Cedar Mesa in June is a beautiful place, but it can also be somewhat inhospitable. For the prepared, many hidden treasures await. In keeping with discussions I've had with my hiking partners I will not be publishing any specifics about locations or directions. Such information is available elsewhere, perhaps too easily. Please think twice about publicizing detailed information about special places which may also be vulnerable to overuse and/or abuse by under-educated visitors. For better or worse, as part of Obama's controversial Bear's Ears National Monument designation then Trump's unprecedented reduction of a National Monument, this whole area has received a noticeable increase in visitation. Consider allowing yourself the thrill of discovery by leaving the step by step instructions on the internet.
One thing I can assure you is that virtually every good cave or overhang on Cedar Mesa will have some ruin, granary, or other evidence of former habitation. Those that don't, upon closer examination, have some problem such as a leaky roof or the wrong aspect (south facing seems to be the rule). Many of the sites show evidence of more than one period of habitation. The earliest inhabitants are referred to as the Archaic culture and are dated back about 8,500 years. The Basketmaker culture is dated to about 3,500 years ago, while the Pueblo cultures, who are credited with most of the cliff dwellings, appeared roughly 1,000 years ago. I would encourage folks to begin by exploring some of the more well known places in Grand Gulch and its tributaries. Then, once you are familiar with the environment use topo maps to compare the places you want to explore with those you have already been to.
Because of the heat, our strategy was to show up in the late afternoon of the day before we wanted to hike, so that we could get an early start. On both of these trips we were able to do a little exploring in the evening on the day we arrived. Between about 6:00 and 9:00 PM things begin to cool off and it gets real pleasant. On the most recent trip, my partner Phil and I hiked about 1/2 a mile or so to a ruin I had spotted from the road on the way in to our campsite.
One thing I can assure you is that virtually every good cave or overhang on Cedar Mesa will have some ruin, granary, or other evidence of former habitation. Those that don't, upon closer examination, have some problem such as a leaky roof or the wrong aspect (south facing seems to be the rule). Many of the sites show evidence of more than one period of habitation. The earliest inhabitants are referred to as the Archaic culture and are dated back about 8,500 years. The Basketmaker culture is dated to about 3,500 years ago, while the Pueblo cultures, who are credited with most of the cliff dwellings, appeared roughly 1,000 years ago. I would encourage folks to begin by exploring some of the more well known places in Grand Gulch and its tributaries. Then, once you are familiar with the environment use topo maps to compare the places you want to explore with those you have already been to.
Because of the heat, our strategy was to show up in the late afternoon of the day before we wanted to hike, so that we could get an early start. On both of these trips we were able to do a little exploring in the evening on the day we arrived. Between about 6:00 and 9:00 PM things begin to cool off and it gets real pleasant. On the most recent trip, my partner Phil and I hiked about 1/2 a mile or so to a ruin I had spotted from the road on the way in to our campsite.
This is a two level structure. You can still see the construction of the floor/ceiling between the upper and lower levels.
How much damage has been done to ancient ruins and artifacts . . . by cattle?
The previous week we had a heat wave that would have made this hike a no-go. The predicted high for our hike day was 85, but it felt hotter than that in the afternoon. Despite being in the middle of a pretty severe drought, our chosen canyon had a number of substantial water holes.
We found a couple small ruins on our way down the canyon. Some we just barely spotted. It would be easy to walk right on by some of these sites, so keep your eyes peeled, it might pay off.
At one point, I pointed out a piece of wire that looked like part of an old fence in front of a fairly inconspicuous overhang. Phill went up to look and discovered this "cowboy camp".
It might well have been an archaeological camp because right around the corner we found this extensive cliff dwelling on the back wall of a wide spot in the canyon.
What I have been most interested in lately is rock art, and this site has one of the highest concentrations of rock art I've ever seen! Here's some of the highlights:
Rock art was the main objective on another (even hotter) hike we did earlier in June with my brother Steve. You definitely need to watch the heat at this time of year. Sometimes there is no easily accessible shade and heat exhaustion or heat stroke are real threats. We found ourselves getting a little loopy from the heat. We would take advantage of every available shade to try to bring our body temps down. We each carried at least a gallon of water for this day hike, plus electrolytes.
Interesting designs on the right side of this window.
Some very old petroglyphs:
Finally we had the good fortune, on this hike, to stumble upon some rather large pot chards.