Standing left to right: Mary Hlusko, Chris Wehrli, Melissa White, Mary Kopp, Margrit Wehrli, Roger Hove, Carol and Greg Lindahl and Denise Anthony. Kneeling: Bonnie Simpson; not pictured: Walt Shields, guide
Walt Shields
Cochise was the most feared of the Chiricahua Apaches. During a period from 1860 to 1870, he and his braves conducted numerous raids on white settlements, miners and stagecoaches. The warriors hid out in an area of the Dragoon Mountains, 60 miles east of Tucson, known today as Cochise Stronghold.
The site is characterized by huge monoliths of stone and jumbled boulders making it an impregnable fortress. Sentinels constantly on watch from the towering pinnacles of rock could spot their enemies in the valley below and swoop down without warning. Following his death in 1874, Cochise was buried somewhere among the rocks in a secret site that was never revealed.
Recently a group of 11 hikers from the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club climbed 1,200 feet up the Cochise Stronghold Trail that afforded many beautiful vistas of the stone towers. We could almost feel the spirit of Cochise looking down on us from among the beautiful rock formations.