Filmore Canyon Falls. Pic by B Pennington
Join Bureau of Land Management Monuments Archaeologist, Garrett Leitermann, for a hike that will have you stepping into the past at the Dripping Springs Natural Area. Meeting at the A.B. Cox Visitor Center, theb hike to two historical sites in the area. For over 5,000 years La Cueva (“The Cave”) has been home to many people including prehistoric Archaic and Jornada Mogollon people, Manso, Mescalero Apache, and cattle rustlers to name a few. More infamously the cave is home to one of the oldest cold cases in Las Cruces involving the death of El Hermitano (the hermit). Afterwards the hike to Fillmore Canyon/Modoc Mill where participants can hear the story of the rich mines that once dotted the western slopes of the Organ Mountains.
Meet at the Dripping Springs visitor center at 10 AM. Take I-10 West to I-25 North and take exit 1 University. Turn right onto University road, which becomes Dripping Springs Road. Stay on it all the was to the Dripping Springs visitor center.
Remember to dress appropriately and bring water, snacks, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and good hiking shoes. The hike will be approximately 3 hours and is of moderate difficulty. The hike will stay on established trails.
After your field trip, drive over to Mesilla, NM and have lunch at La Posta (MAP). Then, you might want to go a few blocks south and look for the grave of Giovanni Agostini (The Hermit) in the San Albino Cemetery. (MAP)
Modoc Mill facing Filmore Canyon. Photo dated 1902-1907.