The Forbidding Reputation and Hypnotic Scenery of the Devil’s Highway

I hate seeing articles like this. It dispels the East of Hudsoner's notion of the desert as an empty wasteland and makes them think they want to live here. BTW, there are a few groups who sometimes walk this route over the course of several days. In the winter, of course.

I grew up on the beach. But for the last 20 years I have lived by the Sonoran Desert. Beaches require a change of clothes, a parking space you often pay for, and lotion and salt water and sand all over you, your car and maybe your house. The desert requires drinking water and little else. A beach is a natural attraction that you share with crowds. A desert is a natural attraction that is pretty much deserted. Hence the name. Once you come to love the desert—and most do— the beach is just too much of a hassle.

"Undocumented immigrants — whether families or, more commonly, drug mules — have long been a fact of life on the Camino." To suggest that among undocumented immigrants there are more drug mules than families is an unbelievably ignorant statement for the NYTs to publish.

This is brilliantly and brutally beautiful. Thanks.

If you'd like a good look at how the native people lived here there are two excellent books. They are the people's own story in their own words. One is about the Western Apache and the other is about the Eastern Apache. They were interviewed by writers who were friends of their's. I can't remember the dates of the interviews but it was probably the early 1900's and the people interviewed were the actual participants and children of the very old ones. They present a very different view of the life, culture and events of those olden days. One example is that they did not have that much of a problem getting guns. It was bullets that were hard to come by. One event related was how they would get those bullets by sneaking into Army forts and stealing them. A project said to involve great skills of observation and stealth. Among other things they related how you could tell Eastern Apache from the Western Apache because the Easterner women always had at least two guns.

Wonderful story. What the writer did not mention is that there probably is no cell services so if one gets into trouble using a cell phone to call fo help is not going to happen. I'd advise anyone who goes to invest in a Personal Locator Beacon which. PLBs use the geocentric Satellite systems to send emergency messages to a clearing house that sends Search and Rescue units to help. As a backpacker I've used one for years without having to call for help. The most flexible are the Garmin Inreach or the SPOTx. both allow non-emergency one and two way messaging in addition to their use in emergencies. They work where there is no cell service.

The great explorer and anthropologist Lumholtz traveled through here with the indigenous people over a hundred years ago. They traveled at night and new where every source of water was to be found. I went through here back in the 70s and was lucky to see an indigenous individual crossing the road on his way to somewhere. He was totally covered with only his eyes and hands exposed to the summer sun. I remember thinking how he was not some modern fluff individual.

Kudos and applause to Mr. Benanav for living dangerously and living to report his perilous journey. Surprising though that, among all the preparations and precautions made for this trip, he does not mention any firearms carried by him for self-defense and the defense of others, in eventual need of it on the way.

Does anyone know if there are any ghost stories attached to this area? I'm researching a kidbook on ghosts and would like to feature this historical road! Thanks for your input!

You can get this same feeling by driving in the Tonto NF area in AZ. Easier roads, beautiful scenery, but a bit more traffic.

I WILL admit to feeling a bit misled by the title. I thought it was going to be an article on old US 666- ALSO known as the Devil's Highway [complete with US Highway markings and all!] It was a N-S highway that paralleled Arizona-New Mexico Boarder, until running through SW Colorado and turning into Utah. I remember driving it when camping on the Dine reservation, near Canyon de Chelly and then over by 4 Corners. That was in January 2002. Beautiful to see snow on green trees and red soil, with Anasazi ruins above them in the canyons. Sometime after that the name was changed from US 666 to something else, in the high 400s, I believe. I was thinking it would describe that highway. This dirt path is more to my tastes than what I thought, so I was pleasantly surprised!I thought this was a thoroughly enjoyable article that is about as close to doing justice for the beauty of the desert as can be. I've driven this route, done some rockhounding out of Quartzite, camped around the Salton Sea, as well as camping in the Chiricahua National Monument. There is definitely beauty there for the beholder, and late spring is truly the best time to experience it. Thank you for providing another route to explore!

I lived in the Sonoran desert for 25 years, leaving only for a job. I've worked every year since to get back. 2 years to go. The writing easily took me into the mystery and beauty - and history! - of my beloved "homeland." Previous comments point to the paved camino to see the area and the wealth of history, beauty, and desert around Tucson. Biodiversity from the Santa Cruz basin to the sky islands of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Takes special prep to go on the journey described. Enjoy the read. Leave the journey to the well prepared . Better yet, leave it to the ancient ones.

This experience ,again is only one of the thousands of factual examples of proof why the American south west was never part of Mexico.The most important is while ruling Mexico and the Mexican people the Spanish ruling class became quickly disinterested in the lands beyond the historical and Native border of the Rio Grande.In short ,temperatures that hover in the 120's to even 130 degrees ,no water sources tons of rattlesnakes and inhospitable tribes kept the Spanish ,and Mexicans for the part away for many centuries.Most important there were no cultures based upon Gold as were all the Spanish conquests. Gold ,as history states lay openly in the stream beds near the few abandoned Spanish missions until American pioneers made the easy discovery in California. The mission at the Alamo in Texas had been abandoned for a few centuries until American pioneers arrived there and only then did the newly established Mexican government try to invade the Texas territory.

Added to my bucket list.

I've done this drive twice and it is truly the most remote experience that can be had in the lower 48. Taking hikes (carefully -- it's easy to get lost; distances and direction can be confusing in the desert) from our campsites, I found bighorn sheep, a mountainside scattered with perfect quartz crystals, and enormous shedded rattlesnake skins. There is nothing like spending 3 or 4 days in a vast and dramatic space without seeing another human.

Long journeys through deserts have biblical implications that certainly ‘tempt’ the need to sample this kind of transformative experience.

Did the Hia C’ed O’odham walk single file to hide their numbers?

Next time in Arizona and California.

I'm so glad you gave a shout-out to the beauty and biodiversity of the Sonoran desert. Last July I was in Tucson for work, and in the course of a week (courtesy of the monsoons) it transformed from bone-dry and brown to filled with swimming holes, baby-green leaves and shoots everywhere. There's nothing better than floating in a desert canyon swimming hole, looking up at the rocky outcroppings.

Thx for clarifying what has always seemed a mystery to me- the actual vastness of the American desert.

Added to my to-do list.

Great article, Michael - well done!! Having been in similar circumstances a few times myself, I love well-written (real) stories where one feels "alone on the planet" in a desert or in a mountain range, etc.

Just add this to my list of places to go. Thanks for the images too.

Great article but I pray that this article doesn’t open the floodgates to hordes of lookie loo’s!

I share your love of the desert. Great trek and nice write up, I'd love to give this a go myself.

Great article. Can't wait to try it.

Kudos to the author. Nice article and photos.

A wonderful read. Makes me want to rent and pack up a truck and head out.

Lovely, inspiring. I’ve just been introduced to a new passion and pursuit. I am considering a bike packing version.

I was thoroughly immersed in these mountains and frankly, would have happily read more. What a truly relaxing and mind-opening trip to take.

Thanks for a nice article!. A bit of self reliance now and then can set one up for one of the nicest addictions going: love of wilderness!

What a treat to read your trek article this morning. You have put a spotlight on one of the beautiful parts of the southwest and the States. For those less intrepid travelers, I recommend route 86 out of Tucson thru Sells and Covered Wells to Why, then south on 85 to Organ Pipe National Monument. It is all paved, but again, cell contact may be iffy. The flower blooms February and March are often stunning. The travel weather late October thru early April is usually pleasant with cold nights. NYT did an article about the area east and south of Tucson in 2013, "Linda Ronstadt's Borderland" which is dandy reading, as well. I hope many people are inspired by your trip to travel this route, either on or off road, to experience why the people who live in the desert love it so much.

If you want a little tamer version, the bio-diverse desert around Tucson is easily available and impressive to see. We have a National Park at the city boundaries, Saquaro Nat'l Park has two units, one on either side of the city. The east unit is only 5 miles from where I live and has hiking up into the Rincon Mountains. The northern Sonora is such an amazing place, more like a desert jungle than a lifeless place of sand and stone. Come in late fall, winter, or early spring, when it's cooler. Summer heat here begins in mid to late May and may last into November. It's a pretty wonderful place to visit.