Hohokam cultures disappeared. The area was virtually deserted when the Spanish explorer Coronado and his entourage skirted the mountains in 1540 in search of gold and the Seven Cities of Cibola.

Apache Indians, the next group to enjoy the Pinalenos' beauty and abundance, migrated into the area from Canada along the Rocky Mountains shortly after Coronado's entrada, possibly as early as 1550, but definitely by 1570. They had settled in and were leading the good life-hunting and gathering and raiding other Indian tribes when the Spanish tried to colonize southeastern Arizona. Hostilities between the two cultures escalated, and numerous bloody encounters between the Apaches and the Spanish (and later Mexican) pioneers discouraged European settlement. The name Pinaleno came into use as a Spanish derivation of the Apache word pinal for "deer."

In 1846, Lieutenant William H. Emory led the advance guard of Kearny's Army of the West along the Gila River at the base of the range and named Mount Graham. Exactly whom Emory intended to honor is now uncertain, but historians suggest the most likely candidate was Lieutenant Colonel James D. Graham of the Corps of Topographical Engineers.

By 1871 the Pinalenos belonged to the United States, and the "Apache problem" belonged to Brigadier General George Crook: it was up to him to "pacify" the hostiles. For months the skilled guerrilla fighters led Crook's troops on grueling chases through the hot desert valleys and rugged mountains of southern Arizona, including the Pinalenos. While in pursuit, Crook and some of his men rested beside Post Creek, a fast-flowing stream overlooking the Sulphur Springs Valley. It was there he decided to relocate Camp Grant, previously on Aravaipa Creek at its juncture with the San Pedro River. Named for Ulysses S. Grant, the camp on the Pinalenos' southwest slope later became a fort and served as an important Army post throughout the Apache wars and the latter years of the turbulent 1800s. Nearly everyone who passed through southern Arizona in those years stopped at Fort Grant, including the notorious gunslinger Billy the Kid and the author of The Virginian, Owen Wister. Near the top of the mountains, two other old military sites still carry historic place names. Hospital Flat, a lush mountain meadow watered by a clear cold stream and carpeted with thick summer grass and wildflowers, today hosts campers and picnickers. But in the days of wool uniforms and no air conditioning, the hospital the Army built there offered cool respite from the desert heat for the sick and wounded soldiers of Fort Grant. The other site is Heliograph Peak. Atop this vantage point in 1886, during his campaign against the Apache warrior Geronimo, Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles built a mirrored sun-reflecting signal tower, or heliograph, to communicate with his troops ranging over southern Arizona. These mountains, an unparalleled treasure of natural and human history, presently face two seemingly divergent proposals for the use of their highest peak, Mount Graham. At press time, in August, the land managers of the Coronado National Forest were completing the last stages of an environmental impact statement for the summit of Mount Graham, which includes proposals for an observatory site with from five to ten telescopes plus a 123-acre special use area surrounding the development in which campfires would be prohibited. Just below the telescope site, the Forest Service recommends setting aside an additional 1,000 acres as wilderness, and 569 acres as a zoological/ botanical safe zone for rare animals and plants. The final statement was scheduled to be released in late summer 1987. If the proposals are approved, the latest in astronomical technology will be placed within a stone's throw of the last remaining habitat of the Mount Graham spruce squirrel and the 11,000-year-old remains of the last ice age.

WHEN YOU GO... The Pinaleno Mountains (Mount Graham)

Getting there: The easiest way to explore the Pinaleno Mountains is by car on the Swift Trail, a 42-mile (29 miles paved) two-lane road that switchbacks from the desert near Safford to near the top of Mount Graham. Drive south from downtown Safford on U.S. Route 666 for nine miles and turn right on the Swift Trail. There are no gas stations, stores, or restaurants along the way; so gas up in Safford and carry food and water. Also, since the trip takes you to the high, cool country, bring warm clothes. From October through May, the upper reaches are closed because of snow accumulation.

Where to stay: Safford has the nearest motels (eight of them). Roper Lake State Park has campsites with electrical hookups, showers, and a natural hot spring (fee required). Campgrounds in the mountains have running water but no electricity (fee also required). Campsites are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Summer weekends are the busiest; so get there early.

What to see and do: The 412-hour round-trip drive on the Swift Trail (not including side trips) takes you past picnic sites, campgrounds, an apple orchard, Ladybug Saddle (where large numbers of the colorful insects congregate in certain seasons), trout streams, two small lakes, numerous scenic overlooks, Forest Service lookout towers, and miles and miles of hiking trails. The mountain (except for a few small parcels of private land) is part of the Coronado National Forest and is yours to roam. Be sure to obey the fire danger warnings and, if you plan to fish, be sure to bring your license or purchase one in Safford.

In winter the snow-covered roads and hiking trails of the heights provide miles of adventures for cross-country skiers. Bring your own equipment; there are no rental facilities in the area.For more information: Coronado National Forest, Safford Ranger District, P. O. Box 709, Safford, AZ 85548; telephone 428-4150.