The approach to this great scenic wonder prepares the traveler for
something extraordinary and spectacular. A black speck in the distance
against the precipitous surface of a frowning cliff is beheld long
before Toltec is reached, and is pointed out as the entrance to the
tunnel, which is the gateway to the Gorge. As the advance is made
around mountain spurs and deep ravines, glimpses are caught of profound
depths and towering heights, the black speck widens into a yawning
portcullis, and then the train, making a detour of four miles around
a side cañon, plunges into the blackness of Toltec tunnel, which is
remarkable in that it pierces the summit of the mountain instead of its
base. Fifteen hundred feet of perpendicular descent would take one to
the bottom of the gorge, while the seared and wrinkled expanse of the
opposite wall confronts us, lifting its massive bulwarks high above us,
"Fronting heaven's splendor,
Strong and full and clear."
When the train emerges from the tunnel it is upon the brink of a
precipice. A solid bridge of trestle-work, set in the rock after the
manner of a balcony, supports the track, and from this coigne of
vantage the traveler beholds a most thrilling spectacle. The tremendous
gorge, whose sides are splintered rocks and monumental crags, and whose
depths are filled with the snow-white waters of a foaming torrent, lies
beneath him, the blue sky above him, and all around the majesty and
mystery of the mountains.