IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The weekend after getting back from my week in The Maze and on Cedar Mesa I was ready to head back out and search for some rock art. This time Amanda and I headed back to the San Rafael Swell so that we could attempt to visit the Ascending Sheep Panel and the Ferron Box. Back in March Dave and I had attempted to get to the Ascending Sheep Panel, but the snow we got that day slowed us down and we ran out of time after spending most of the day in Short Canyon. This time we also got snowed on in the morning, but not enough to slow us down too much, just enough to get my Jeep dirty and our shoes muddy.

The Juggler

Our first stop was at The Juggler. Unfortunately, it was still snowing a bit when we were here and the ground was pretty muddy…..it was that bentonite clay that sticks to your shoes and eventually dries like cement. I hate that stuff!

Small Snake

A small snake petroglyph near the large snake petroglyph at the base of the Molen Reef.

Molen Snake

Face to face with the large snake.

Slithering Away

The Molen Reef Snake Petroglyph slithering away

Ascending Sheep

This is an amazing pictograph panel! It’s not very big, but the details are just stunning! The main figure is anthropomorphic, but has a bighorn sheep’s head with a snake’s tongue and what looks like a bird’s feet. It’s also holding a bird-like figure on it’s outstretched hand. Not to mention all of the small bighorn sheep in this panel.

Rainbow Panel

Besides the Ascending Sheep Panel, this was the other main pictograph panel that I wanted to visit on this trip. It’s a very cool pictograph and petroglyph (pictoglyph) panel along Ferron Creek. Unfortunately, at some point in the past someone ruined the left side of the panel with plaster…

Ferron Line Up

A line up of small anthropomorphic pictographs high above. They remind me of the small clay Fremont figurines that have been found.

Line of Spirits

A closer look at the pictographs from above.

Red & Black Snake

A red and black snake-like pictograph located along Ferron Creek.

Feet of Sinbad

A pictograph panel located at the Head of Sinbad. The top part of this panel hasn’t survived.

Barely Visible

To the left of the Feet of Sinbad are a few faint pictographs, including this anthropomorph.

Typical Shaman

Just the ‘typical’ photo of these pictographs at the Head of Sinbad through the tree in front. Figured I might as well have a shot through the tree in my collection. 😉

Skeleton Shaman

Here’s my take on the Skeleton Shaman at the Head of Sinbad.

Copyright

A very detailed panel at the Head of Sinbad. It looks like the anthropomorph has a copyright symbol on it’s chest.

The Snake and the Clock

A closer look that the snake and the circle (that looks like a clock) above the Skeleton Shaman.

Gremlin

Just a closer look at one of the interesting figures of the Head of Sinbad pictographs.

Lone Warrior in the Rocks

Before heading home we made a quick stop at the Lone Warrior pictograph.

We had a great day exploring some new rock art panels and revisiting some others, and I’m looking forward to heading back to the San Rafael Swell in search of some more!

Day 9: Long Fingers Canyon

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The last day of our 9 day trip had finally arrived and I was looking forward to getting home and taking a real shower. We wanted to make this a shorter day so that we wouldn’t be getting home too late. We broke down camp, had a quick breakfast and then we crossed over Comb Ridge and headed south along Butler Wash. Then we hiked into Long Fingers Canyon and explored all of the alcoves, ruins and rock art that we could find. It was a nice and easy hike with a lot to see and explore. It’s amazing how many large alcoves this short canyon contains!

To the Comb

Hiking along the ‘now closed’ road towards Comb Ridge and Long Fingers Canyon.

White Hands

The first large alcove we came to had a set of white handprints on the back wall.

Red Figure

As we neared the Long Fingers Ruins we passed a number of faint petroglyphs and pictographs. I spotted this faint red anthropomorph high above.

Flying Target

This is certainly one of the more unique petroglyphs I have come across. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was hard to get a good shot of it, but I think this one turned out OK.

Stick Figure

Another of the faint petroglyphs on the way to the ruins.

Pregnant Stick Figure

Here’s another stick figure that has a round middle section….my guess would be representing pregnancy.

Metate Designs

This boulder has a few interesting petroglyphs and a couple of metate grooves.

Jared in the Alcove

Jared exiting the deep alcove below the ruins.

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Day 8: Mule Canyon

Saturday, April 16, 2011

On Saturday we woke up again to yet another cold morning, but thankfully not quite as cold as the previous day. Originally we were planning on staying in our current campsite for the last night, but at the last minute we changed our plans and decided to move to Comb Wash for the last night. We packed up camp and headed over to Comb Wash and then setup camp again. Once camp was set, we headed over to Mule Canyon and were hoping to take a nice leisurely stroll up the canyon for an easy day of exploring……but as I stated before, is seems Jared and I don’t quite know the meaning of an ‘easy day’ because by the time we reached the Jeep again we had hiked over 8.5 miles round trip with a lot of climbing up to ruins along the way.

Of course we visited the House on Fire (Flaming Roof) ruins, and then we continued up the canyon a few more miles searching for other ruins and rock art as we went. I know we missed some of them, probably because we turned around too soon, so I’m sure I’ll be heading back again sometime in the future 😉

Flaming Roof

Curved Flames

House on Fire Overview

An overview of the House on Fire ruins.

Mule Canyon Wall

The next set of ruins we found up the canyon from House on Fire.

Mule Canyon

Jared and the view up Mule Canyon.

High Ruins Overview

A well-preserved set of ruins further up.

High Ruins

A closer look at the ruins since we didn’t even try to find a way up to them since there was no obvious route.

Resting Tree

When we reached the spot in the canyon we turned around at, I stopped to rest in the shade of this tree and took this photo as I lay on the cool sandstone.

On our way back down Mule Canyon we stopped and climbed up to one more site we had skipped on the way up. I’m glad we did, since there turned out to be some cool rock art, too.

Circles and Stripes

The top of the alcove glows bright orange in the background with the large concentric circles in the foreground.

Paint and Petroglyphs

Here we found another painted wall that used to be in the back of a structure. There are plenty of petroglyphs located above the paint, too.

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Day 7: Big Man Panel & Lower Comb Wash

Friday, April 15, 2011

When we woke up on Friday morning it was about 26 degrees out…the coldest morning so far on the trip! We had another quick breakfast and then took off for the Government Trailhead. Soon we were hiking across Pollys Pasture until we reached the Government Trail that drops down into Grand Gulch.

Government Trail

The sign marking the descent into Grand Gulch.

Grand Gulch View

A view over Grand Gulch as we head down the Government Trail.

Once we reached the bottom of Grand Gulch we headed upstream to the Big Man Panel. Along the way we passed a small and well preserved granary on a ledge above us.

Small Granary

Soon we reached the Big Man Panel. We spent some time exploring the area and taking plenty of photos.

Big Man Panel

Big Man Panel Straight On

A closer look at the Big Man Panel.

Big Man Alcove

An overview of the large alcove this panel is found in.

Line of Hands

There were plenty of handprints next to the large anthropomorphs.

Big Man #1

Big Man #2

It was a nice easy hike to reach the panel…..but the hike back out to the trailhead was a bit slower and more tiring…

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Day 6: Moon House & Upper Johns Canyon

Thursday, April 14, 2011

After another very windy and cold night, Jared and I had some breakfast and headed over to the Kane Gulch Ranger station again. We wanted to make this an easy day since we had done a bunch of hiking all week, so we decided to go check out the Moon House Ruins. We had attempted this hike a few years ago (before the permit system was started) but we were unable to find the way down and across McLoyd Canyon to the ruins, so we wanted to finally reach the ruins this time. We arrived at the ranger station at 8:00am and quickly obtained our permit. Then we were soon on our way down the Snow Flat Road to the trailhead.

This time we did end up reaching Moon House Ruins and spent about 2.5 hours exploring the area. We were lucky and had the place all to ourselves. On our way back across the canyon to the Jeep we did eventually meet two other groups of three who were hiking in to the ruins. I guess we got there at a good time 🙂

Outer Wall

The outer wall of the main Moon House ruins.

Moon Snake

What looks like a snake pictograph located above the ruins.

Behind the Wall

A view from behind the outer wall. A very cool and unique place.

Painted

The very unique stripe painted on an interior wall that the Moon House Ruins is known for.

Stripe

A closer look at the paint on the interior wall.

Spiked Snake

Here’s a closer look at the snake-like pictograph from inside the outer wall.

Three Rooms

Three structures next to the main Moon House ruins.

Moon House Rooms

Many old structures make up the Moon House complex.

Striped Roof

An interesting pattern and smoke-stained ceiling.

Round Room

A small round structure found a little ways down canyon from the Moon House Ruins, but on the same ledge.

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