With nothing better to do on an unseasonably warm February day, I decided, “I want to go explore Geronimo’s Cave.” So off I went.
Geronimo’s Cave is in the Robledo Mountain Wilderness Area near Dona Ana. It’s the same area where the Prehistoric Trackways Monument is. There is so much history in these mountains, including old missions and Native American ruins and the abandoned Fort Seldon. An old heliograph station is on Lookout Peak B, a hike I hope to do in the near future.
The name is based on a legend where troops were chasing Geronimo in the Las Cruces area, and he ran into this cave and somehow emerged from the other side of the Robledos. Nobody has been able to find his exit passage. It also isn’t clear how far back people have gone in this cave, but I have heard that the air gets bad and you probably need oxygen at some point. Funnily enough, there is the exact same legend about another Geronimo’s Cave in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. I haven’t been able to verify if the legend is true or if Geronimo was ever actually in the Las Cruces area.
The way to the trail is wrong on AllTrails. It took me a good hour just to locate the correct road. It is Hayride Road. You drive back until you reach the Rio Grande and a big pink sign.
Then you just follow the river toward a low-lying mesa that juts out into the river.
Park there and cross the river, which is usually shallow. There was a little crossing built out of rocks and some guys were building an even better bridge when I crossed. I have no idea what crossing is like now that the dam has been opened for irrigation season.
The trail forms a tunnel under some salt cedar. On the other side of the tunnel, turn right and you will find the trailhead amid a jumble of rocks. It isn’t well-marked but you can see a well-worn path heading up the side of the mesa amid lots of rocks.
The trail is not well-marked at all. There are a couple wooden posts that may or may not be trail markers. Some people have kindly put down cairns or rock arrows, but for the most part, the trail is easy to follow because it has become a groove worn into the sensitive desert floor. However, there were a few parts where I got a little sidetracked. Just keep going toward the Robledos up ahead and the rocky cranny; that’s where the cave is. AllTrails is pretty accurate once you’re actually on the trail, too.
The rockhound in me was salivating this whole hike. I took pictures of the incredible rocks, but they don’t do them justice so I won’t be posting them. Sparkly granite and — seemed to be predominant.
The trail was easy but it could be challenging in summer because there is NO shade. It is flat and easy until this ledge, when my fear of heights made me a little queasy. The trail follows the edge of the mesa and curves past the right side of this ledge before entering the cranny in the mountains where the cave is.
The cave mouth finally came into sight around here. I was getting excited!
I kept going until I was in the rocky cranny where the cave is tucked away. The trail gets really rocky here and you could see how a fall could be easy, and deadly. I imagined the fear Shawn Allen Tise must have felt and I could see how this terrain killed him. With care, I picked my way over some big rocks and advanced into the cave.
Once in the cave, I noticed it was significantly cooler than outside and had a strong musty smell. The roof was colored black from soot, much like La Cueva in the Organs, opposite side of the Mesilla Valley. I imagine people have stayed in there, and indigenous people probably used it as a shelter.
I wanted to creep farther back, but claustrophobia set in. Even with my headlamp, it was really dark. I worried someone was possibly living or just hanging out in the shadows, waiting for a long woman like me to come along. Maybe I just have an overactive imagination, thanks to my obsession with true crime. Maybe I was just panicking because of what I knew happened here to Shawn Allen Tise. Anyway, I decided to just rest in the cave mouth, as I glanced uneasily at the shadows deeper in the cave. Pity, because I wanted to find Geronimo’s exit!
It was sad that people have been out here doing graffiti. Someone else appeared to have gotten a lot of it scrubbed off the rock. There were also some stalagmites and stalactites that appeared to be broken off. Why can’t we just leave Nature alone and appreciate it for its uniqueness? Why must we leave our ugly marks on everything?
All snacked and rested up, I decided to return. I passed a couple who asked if I went into the cave. I told them it creeped me out and they joked about taking pictures in it and seeing a figure in the background. “That’s why I didn’t go in there!” I laughed.
The hike back was even pleasanter as I had a view of the Organs and the entire Mesilla Valley. The nearby area is host to a lot of farming and neatly tended fields. The Rio Grande winds along, shrouded by salt cedars and cottonwoods. I love how hiking always gives me a sense of how vast the world is, and how small I really am, just a lucky participant in a universe far beyond my comprehension.
Maybe next time I’ll take a companion and actually explore the cave. Until then, I’m filing this away as one of many wonderful afternoons exploring my beloved Land of Enchantment (Entrapment?).
A site with good info on the area:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-201400387/html/DCPD-201400387.htm