According to Dixie Brunner in an article published for Kanabguide.com, Freddie Crystal was already "staying at a nearby Johnson Canyon Ranch at the time and was convinced he knew the location of the famed gold." Signs, symbols, and petroglyphs marked the way, yet Crystal leaves the area only to return two years later with a map. Crystal claims he found the map in a "Spanish Monastery." It's impossible to figure out Crystal's motive behind such claims if he already knew the location, why did he feel the need to track down a map? Was this part of an enormous scam? It's hard to tell as Crystal and friends comb the hillsides. Another map mysteriously is found and pinpoints White Mountain as the location for Montezuma's gold cache.

To everyone's surprise, Crystal discovers a "man-made stone wall of blue limestone rock." Tunnels and large rooms found during the two-year treasure hunt conducted by Crystal (and now most of the Kanab townsfolk) are empty. No treasure.

Crystal eventually leaves Kanab never to be heard from again, and any victim of a potential scam remained silent.

In a Google search for Montezuma's cave near Kanab, Utah, the first hits are the sand and Moqui caves on UT-89. Montezuma's cave up Johnson Canyon is as different from these caves as gold is from iron.

Turn left at Johnson Canyon and UT-89, 9.5 miles west of Kanab. Reset the odometer to zero and drive 11 miles. At the Escalante Grand Staircase sign turn right. A small staging area located here and an ATV or other high clearance vehicle is recommended.

The first obstacle is the river bed directly east of the staging area. Dry most of the year, this rutted ford is a good indication of if your vehicle can make the trip.

A green gate on the well-worn road is next, followed by a mud pit near the water trough. Another gate as the path turns north. Up to know the way is a reliable, double track, leading through tall sage and juniper trees. Within a couple of hundred feet of the second gate, the route turns to deep sand and tight turns, typical of an ATV trail.

The path leads up the hillside to an eyelet loop parking area. The caves can be seen in the white rock face above.

Not your typical home school outing or UT-89 sand caves. The caves before you are up a steep, exposed trail, cut into the sandy hillside above a cliff. The footing is shifting rock and sand. If children are present, proceed with extreme caution.

The main chambers are pitted and graffitied from the years. Additional tunnels excavated during the original search, are dark. A good headlamp is needed to explore the entire cave system. I would also recommend a rope or webbing for in-depth exploration or rescue if someone in your group required it. As a solo hiker, I didn't go as deep or cross wooden planks to see the whole site. Montezuma's not taking this "only son of an only son's" soul (too many years of movies and books, I guess).

One final thought. The cave system located on White Mountain faces east. I left Kanab, UT, at 4:00 pm on a hot August day. I arrived at the eyelet parking area as the sun was setting behind the peak, allowing me to enjoy my entire exploration time in the cool of the shade.

CalTOPO map is located here.