peppersauce cave
a wonderful afternoon of safe spelunking
Peppersauce Cave is one of Tucson’s most extraordinary not-so hidden gems. This locals-only caving site has been a poorly kept secret for the better part of a century, though it’s likely many people knew about the cave far before some adventurous explorers bolted ladders to its floor. Hidden in the Santa Catalina Mountains and accessible only by miles of unmaintained road, Peppersauce Cave is tricky to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for. It’s a multi-step puzzle to locate, but so worthwhile: once inside, the cave is a maze of stalagmites and underground lakes, pieced together by blurry maps and glow in the dark arrows.
Cave exploration is an international pastime, and it’s no wonder why. Caves are exiting, ever-changing places full to the brim with adventure and danger. Some are miles long or deep, with narrow passages, winding trails, and low ceilings. There are many types of caves, and therefore many types of cave exploration. But one thing remains true for all caves: it’s dangerous to go alone.
If you’re looking to start your own caving journey but don’t have a buddy to go with, the National Speleological Society consists of thousands of cavers belonging to geographical units called grottos. These cavers explore in groups all over the United States, and they even have a branch local to our area. Aside from that, their website has great resources about geology, cave safety, and so much more.
Before Peppersauce, I had only explored caves through hikes in National Parks like Carlsbad Caverns. I knew how beautiful cave features could be and how just one tiny trickle of water could deposit enough sediment over time to form rocks larger than houses. I did not know, however, the extent of preparation necessary to explore a cave with a modicum of safety.
We prepared pretty intensely for this one, relatively short caving experience. It might seem silly to go to so much trouble for a brief adventure, but no one wants to be trapped in a cave for days without food, water, or light. Preparation and research are key to enjoying any caving experience, especially outside of maintained caves. It was thrilling to explore this cave on our own without the guidance of a state or national park service, but there were certainly more risks involved.
Disasters strike in caves often, trapping and killing both miners and casual hikers each year. Cave-ins are common, and eons-old rocks can shift more quickly than you’d think. High traffic can decrease cave stability over time, and geological movement can cause ceilings to collapse without warning. These are worst case scenarios that can’t be prevented, but a little preparation can go a long way toward survival when all hell breaks loose.
These are a few rules of the road for caving that we followed for our afternoon in Peppersauce Cave. This is by no means an extensive list or a guidebook on safe spelunking, but it was a good place to start for us casual cavers.
Pack in, pack out. Leave nothing in the cave!
Bring multiple light sources. Many caving experts recommend three light sources per person, as well as checking and changing batteries prior to exploring. Headlamps and flashlights can get lost or tumble into crevices, leaving people stranded without any source of light. Caves are often extraordinarily dark and become extremely dangerous to navigate without light.
Be respectful of wildlife. Don't ever bother anything living in the cave. Some cave-dwelling bat species are prone to deadly diseases like white nose syndrome, so it’s important to be aware of what could be tracked into the cave and how that affects what lives within.
Never go alone. Caves are dangerous and prone to collapse without warning. People can easily fall and get hurt, with no way out and no one to find help.
Bring protective gear. Gloves save hands from cuts and scrapes, but they also prevent rock erosion caused by oils in the skin. Helmets are often also advised to protect against falling rocks and low ceilings.
Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be out of the cave. Caves don't have cell service, so if you’re stuck and injured, it's crucial that someone on the outside knows when to start looking for you. Give them the phone number for the local ranger station and set a time for them to call if they haven’t heard from you.
Know the cave’s exit(s). Remember where the cave entrance is located, and have a route planned out in case anyone needs to leave quickly.
There are also some specific steps we considered due to the nature of this particular cave. At its far end as well as in its annex, Peppersauce Cave has two naturally occurring underground lakes. That makes for some extremely slippery conditions and a lot of mud. Depending on rainfall and time of year, the Main Lake can flood severely, limiting exploration to only half the cave. So, we wore sturdy hiking boots with good tread.
We also wore comfortable clothing that we could potentially destroy. In addition to being muddy in parts, the cave has an initial pinch point which we needed to throw our backpacks through first, then army crawl after. A person cannot fit through without crawling, let alone with additional gear on their back. There are also several scrambles and tight passages throughout the cave. Clothing can easily get torn in these tight spaces, so we didn’t wear anything we’d miss.
Cave temperatures tend to stay constant, despite outside weather. That was true for Peppersauce, which was much cooler than the dry heat of Southern Arizona, until reaching the Big Room and Main Lake, where the air became thick with heat and humidity. We brought extra clothes and were adding and shedding layers as we hiked from room to room.
Now that I’ve done my due diligence about spelunking safety, onto our actual caving experience! Several miles up the road from its namesake campground, the entrance to Peppersauce Cave is invisible from even a short distance below. To find it, we first had to locate a trail marker, which sits in a wash and cannot be seen from the road. The best clue that a mile of underground scrambling and rabbit-hole adventuring awaits: a small stone bridge supporting a hairpin bend in the road. Past the bridge, the road widens just enough for a few cars to park without tipping off the mountainside. We hopped out and went over our caving checklist, then crossed the road to begin our search for the trail map and the cave mouth.
The wash is characteristic of the Santa Catalina Mountains — even at slight altitudes, mountain streams feed beautiful trees of all kinds, and the foliage appears distinct from its scrubby desert surroundings. Leaves don their autumnal robes and flutter earthward, collecting in piles at the edges of rocky embankments. We crunched along through those leaves for a few yards, then quickly found the sign we sought. The National Speleological Society produced a map of the cave, its rooms, lakes and annexes. Neither Isaac nor myself had been to Peppersauce before, so we studied the map carefully and each took a picture of it. While we always photograph trail maps on new hikes for both navigation and safety purposes, cave guides are arguably even more important to have on hand.
The entrance to Peppersauce Cave was waiting for us up a short but steep wall along the right side of the creek. I used thick tree roots as a ladder to pull myself up to the mouth of the cave, then we jumped right in. Once inside, the cave opened slightly and then seemed to end abruptly. At the base of the wall opposite the cave’s mouth was a small, narrow tunnel — this is the pinch point I mentioned earlier. There was a second route to the left, but at twice as long and curving sharply inward, it seemed much more difficult to crawl through. You could theoretically throw your pack through the first pinch point and then go through the left tunnel, retrieving your bag after. After careful consideration (and watching two men wiggle out of the first tunnel) I decided that might be the better route. When caving, taking the easy way out isn’t always a bad thing.
Once through that initial tunnel, the cave once again opened. The floor sloped gently and flies gathered along the walls. It felt a little too Amityville Horror: Cave Edition, but after that first chamber, the flies pretty much disappeared and I was much more comfortable. Next we came upon a portion of rock scrambling where sure footedness was necessary to traverse a boulder field caused by ceiling collapse. As we were the only people in the cave, I clung to a rock, shimmying down and and swearing profusely until my feet met solid ground again.
Past the cave-in, the ceiling domed upward, reaching 30-40 feet, even higher in crevices where my headlamp light couldn’t reach, and the cave formed the Subway, a long passage leading to the Big Room. We saw a patch of ceiling where stalactites used to hang down, but most of them have since been broken off. According to the sign outside the cave, some of the stalactites were taken by scientists for studying, but I bet others probably came crashing down via wayward cranial impact.
Peppersauce has several main features within its labyrinthian cave, but most of the attractions we explored this time were extensions of the Big Room. Two ladders descended from the Big Room at the far end, each with a distinct destination. One ladder enabled visitors to visit the Main Lake, beautiful and clear. Without the ladder, explorers used to bring their own ropes to traverse the nearly 20 foot drop onto uneven, muddy cave floor.
The other ladder revealed the rabbit-hole, thus named because it must be entered head first, Alice in Wonderland style. That passage gave way to the cave’s biggest natural slide. There were other slides, like the walls within the three fissures or immediately preceding the Subway, but these we slid along, not down. The main slide spat us out at a run, so it would best be done before visiting the Main Lake and getting your shoes all slippery, which we found out the hard way.
Peppersauce cave has nearly a mile of mapped passageways, and we didn’t get to see all of them on our first visit. We emerged from the cave crusted in mud and eager to return for the parts we had yet to explore. The annex has a separate entrance and a feature called the Tilted Bedding Piano Room. I have no idea what that is, but I know I need to go back to find out.
While Peppersauce Cave sees some 20,000 visitors per year, we encountered very few people in and around the cave, despite going on a weekend. It felt like a closely guarded secret spot, even though people have been recommending it since we moved to Tucson. I could easily see myself going back again and again until I knew all the parts of the cave, had seen all of its lakes and annexes.
This eagerness surprised me because for the better half of our adventure, I was absolutely certain someone was going to jump out from behind a shadowy rock and murder us. I had to spend a solid 10 minutes convincing myself that there was no one lying in wait to kill me in that cave. There were no axe murderers plotting our deaths in the depths of Peppersauce, but I had to swivel my head lamp all around each room, just to be sure.
In fact, the only people we encountered were happily exploring, just like us. As we exited the mouth of the cave, we met a man who was taking his grandchildren to Peppersauce for the first time. He smiled and said that it didn’t seem to have changed much in the 40 years since his last visit. He told us that he hoped his grandchildren would enjoy the cave as much as he had as a young man. The kids were already zooming past him into the cave, armed with flashlights, helping each other climb over rocks. If their experience in the cave was anything like ours, then I’m confident they had a wonderful afternoon.