I found this unpublished draft:
It is time to step back for a moment from the urgency of the Horseshoe Two Fire, and to reflect on just why the Chiricahua Mountains are so important to so many people.
Many people, entering Cave Creek Canyon for the first time, are staggered by its beauty. Then they start to notice the particulars of the place.
It is possible to tally up the lists of marvelous creatures––Elegant Trogons, Ringtails, a rainbow of hummingbird species, tiny Twin-spotted Rattlesnakes, Colorado Hairstreaks, Chiricahua Whites, Coatis, Thurber’s Cinquefoil, Chiricahua Leopard Frogs––but a list of the biodiversity, however impressive, doesn’t capture this place. Instead you need to immerse yourself in it, eyes and ears open. The magic lies in the experience of place and not in any catalog of its wonders. Photos may be evocative, but they won’t take you there. Virtual doesn’t work. You must come to this place and sink into its solitude to know it. Very soon, it is unforgettable, staying with you for the rest of your life.
Male Montezuma Quail (Photo by Narca)
The first time I entered this mountain fastness in 1975, it felt like coming home. Back then, we could camp at the South Fork picnic area, so when we arrived at about 1 AM after a marathon drive, I threw a sleeping bag on the ground, then woke to the barking of trogons. South Fork is lined with white-barked sycamores which glow in the moonlight. A dark shape stealing through the shadows might be a Black Bear (if big) or an Apache Fox Squirrel (if small). A Canyon Wren’s cascading music bounces off canyon walls; he is dapper in his cinnamon vest.
Immersion in the canyon is an immersion in color. The burnt orange of the cliffs shifts with the changing sunlight, through the full range of burnt tawny to pumpkin, all of it dappled in green lichens. An intensely blue sky burns behind the orange cliffs. The oaks are strange, with their leathery leaves, silvered on the back.
The South Fork “Bathtub” (Photo by Narca)
You have arrived on sacred ground.