Four Corners Hikes-Canyons of the Ancients

Road to Cutthroat Castle Pueblo

2012-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

The normal route to the Cutthroat Castle Ruins group at Hovenweep National Monument is along the same road that leads to the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail of the Canyons of the Ancients. The upper trailhead is about 0.5 miles past Painted Hand on the bumpy road. From the upper trailhead it is 0.8 miles to the site.

This area is about 10 miles north of the Hovenweep Headquarters on County Road 10 in southwest Colorado near the Utah border.

For hikers, there is an alternate route with less driving. About 1 mile south of the turnoff for the Painted Hand Pueblo is a dirt road marked 4531. This road leads east through a Pinon Pine and Juniper forest and crosses two small washes. Climbing above the second small wash there is a small sign that says Cutthroat pointing south.

Following this route you arrive at the lower trailhead for the Cutthroat Castle site. It is only 0.1 mile to the pueblo which is located on a curve of Cutthroat Gulch. There are cottonwood trees growing here and perhaps permanent water in the sandy wash below.

The structures are arrayed on both sides of the small wash and a short trail leads around through the forest giving views from all angles.

The tall walls seem to make parallel curves. I didn't notice any rock art or pottery shards at this site.

The trail to the upper trail head has a good view angle into the parallel walls on the north side of the main structures.

Walking south along the canyon rim there are good views of the overall site looking north. Looking south from the same area, I didn't see any other structures.

This site is thought to have four towers, three round and one square and the towers seem to be paired with kivas. These towers don’t appear to have a line of sight to other towers.

If you arrived on foot along the rough road you can continue on the trail to the Upper Trailhead. The upper trail head trail follows a small wash and climbs to the north back toward road 4531, crossing it and going to a parking area that gives good views of the surrounding countryside.

The road from the upper trail head continues over to the Painted Hand pueblo. It would be possible to continue to hike to Painted Hand or to hike from there to Cutthroat Castle. I enjoyed the views from the upper trailhead then returned back to the main road, for a total hike of 1:40.

The second time that I hiked to Cutthroat Castle I made more effort scanning the nearby canyon rims but didn't notice any other ruins sites along the way. The second hike was in late December on a 45 F degree day. This hike is feasible in winter if there isn't much snow. The start point I used is next to the paved road. I spent 2:30 hours on the second hike.

Road to Painted Hand Pueblo

2012-01-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

The Painted Hand Pueblo is one of the few publicized Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites in the Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado. The dirt road leading to the trailhead is about 10 miles north of the Hovenweep National Monument headquarters along County Road 10.

In the fall of 2011 the turnoff is marked with a new sign that provides a map of the Canyons of the Ancients and the backcountry guidelines. The small bird symbol to the right is the marker that Hovenweep Monument uses to mark the outlying sites. In this case the Cutthroat Castle Pueblo trail is along this same road.

The dirt road is bumpy in places but is normally drivable by most vehicles for the 1 mile to the Painted Hand trailhead. The Cutthroat Castle trail is about 0.5 miles further. On a mild late December day, I chose to hike along the road. As I hiked I kept an eye out for rubble pile ruins sites in the mostly sagebrush fields along the way, but didn’t notice any. It took about 0:25 minutes to arrive at the Painted Hand trailhead.

From the trailhead area there is a good overall view of the Painted Hand site. The large round tower on the south side stands out and is the symbol of the Canyons of the Ancients. It is about 0.25 miles to the point where the trail descends down through the cliffs to visit the other structures and rock art. The total hike from the trailhead is 0.75 miles.

Staying along the rim, there are views of some wall sections on a very tall boulder. Building on top of boulders seems to be a common style in the Canyons of the Ancients area.

On this hike I continued north along the rim to an overlook of another boulder site that I had noticed while hiking in the canyon bottom below the Painted Hand site. The access for the trail to the canyon bottom is near the Cutthroat Castle trailhead. This site is about 0:15 minutes of hiking past the Painted Hand site.

There appears to be a clear outline of a circular structure with other rubble on the boulder and some on the ground. It looks like a number of the desert plants have taken root among the rubble even though it is on top of a boulder.

I don’t think his boulder site has a line of sight to Painted Hand, but there is a line of sight to a medium sized pueblo that is about 1 mile further north up the canyon. My total hike took 2:00 hours on a 46 F degree late December day. I was the only visitor during my hike.

Boulder Ruins between Woods and Yellowjacket Canyons

2011-12-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

The relatively small area between Woods Canyons and Yellowjacket Canyon has Ancestral Pueblo ruin sites in the form of square and round towers, alcoves, mesa top rubble piles and the boulder based structures that seem to be common in the Canyons of the Ancients of southwest Colorado.

When hiking in the Canyons of the Ancients, it is helpful to scan the cliffs and hilltops with binoculars as these hidden sites will be sometimes visible from the distance. I started this hike 2.2 miles south of the carbon dioxide gas plant that is located at the junction of County Roads U and 14, west of the community of Yellow Jacket northwest of Cortez, CO.

At this spot there are good views south over the wide and deep Yellowjacket Canyon. Looking the other way, to the northwest, there is a large boulder with rubble on top about 1 mile away. I had noticed this boulder from several angles on other hikes in this area.

There are two small drainages to cross to get to this site. After arriving at a point where there is a good overall view, I saw that there are actually three boulders with rubble ruins on top. The large south facing site overlooks the junction of the two small drainages and there are some rocky cliff outcrops at the junction.

Walking up canyon a short distance, there is an easy crossing and I visited the site from east to west. The first boulder site is the smallest and isn’t the one that is visible from a distance. There are several other boulders without rubble piles that can be climbed for different views.

Between the first and second boulder ruins sites, there are some wall sections to find against the cliff walls. There is an unusual small structure with good quality bricks a short distance in front of the cliffs. One could guess this is some sort of storage but it is hard to tell.

The second boulder has a more substantial rubble pile on top and there is an adjacent boulder to climb on to get a good view. The Canyons of the Ancients area has many more of these boulder based structures that seem to be present at Mesa Verde and the Cedar Mesa area in Utah. I’ve wondered if the former presence of wolves in this area has anything to do with this. I’ve never seen any mention of wolves in the interpretive material that is widely available for this area.

Behind the third boulder there is a petroglyph of concentric circles. There are many vertical rock surfaces at this site, but this is the only rock art that I saw.

The third boulder has the most rubble of the three. This is the one that is visible from the distance.

Off to the side of the third boulder there is a retaining wall that is filled in with soil and provides a level and smooth area. This wall is positioned like a check dam and would have caught runoff water from the cliffs above. Most of the pottery shards that I saw in this area are in the drainage below this retaining wall.

I found a place to climb to the top of the cliffs where there is a good view of the rubble on top of the boulder and the overall site. Once on top, I decided to loop back toward my starting point, walking east along the cliffs. The road and the power lines along the main road are easily visible from the mesa top. I didn’t see any structures on top of the cliffs. It took me about 0:45 minutes to arrive at this site and I lingered here for 0:45 minutes.

The return hike taking the different route took 1:15 hours. On the way, up canyon from the three boulder based ruins, I found another boulder based site. I didn’t see any others structures associated with this site. My total hike took 2:45 hours for about 4 miles on a 52 F degree late November day.

Round Tower between Woods and Yellowjacket Canyons

2011-11-29T04:56:00.000-08:00

Yellowjacket Canyon is one of the largest of the rugged Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado. There is a hiking access on the north rim along the extension of County Road 14, south of County Road U. This area is west of the community of Yellow Jacket, northwest of Cortez, CO along highway 491.

From the trailhead area and Canyons of the Ancients sign in front of the carbon dioxide gas plant at Roads 14 and U, I continued driving south for 2.5 miles to a point where there are views along the north rim of Yellowjacket Canyon. The well maintained gravel road continues for about one mile to several carbon dioxide gas wells.

I started hiking west along the canyon rim, parallel to the road and then turned north at the small gas facility building, and hiked past it and along the ridge behind it. After about 0:30 minutes of slow hiking, a large round tower is visible with binoculars below, as are the ridge top square towers across the drainage.

This large diameter tower seems to have an odd location. It sits on a rim above a drainage, but is at a relatively low location in the surrounding terrain. It has a clear line of sight to the pair of square towers that are on the ridge to the north. These square towers are more easily hiked to from the road to the west that is along the east rim of Woods Canyon.

I didn’t notice any other structures in the vicinity of this tower. It doesn’t seem to be part of a village or have a kiva connected to it.

Some of the rubble has spilled onto a level area below the tower. From the tower I continued downhill toward the drainage toward some cliffs that are below the square towers. This round tower is visible with binoculars from the Woods Canyon East Rim road if you stand in the right spot on the cliffs above the alcove ruins site. It is also visible from the square towers on the ridge.

There some alcoves in the cliffs below the square towers. I noticed a small wall fragment in one of the alcoves but didn’t try to get closer than viewing across the canyon.

From the cliff view I turned back south toward the gravel road and had some distant views of the round tower.

On the south side of this hill, there is a small ruins site on the rim and a large boulder overlooking the side canyon.

On the other side of this side canyon is the end of the gravel road and the beginning of a rougher trail that extends out to a rocky point.

I intersected the main gravel road about 0.7 miles from where I started. On this hilltop area close to the Yellowjacket Canyon rim, there is a rubble pile ruins site that I have visited before on the hike I called “Yellowjacket Canyon Close to Woods Canyon”.

There are at least three rubble pile sites along the Yellowjacket Canyon rim in this area. My total hike looping around the round tower took 3:00 hours on a 52 F degree late November day.

Square Towers between Woods and Yellowjacket Canyons

2011-11-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

On the east side of the Woods Canyon East Rim Road there is an alcove Ancestral Pueblo ruins site below the rim. From the cliffs above the alcoves, I thought I could see some wall structures hidden by the forest on a ridge in the area between Wood Canyon and Yellowjacket Canyon about 1 mile away.

The Woods Canyon East Rim Road is a west turn 0.2 miles past the carbon dioxide gas plant that is at the junction of Roads U and 14, west of the community of Yellow Jacket in southwest Colorado. I started hiking 1.1 miles down this road at a carbon dioxide well site.

Along the road here, to the west are good views of the Woods Canyon Pueblo site. From this starting point, the hiking is generally south along canyon rims with a crossing of one small drainage. There isn’t a trail to follow here. From previous observation from the cliffs above the alcoves, I had a good bearing on the hill I was heading for and used a compass to stay on course in the forest when there wasn’t good visibility.

The site sits on a narrow ridge with good views north and south, but isn’t visible from the east approach until you are 10 feet from it. It appears to be two side by side square towers with some south facing rooms below the towers.

This site has a good line of site view to the alcove sites. It is also visible with binoculars from the road that runs along the north and west rim of Yellowjacket Canyon.

There is more standing wall here than is usually visible at these remote sites. The bricks seem to be cut very square and fitted together well.

This doesn’t appear to be a village where many people could live. I didn’t see any kivas or other structures besides the towers and the rooms below. It is positioned with great visibility. It is in the middle between sites along Woods Canyon and others closer to Yellowjacket Canyon.

There is a little more room on the ridge top to continue west to views toward Yellowjacket Canyon and then view the ruins site from a different angle.

It took me 1:00 hour to arrive at this site and I lingered in the area for 1:10 hours. My return hike took 1:20 hours for a total hike of 3:30 hours. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on a 56 F degree late November day. There might be some minor sites to keep an eye out for in the small canyon drainage that is along the way.

Woods Canyon East Rim Road-North

2011-11-16T05:43:00.000-08:00

The Woods Canyon area of Canyons of the Ancients is west of the community of Yellow Jacket in southwest Colorado. From Highway 491, turn west on Road Y and south on Road 15.

About 0.2 miles south of the junction of Roads U and 14, a well maintained gravel road turns west and leads south for 6 miles along the east rim of Woods Canyon, eventually reaching an overlook point of the junction of Sandstone Canyon and Yellowjacket Canyon.

About 1.6 miles along this road, there is an unmaintained side road that runs parallel to the main road on the east side for about 1 mile. I started my hike at the north end of this side road and walked this segment without noticing any Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites.

There are several points where the road is close to the rim and allows some good views to the east. From the south end of the segment I turned east to find the canyon rim again. From this angle there are some alcoves visible in the second level of cliffs.

The alcoves are approachable, without a trail, from the south side. There aren’t very many alcove ruins sites in the Canyons of the Ancients. This is one of the bigger alcove sites that I have seen here.

There are a series of these small structures in the alcoves at the base of these cliffs. Rubble flows away from the alcoves down the slope.

These rooms all seem to be small. I didn’t notice any pottery shards or rock art around this site.

Below the alcoves, there are some large boulders. Often, large boulders form the foundation of ruins sites. In this case, there is a large rubble pile site near the boulders that doesn’t use the boulders as part of the structure.

The amount of stones used for this rubble pile site is probably greater than the entire alcove collection put together. Alcove sites are popular to visit as they are usually better preserved, but the rubble pile sites usually seem to be much larger and are more numerous in the Canyons of the Ancients.

I found a small gap in the cliffs to climb back to the rim, but this spot isn’t obvious and would be a tricky descent. The cliffs extend for a distance to the north, so the south side approach appears to be the easiest. From above, the rubble pile ruins site is visible. I didn’t see any rim top structures above the alcoves.

My total hike took about 2:00 hours for 2 miles on a 48 F degree mid November day. There is a mesa top ruins site along another side road about 1 mile south of this site. Both of these sites are close to the large Wood Canyon Pueblo site.

Mockingbird Mesa West Rim

2011-11-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

The Mockingbird Mesa area in the Canyons of the Ancients is 8.5 miles south on County Road 12 from the junction with County Road BB, west of Pleasant View in southwest Colorado. The route zig zags and the road numbers change before arriving at the normally closed gate near a carbon dioxide gas plant.

Starting out to the south parallel to the main road, there is a cleared swath of Pinon and Juniper forest that leads about 0.5 miles to a rubble pile Ancestral Pueblo ruins site. Keep an eye out for it along the west edge of the cleared area. The site is not visible from the main road.

This site and another similar site that is on the east side behind the carbon dioxide plant are the easiest to find and visit in the north part of the Mockingbird Mesa area. From this site, I hiked directly west a short distance to the mesa top rim that overlooks Negro Canyon.

I arrived at the head of a side canyon. Scanning with binoculars, there is a rubble pile visible on the north side of the side canyon near the point. It took me a total of 0:45 minutes to arrive at the site.

The first structure visible on the east side of the site looks like a square tower. A wall segment on one side is still standing with the outline of an adjacent side.

A lot of rubble has collapsed into the interior of the room and some is flowing down the slope.

Further along there is a small alcove that appears to be the center of the site. The thick roof of the alcove acts as a foundation as well as a roof. Inside the alcove there are some small preserved wall sections. Like many Canyons of the Ancients sites, this village is partly on the canyon rim and partly just below the rim.

The view from the site is toward the south along the west rim of Mockingbird Mesa. There is some private property on the floor of Negro Canyon. Scanning from here, I didn’t notice any more ruins sites.

I returned back along the rim and continued south to the second side canyon. The terrain on the second side canyon seemed similar but I didn’t notice any more sites. The second side canyon has an old road trail that crosses the floor and climbs the south side.

I considered descending and crossing below but decided to stay along the rim. On the south side the trail that crosses can be found connecting to the main road. This junction is just south of a cattle guard and a barbed wire fence, about 2 miles south of the gas plant. A short distance from the main road, this trail has a side trail that continues southwest.

I followed the southwest leading trail for 0:45 minutes through the forest until it arrived at a third long side canyon that angles back to the northeast. I looked along the rim of this side canyon for about 1:00 hour but didn’t notice any ruins sites.

Following along the rim led back toward the main road. This part of the hike between the second and third side canyons turned out to be a loop. The return hike along the main road took about 0:45 minutes. My total hike took 5:25 hours for 9 miles. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a 60 F degree late October day.

Cross Canyon Trail

2011-10-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

The Cross Canyon access road is a west turn 5.9 miles south of the turnoff to the Painted Hand Pueblo site along paved County Road 10, along the Utah and southwest Colorado border. The access road is marked as San Juan County 2031 and descends somewhat steeply for 2.3 miles down into Cross Canyon.

At the bottom there is a creek crossing. Just west past the creek there is a right turn that enters Cross Canyon and heads toward McLean Basin and the Cross Canyon Wilderness Study Area.

After 3.2 miles there is another crossing of the same creek. I started hiking at the crossing but the road is drivable for another mile to a sign marking the San Juan Resource Area where there is room for parking. Past the sign, the road becomes rougher.

After 0:15 minutes of hiking past the sign, the road veers away from the flowing creek while a trail that is marked as closed to vehicles continues north following the creek up Cross Canyon. Except for the no vehicles sign, the trail isn’t marked. This trail seems to weave back and forth across the Utah and Colorado border for a while before settling into the Canyons of the Ancients Monument area in Colorado.

There is a creek crossing at the trail starting point and many more crossings as the stream meanders across the canyon bottom area. The crossings during mid October were 6 to 10 inches deep and usually only 6 to 8 feet across. In some cases there are some rock stepping stones, but my feet got wet with every crossing.

The canyon bottom area has a lot of sagebrush, greasewood, and three wing saltbush with cottonwoods and tamarisks close to the creek. Sometimes the trail pushed through dense patches tamarisk. The canyon sides were steep with Pinon Pine and Juniper in the segment I walked. I scanned the canyon rims with binoculars frequently but didn’t notice any ruins sites up above.

About 1:00 hour of hiking past the San Juan Resources sign, there is a large boulder based Ancestral Pueblo ruins site that sits in the middle of the canyon. Rubble from the site flows down the steep slopes below the rocky outcrop.

Some of the wall sections have held together on top. There are good views up and down the canyon from the boulder tops. To the east, it looks like there might be an old trail that starts to descend part of the way down from the canyon rim.

Most of the pottery shards I saw were on top. Mostly I saw plain white pieces with a few corrugated and a few painted designs.

On the south side below the top, there is a rock overhang with walls still intact. This large castle rock type site was the only one I noticed in the first 1:20 hours of hiking.

About 0.3 miles north of the castle rock ruins I thought I had found a tower, but it appears to be a historic ranching type ruins. There is a piece of metal bed hanging on the wall and other ranching artifacts lying among the rubble. There is some cement plaster helping to hold the walls together.

About 0:30 minutes of hiking further, as the creek makes a turn to the east, there is a petroglyph panel in an alcove a short climb above the trail. The horse images must mean that at least some of this is the work of the Utes.

Below the petroglyphs there are two rock walls forming a set of level terraces. These level spots have a good view of the creek below and look like a good place to relax. I turned around here about 3:00 hours into my hike. My return hike without any stops took 2:00 hours. My total hike was 5:00 hours for about 9 miles. I hiked on a 65 F sunny mid October day and carried 3 liters of water.

Squaw Point near Lower Cross Canyon

2011-10-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Cross Canyon access road is 2.7 miles northeast of the turnoff to the headquarters of Hovenweep National Monument along paved County Road 10, along the Utah and southwest Colorado border. The access road is marked as San Juan County 2031 and turns west descending steeply for 2.3 miles down into Cross Canyon.

At the bottom there is a creek crossing. Just past the creek there is a right turn that enters Cross Canyon and heads toward McLean Basin and the Cross Canyon Wilderness Study Area. The trail I followed is about 1.2 miles up this road on the left. It is clearly visible while descending into the canyon. This rough uphill road connects to other roads on top of Squaw Point. This area is slightly outside the official Canyons of the Ancients, but still BLM managed land.

I’ve started up this trail before but turned back about halfway up due to biting gnats. Continuing to the mesa top, there is a side road that turns south. I followed this route to the end of the trail. After about 1:00 hour of hiking the trail ends and a large boulder based ruins site is visible further south. It took me another 0:20 minutes to arrive at the site. There are two short side canyons between the end of the trail and the ridge location of the boulder ruins.

There is a lot of rubble on the top of the boulder, but only fragments have held together as walls. This site has one of the most dramatic of locations. It is on the point that overlooks the very broad junction of Cross Canyon and Squaw Canyon. The rocky point location is visible from miles around but it is not obviously a ruins site from a long distance view.

Most of the interesting features are along the east side. There are two small sections of wall structures that have been sheltered with some brick fragments visible above.

Further on there is a kiva depression with some wall brickwork visible. There were many pottery shards around the kiva.

The largest and most conspicuous pottery shards were white with black smudges. This style seemed unusual. There were also corrugated and a few painted designs.

Further on there is a large circular rubble pile. The sides of the boulders are tall and very vertical and I didn’t notice any easy way for the residents to climb to the top.

I noticed three petroglyph panels. One of them had some very clear and interesting images. There is a good image of a hunter with a bow and arrow aiming at a mountain sheep.

On the left side of the same panel are two reclining figures, one playing a flute. I can’t tell what the other figure is doing. The pair seems to be enclosed in a frame.

Looking back north along the east rim of Squaw Canyon, I think another boulder based site with wide views is visible two or three miles away. The Squaw Point road leads close to that site. It is interesting that these two sites have a very clear line of sight. My return hike took 1:10 hours and the total hike was 3:15 hours for about 5 miles. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on a sunny 68 F degree mid October day. The sunny mild days of fall are probably the best time of year for hiking in the Canyons of the Ancients.

Hovenweep Canyon near Mockingbird Mesa

2011-10-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

The route to Mockingbird Mesa in the Canyons of the Ancients is to follow County Road 12 south from the junction with County Road BB for 7.2 miles and make a left turn at a BLM road junction. This area is west of Pleasant View, in southwest Colorado.

Staying to the right at the Mockingbird junction and right at the next junction for 1.2 miles leads to a south leading dirt road trail that provides an access to the east rim of the upper part of Hovenweep Canyon. There is a carbon dioxide plant visible 0.3 miles past where I started hiking.

The unmarked dirt road trail leads about 2 miles southwest and then is blocked by a gate at private property. Near the end of the road, a carbon dioxide pipeline crosses the road and provides a cleared route down into and across Hovenweep Canyon.

Hiking along the road, I didn’t notice any Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites. Scanning up and down the canyon, I thought I saw a rubble pile and a wall with a doorway about one mile back to the north. I didn’t follow the pipeline down into the canyon, but instead hiked back north and found a gentle slope leading down.

The canyon bottom here is a side canyon to the east of the main Hovenweep Canyon. The Cottonwood trees along the dry wash made me think that there might be a ruins site in this canyon bottom area. Even though there wasn’t any flowing water here, there must be some not far below the surface.

I’m surprised by how often I stumble into ruins sites without any hint that they are here. This large site is completely obscured by thick Pinon and Juniper forest and isn’t visible from more than 50 feet away. This isn’t the site I saw from the canyon rim. The rubble piles at this site are tall and cover a large area but are overgrown and it is hard to view the overall site.

I didn’t see any walls that have held together. The good news is that the site is marked by the Cottonwood trees growing along the small drainage that joins the main drainage from the west. The L shaped pattern of the Cottonwood growth along the watershed is easy to spot from high angle views. I was about 2:00 hours into my hike when I arrived at this hidden site.

I continued north, climbing up a slope to a mesa top area. I didn’t see the ruins sites I was looking for on the way up, but I saw many pieces of pottery. At the rim I scanned around and spotted some rubble. Close to the rim, there is a circle of large stones and below was the wall and doorway that I had spotted from a mile away.

This wall and the circle above are supported on massive slabs of stone that have separated from the main cliffs. From this unusual large stone structure I couldn’t see anything else, but the rubble pile I had spotted from the distance was lower and slightly to the east.

The rubble pile could have been this large boulder based site. There are other small structures around the base of this large boulder.

I was stunned to find that there are two boulder based sites nearly side by side. This must have been an impressive place when these twin structures were standing tall. Both of these boulders have small wall sections still holding together toward the back of each.

Behind the east boulder, there is a wall constructed between two boulders. The upstream side of the wall has filled in with sediment such that you can stand at the level of the top of the wall. I wondered if this was a device to catch water flowing through the site and save it in a cistern.

The pottery shards I saw were mostly corrugated. There were only a few painted visible along with some smooth gray pieces.

For the return hike I walked the short distance west to the east rim of Hovenweep Canyon and followed the northeast leading rim back to the carbon dioxide plant. Close to the plant in a small drainage, I saw what I think is a check dam. I didn’t notice anything near the check dam but I was at the end of my hike. My return hike took 1:00 hour of slow walking.

My total hike took 4:30 hours for about 5 miles. On a late September day I carried and drank 3 liters of water. It was about 65 F degrees at 9:30 AM and 83 F degrees at 2:00 PM.

Cannonball Mesa Cliffs Southwest

2011-09-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

The southwest corner of Cannonball Mesa has a rocky point above high cliffs that overlooks the Ismay Pueblo and Petroglyph site. This area is on the southwest side of the Canyons of the Ancients area in southwest Colorado. The access is about 26 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G. A short distance east of the point, there is a south turnoff that leads to the Hamilton Mesa area.

On the north side of County Road G, across from the turnoff, there is a short unmarked trail that climbs toward the south side cliffs. On a shelf area below the cliffs, the Ismay ruins site has a boulder based neighbor. This site is visible from the mesa top point, but isn’t visible from the road.

The boulder forms something of a rock shelter with a constructed room in front. There are remains of other rooms around the west side also.

From the backside there views of the wall segments on top of the boulder. The overall site is bigger than it appears at first. More rubble is behind the boulder and there are minor structures spread across the hillside. This terrain and environment here appears to be very dry but it is near the junction of McElmo Creek and Yellowjacket Creek, both with flowing water most of the year. The Cannonball Mesa area has several more ruins sites to search for.

On the east side of the boulder there is a petroglyph panel. I haven’t seen much rock art in the Canyons of the Ancients except here in the Cannonball Mesa area.

Some of the other nearby boulders have minor images also. There is a roadside boulder a short distance west of the trailhead that has easy to view rock art, but it is somewhat vandalized with recent graffiti. Some of the rock faces up above have initials inscriptions with dates from the 1930s.

I spent 1:20 hours visiting this site on an 82 F degree late September afternoon. The hiking distance is very short; most time is spent exploring the area. The Ismay Pueblo and Petroglyph site is just a short distance further west. It is probably possible to continue to the mesa top from this site. From the mesa top view I saw a notch in the cliffs above the ruins that can be hiked, but I thought it would be easier to visit from the road.

Hamilton Mesa Trail

2011-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hamilton Mesa forms the south side of McElmo Canyon in the area where Cannonball Mesa forms the north side. This relatively dry area is the southwest corner of the Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado. The trail is the unmarked BLM road that is a south turn from County Road G, 26 miles west of Cortez, CO. There is a roadside boulder with some petroglyphs about 100 yards west of this turnoff.

The Hamilton Mesa Trail is lightly used as it requires visitors to get across McElmo Creek, which carries irrigation water much of the year. I brought river sandals for the out and back creek crossings. In late September the water was knee deep with enough current that I used a long Tamarisk stick to help with balance and walked carefully. The footing was firm on the mostly rocky bottom. It reminded me of the creek crossings on the popular hikes at Mill Creek in Moab, Utah.

The trail heads south for about 1 mile along the west side of Hamilton Mesa and then turns east and follows the south side. There are large power lines crossing the area near the trail. After about 2 miles, there is a fence with a gate at a large inlet on the south side of the mesa.

The canyon area on the south side is very wide and very dry with only grasses and scattered shrubs growing. I was walking slowly and scanned the cliffs for Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites but didn’t notice anything.

The road continues into the distance along the floor of the mostly featureless canyon. I crossed through the gate and walked up the draw. There appeared to be a place to climb to the mesa top. Once up on top, there is a lot of level area to explore. There are more Juniper trees on top but it is still a dry environment.

The Hamilton Mesa top isn’t very wide and it is easy to walk to the north rim for views across the green irrigated bottom of McElmo Canyon. There is a road on the mesa top that leads to the east. It is probably possible to walk up on the mesa top using the road system rather than climb up like I did.

There are good views in the area where I hiked but I didn’t find any ruins sites. My total hike in the Hamilton Mesa area took 4:30 hours for about 6 miles. The small scale maps for this area at the Anasazi Heritage Center show some archaeology sites for this area and there is lot more area to explore. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a sunny late September day that was 60 F at 9:45 AM and 82 F at 2:15 PM.

Pedro Point South

2011-09-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Pedro Point road leads to one of the easiest to find unpublicized Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The route follows the BLM dirt road marked 4720 west.

This road is a west turn, about 1.4 miles south of the turnoff for the Painted Hand Pueblo along paved County Road 10, and about 8 miles north of the Visitor Center for Hovenweep National Monument.

On this hike I was looking in the area south of the Pedro Point Road about half way to the well known ruins site. I drove the first 0.6 miles to the point where there is a good overlook to the north into the McLean Basin, then starting hiking along the road, but mostly looking at the heads of the large side canyon on the south side of the road.

After about 25 minutes and 0.8 miles, I turned south and followed along the west rim of the long side canyon.

After less than 0:10 minutes of hiking, I noticed a tall rubble pile within about 100 feet of the canyon rim. There is a second smaller rubble pile on the west side.

There isn’t much definition to the rubble pile combination. These two structures seem to be isolated, about 1.5 miles southeast of the large Pedro Point site.

There were many pottery shards associated with this site. I mostly saw plain white pieces and corrugated with a few painted designs.

I continued west through a wide sage brush field without seeing any other sites, then turned north and intersected the Pedro Point Road about 0.8 miles east of the large Pedro Point site. Near where I found the road there is a small rubble pile close to the south side of the road. This site would probably not be noticed if you are driving but hikers should see it.

The return hike to my starting point took 0:40 minutes for about 1.6 miles. My total hike took 1:45 hours for about 4 miles. It was an 80 F degree early September morning. I carried and drank 2 liters of water.

There are viewpoints along the Pedro Point Road into the wide McLean Basin. The elusive McLean Basin Towers are visible with binoculars below some cliffs toward the northeast side of the basin.

Side Canyons east of Lower Cross Canyon

2011-08-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

In the central part of the Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado, the lower part of Cross Canyon, south of Pedro Point, has several east side canyons that don’t seem to have names.

In this area, there is a loop road that is an established mountain bike route. The loop has a starting point near an old corral that is about one mile north of the turn off to the Holly and Hackberry outlying Hovenweep National Monument sites, along County Road 10. This corral area is also about 3.6 miles south of the turn off for the Painted Hand Trail.

Across County Road 10 from the old corral, there is a dirt road trail that leads northwest. I followed this trail for 0.3 miles to a junction with another road trail that is closed to vehicles. At this junction, there is a rock outcrop with many large boulders sliding down the hillside.

Near the base of this rocky hill there is a rubble pile Ancestral Pueblo ruins site. I was only a few minutes into my hike when I noticed this site, a good start.

A collection of boulders is usually a good place to look further. Up near the rim, there is a very small alcove with a small structure. Other than the Sand Canyon area, there aren’t very many alcove sites in the Canyons of the Ancients.

At this trail junction, there is a choice of continuing to the northwest, or turning left and going mostly southwest, toward a rim area with overlooks of the lower Cross Canyon area. I turned left. I was able to continue for about 0:45 minutes, scanning the side canyons with binoculars.

There are a lot of good canyon views, but I didn’t see any more ruins in along this segment of trail. I returned back toward the junction and could have ended my hike after about 2:00 hours. But I cut north across the canyon head and looked a little further to the north and east.

There is a very long side canyon that extends northeast all the way to the south side of the Pedro Point area. I hiked along this south rim of this long side canyon and for a while I was back on the established trail, which seems to end at the rim.

I used a compass and started to hike southeast back toward my starting point when I came across a large circular ruin structure. This site seemed to have a curious location. It wasn’t very close to the canyon rim or on a hilltop. This site might be hard to find again. Looking east from the site, I could see vehicles on the paved Road 10 about 0.5 miles away, and the old corral is about 1 mile to the south.

There was lot of pottery visible at this site, including a few of the largest shards I’ve seen. There might be a small check dam across a small wash near the site. Check dams are easy to see when they are pointed out at Mesa Verde, but I don’t seem to see them in the backcountry areas.

Associated with the large circular structure was a site with several flat rocks turned on end. The interpreted sites at Mesa Verde describe rocks like these as possibly being the lining of underground food storage structures. From this site it took me 0:50 minutes to return to the old corral. My total hike took about 4:00 hours for about 8 miles. It was 72 F degrees at 9:20 AM and 86 F degrees at 1:30 PM on a late August day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Southeast of Pedro Point

2011-08-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Pedro Point road leads to one of the easiest to find of the unpublicized Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado.

The Pedro Point route follows the BLM dirt road marked 4720 west. This road is about 1.4 miles south of the turnoff for the Painted Hand Pueblo along paved County Road 10, and about 8 miles north of the Visitor Center for Hovenweep National Monument.

About 0.25 miles south of the Pedro Point Road, there is a cattle guard and a sign that says “No Blading in Barrow Ditches between Signs.” The reason for no blading is the rubble pile ruins site that is very close to the road.

If you don’t hike to any of the hundreds of wild ruins sites while visiting the Canyons of the Ancients, you can at least see this one driving by. I started my hike by visiting this site and continued hiking southwest, using a compass as there aren’t any old roads or trails to follow. The walking is easy through sagebrush with scattered Utah Juniper trees. About 1 mile southwest is an obvious rocky hilltop that I headed for.

I didn’t notice any ruins on this hilltop despite seeing a number of pottery shards that had washed down the drainages. Looking north, there is another rocky hilltop between the one I was on and the Pedro Point road hilltop. I had good luck there later.

After about 1:15 hours of hiking to the southwest, I came across a trail that leads northwest. This trail looked like a mineral exploration trail. I decided to follow it until it seemed to fizzle out at the drainage between the two hilltop areas. Looking at Google maps, this trail looks like it connects with County Road 10 further south. There was more pottery visible in the washes through this area, but I didn’t see any ruins sites.

While traveling north and east across the drainage, I spotted a fairly large site on the south side of a hilltop that overlooks a junction of large drainages. The site was mostly on the rim and spilled down below the rim. There are a couple of places where the brickwork is still mostly intact. I was 2:00 hours into my hike when I arrived at this site.

The site has a good view down canyon to the southwest. Some of the formations in the northern part of the Navajo Reservation were visible in the distance, like Black Mesa.

Much of the rubble material had spilled downhill with a few bricks still standing. On the way to this site, I walked over a very small rubble pile site in the small valley directly south. That site was obscured by sagebrush so well that I was walking on it when I noticed it. It would be hard to find it again, but it is in easy range of this larger ruins site.

It took me about 1:15 hours to return to my starting point close to the beginning of the Pedro Point Road. This ruins site is about 1.5 miles west, more or less, of the junction with County Road 10 and about 0.5 miles south of the Pedro Point Road. There are no trails around this site and it doesn’t appear to get many visitors.

Hiking north and east I intersected the Pedro Point Road close to the rubble pile ruins site that is in the first mile from the junction with County Road 10. This site might not be noticed if you drive to the large Pedro Point site but should be noticeable to hikers.

My total hike took 3:15 hours for about 4 miles of mostly slow hiking. On a late August day it was about 75 F degrees at 9:30 AM and about 88 F degrees at 12:45 PM. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Sage Hen Hilltops

2011-08-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Sage Hen area is located on the north and west end of McPhee Reservoir on the Dolores River in southwest Colorado. There are two established trails in the area that horse riders, mountain bikers and a few hikers use. This area is part of the San Juan National Forest.

One of the trails is the very rutted and rough Forest Road 500, leading north to the Dolores River McPhee Dam for about 4.3 miles. The other trail is a single track that starts at the same Forest Road gate and also heads generally north but in a more winding way. There are other minor trails that the horse riders might use. This area has been closed to motorized vehicles since about 2008.

The Forest Road 500 trail climbs through a sagebrush plain area with scattered Pinon Pines and Junipers and patches of Gambel Oak, and provides good views of the reservoir with Mesa Verde becoming visible the higher you go. The LaPlata Mountains with Mt. Hesperus are also visible to the east. Some of the hilltops in the Sage Hen area have archeological sites. I went on a series of short hikes looking at some of these hilltops.

There are two side Forest Roads that turn east from Forest Road 500. The first is after about 1.5 miles and the second is after about 2.3 miles. In the vicinity of the second side road, there is a hilltop that has some features that appear to be an archaeology site.

The pottery shards that are visible on some of these hilltops seem to be plain gray without any painted designs or corrugations. Some of these small pieces wash down toward the sides of the hilltops

On the top of the hill there are vague rubble piles. These seem to be less defined than many of the rubble pile sites in the Canyons of the Ancients, but seem organized enough to look like something was built here.

This hilltop area has a view of the main channel of the Dolores River, now flooded with McPhee Reservoir. It is within site of the hilltop area where the Escalante and Dominguez Pueblos are on the south side of the reservoir, and Mesa Verde is visible. The current vegetation includes sagebrush and patches of Oak with Pinon Pines and Utah Junipers mixed in. There are also grassy fields nearby.

There are several rubble piles scattered across the hilltop, two of the piles using larger and flat shaped stones.

All my hikes in this area have taken two to three hours, usually just visiting one of two hilltops at a time. In some places there are minor trails to follow and sometimes the oak thickets are too difficult to get through. There are also some ranching artifacts in the area including old corrals.

Sand Canyon North Overlooks

2011-07-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

About 1.2 miles west of the north Sand Canyon Trail Head, County Road N re-enters the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. At the entrance sign a gravel side road leads south toward the north rim area of Sand Canyon and neighboring Rock Creek Canyon. This area is northwest of Cortez, CO and west of Highway 491.

The trail leads uphill for about 1 mile passing through a forest area that has been burned, arriving at an overlook of the Sand Canyon and Rock Creek area. The trail splits at the canyon rim. I walked east first overlooking the point area between Sand Canyon and Rock Creek Canyon. I scanned with binoculars for Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites but didn’t spot anything.

Along the west rim of Sand Canyon there is a large tilted boulder that had some rubble on top but I couldn’t tell if it was a ruins site. There were notches in the rock cliffs that would have allowed a descent down lower but I didn’t try to get closer. From this view point the three east Sand Canyon side canyons and the drill hole service roads are visible.

Hiking back to the west along the trail and the rim the East Rock Creek area shows up well. The mesa top area to the west of East Rock Creek is called Big Point on the maps. Scanning from here I didn’t see any ruins sites below or out on the point.

Hiking back north, there is what looks like a collapsed tower overlooking a sage brush field from a low cliff not far from the rim area. I have visited this site before on the hike I called Upper Rock Creek Loop. That hike is on the western part of the same gravel road that passes close to the rim. This tower is very close to the gravel road but not visible from it. It is in the forested area south of the burned area.

Continuing north back along the gravel road through the burned area, I spotted a hilltop rubble pile that I hadn’t noticed before. There is a vague side trail leading toward it.

The rubble pile probably wouldn’t have been easily visible before this area was burned. The pile is cone shaped and looks like a collapsed tower. It is close enough to the other tower to have been easily visible if trees didn’t block the view.

Next to the conical rubble pile is a depression with stone work that makes this look like a tower and kiva combination. These two looked like the only structures here, no other rubble piles close by. There were a few gray or white pottery shards in the vicinity. Looking northwest, this hilltop site might have a sight line to the sites that in the northeast part of nearby Burro Canyon.

My total hike to the Sand Canyon north rim area took 3:00 hours for about 3 miles on an 87 F degree mid July day. This was one of the summer days when afternoon thunder storms are typical. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Northeast Hovenweep Canyon

2011-05-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

The west rim of Hovenweep Canyon is frequently visited as the site of the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail, one of the few publicized trails in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trailhead is about 1 mile along an east turn off of County Road 10 about 10 miles north of the Visitor Center for Hovenweep National Monument.

About 0.5 miles south of Painted Hand is the upper trailhead for the Cutthroat Castle Trail, one of the outlying Hovenweep sites. A short distance south of the trailhead there is an old road that leads down into Hovenweep Canyon and heads north.

After about 1.5 miles, at the point where the old road crosses the dry wash, a good Ancestral Pueblo ruins site can be found with some exploring to the east, on the first level of the mesa top area overlooking the drainage. I visited this site before on the hike I called Painted Hand Neighbors. On this hike I continued north along the mesa top area. It has taken me about 1:00 hour to arrive at the Painted Hand Neighbor.

I climbed two more levels of mesa top and walked along the east canyon rim overlooking the northern part of Hovenweep Canyon. The canyon floor has a level sagebrush field and it looks like a forest fire has burned some of the canyon floor trees. There is a side canyon to Hovenweep Canyon coming in from the east.

Viewing the east side canyon from above, there is a gap in the mesa top area between Hovenweep Canyon and Negro Canyon to the east. The old road that is visible below is the extension of the trail that I started my hike on. That road appears to connect to the well maintained gravel road that enters the north end of Negro Canyon and is used by the gas and oil well activity.

I think that gravel road has a normally closed gate like the Mockingbird Mesa area. Hikers can enter but vehicles are blocked. From above, I spotted a ruins site near one of the cottonwood trees that is visible on the floor of the side canyon. I didn’t notice any ruins sites where I walked on the mesa top.

Walking along the mesa top far enough, there is another old road that climbs up the mesa top area between Hovenweep and Negro Canyons. This road provides a relatively easy descent to the canyon floor and then leads very close to the ruins site. The ruins site isn’t visible from the trail, so keep an eye out for the light green cottonwood tree.

The rubble piles are very high at this site, perhaps these were multi story structures. The site doesn’t appear to be based on any large boulders and has small drainages passing between the structures. The cottonwood trees indicate that there is water here, but I didn’t see any flowing water.

There are two large circular structures on the south side where there are some wall sections still intact. It took me 2:15 hours to arrive at this site, counting my visit to the Painted Hand Neighbor and slow walking and scanning on the mesa top. I spent about 0:45 minutes visiting this large village site.

I followed the trail for my return hike; it leads all the way back to the Cutthroat Castle trail head. On the return I sighted a small storage granary ruin high on the west side of the trail. In the same area, on the east side there is a small alcove with a wall across the front. My return hike from the northeast canyon floor village took 1:40 hours. My total hike took 4:40 hours for about 7 miles on 66 F degree late May day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water. I was prepared with repellant for biting gnats but wasn’t bothered by them.

Woods Canyon East Rim Road-South

2011-05-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

A hiking access for Woods Canyon in the Canyons of the Ancients is located in front of a carbon dioxide gas plant at the corner of County Road U and County Road 14. This area is west of the community of Yellow Jacket in southwest Colorado. From Highway 491, turn west on Road Y and south on Road 15.

About 0.2 miles south of Roads U and 14, a well maintained gravel road turns west and leads south for 6 miles along the east rim of Woods Canyon, eventually reaching an overlook point of the junction of Sandstone Canyon and Yellowjacket Canyon.

About 1.1 miles along this road, there is a vague side road near one of the gas wells that leads to a view point of the large Woods Canyon Pueblo Ruins site. I noticed a cow trail leading down into the canyon at this view point, which might provide an easy hiking route to the canyon bottom.

I continued driving for a total of 2.5 miles to another drill site that was on the edge of a hill top just before the road started a downhill segment, and began hiking south along the mesa top through the Pinon and Juniper forest. The canyon rim area was easy to walk along and there were frequent view points across Woods Canyon.

The mesa top area is narrow and there were also good view points to the east across a side canyon of Yellowjacket Canyon. I did a lot of scanning with binoculars, but only sighted the Woods Canyon Pueblo and the square tower ruin site that I have seen before. My 3 mile round trip hike took 2:20 hours and I returned to my starting point.

Near where I parked, there is a dirt side road, and I hiked over to see if there was a rim view point near this road. I was surprised to come across a large mesa top ruins site only a few minutes down this trail.

This site is overgrown with sagebrush and trees, but seems to be relatively large. Many of the collapsed structures appeared to be circular, some large and some small.

In a couple of places, some wall sections are still intact. There were several bare earth places where pottery shards were visible.

The location of these sites is usually interesting. Residents here could probably see the Woods Canyon Pueblo site and visit there easily.

This large village site is close to steep cliffs that can be viewed by driving a short distance down the road to another side road. These cliffs overlook the side canyon that connects to Yellowjacket Canyon. After hiking, I drove the rest of the gravel road and stopped at several view points. There are good views of Yellowjacket Canyon and lower Sandstone Canyon. (On a later hike I found an alcove ruins site about 1 mile north of the mesa top site.)

Northwest Woods Canyon Village

2011-05-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

The north mesa top area west of Woods Canyon in the Canyons of the Ancients can be visited by traveling west on County Road Y from Highway 491 at Yellow Jacket, Colorado, then south on Road 16 to Road W. At the west end of Road W near a gas facility there is the marked BLM Road 4529.

About 0.7 miles along Road 4529, there is a junction with a closed old road that turns north. On my previous visit to this area I skipped passed this junction and continued on the main trail. This mesa top area is between Woods Canyon on the east and Sandstone Canyon on the west.

After about 10 minutes of hiking along the closed road, there is a small rubble pile ruins site very close to the trail.

This site and area has a good view across a sage brush field toward the Blue Mountains that are near Monticello, Utah.

About 5 minutes of walking further north, there is a very large village ruins site. It is heavily overgrown with sagebrush and trees, but the rubble piles are extensive.

I didn’t see any intact walls here. Looking back, I wondered why there is a gap between the large site and the smaller one.

Mixed in among the rubble piles are many bare earth spots with scattered pottery shards. I noticed that even the road leading to the site had many small shards along the way.

This large village is about 50 yards west of the canyon rim overlooking the upper part of the side canyon that is parallel and west of the main Woods Canyon. In the distance, the gas plant that is at the Woods Canyon Trailhead area is visible. Also, the gas plant that is on the mesa top just west of the somewhat well known Woods Canyon Pueblo is visible.

The old road continues a little further north and ends at an agricultural field. I continued a short distance east on a cow trail to the head of the side canyon and turned around without seeing any other ruins sites. I spent about 1:30 hours on this hike on a chilly and windy late April day.

On the return drive along the north side of Road W, I saw a small herd of Bison. I had passed by here a couple of times before without noticing them.

Sacred Images Rock Art Exhibit

2011-04-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

The Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado is hosting the Sacred Images Rock Art Exhibit from April to October 2011. Photographs of four styles of Utah Rock art are on display that may span 8000 years. The Anasazi Heritage Center acts as the Visitor Center for the Canyons of the Ancients.

The Chuska Puma greets visitors to the Anasazi Heritage Center. The Chuska Puma is part of the Pumas on Parade effort to raise awareness of mountain lions. This puma has some examples of rock art as part of its design. There are 17 or so artistic pumas on display, mostly in southwest Colorado.

The Chuska Puma was donated by the Kinder Morgan Company, who also provides road maintenance in the remote parts of the Canyons of the Ancients. My own experience is that the gas well workers have been helpful to hikers trying to find their way around the backcountry areas. The puma has been recently moved from inside the Center to this attractive outdoor position

The most ancient art is called the Barrier Canyon Style. The artists are currently called the Western Archaic Native Americans, but we are not sure who they were or even who their descendants are. They lived as hunters and gathers and left their paintings in sheltered canyons along their migration routes. The most famous place to find examples is in the Grand Gallery of Canyonlands National Park. They have many very large ghostly and spirit figures.

The group that we used to call the Anasazi, and now call the Ancestral Pueblos were the first group to practice agriculture in Utah. The Ancestral Pueblos rock art is divided into the Basketmaker and Pueblo phases. The rock art resembles the Barrier Canyon and Fremont style but the images include arms and hands and more details.

There are some relatively easy panels to find along the San Juan River near Bluff, Utah, particularly the Sand Island boat launch site. The small panels that are visible at Mesa Verde are some Colorado examples. The Pueblo phase people produced less rock art, but more decorated pottery, weaving, and kiva painting.

The Ute Style is the most recent, dated from 1600 to 1930. The Ute Style features horses, bison, and shield-shaped stick figures. The Ute Mountain Tribal Park near Cortez, CO has some Ute local examples, and horse figures are found in a few places in the Canyons of the Ancients.

In the gallery room, the pictures are arranged around the outer wall, with a center section. Each picture has a short description, and there are interpretive posters giving general information on each style. I was hoping for maps that would show where the sites are located, but no luck.

The group that we call the Fremonts lived in the northern three quarters of Utah from 400 to 1300 AD. We don’t know who their ancestors or their descendants are. There are several styles of Fremont work, with many animals, hunting scenes and horned human figures.

There is a book of these same pictures on sale in the gift shop. I would like these books to include maps or directions that show how to visit these sites yourself, but they usually don’t.

Squaw Point Mesa Top

2011-04-22T03:42:00.000-07:00

The Squaw Point Mesa Top is the area between Cross Canyon on the east and Squaw Canyon on the west, in the Canyons of the Ancients in soutwest Colorado. The access is to follow paved Road 6 south from Dove Creek, CO. The route zig zags west in several places but continues south on Roads 5 and 4. The Canyons of the Ancients area definitely begins at a cattle guard after about 17 miles.

At about 19 miles, the well maintained county roads end at a drill site, but a dirt BLM road makes a right turn and is marked with a National Monument sign. The dirt road is bumpy but is drivable. It is marked as a “Designated Route” for motorized travel. I continued driving 2 more miles down this road. There are several side roads along the way, but I only saw one side road that was also a Designated Route.

At about 2 miles down the dirt road, there is a short turn off that provides some good views of Squaw Canyon. The area in view is in the Squaw/Papoose Canyon Wilderness Study Area. It appears to be over the state line into Utah, but still part of the BLM managed lands.

I was surprised to see what I think is a Navajo Hogan type structure built into the canyon rim. The doorway may be oriented south rather than the traditional east. The roof uses cribbed juniper logs, but has some plastic sheet built in.

Overlooking the Hogan to the south, there is a boulder based ruins site visible about 0.4 miles away. This site isn’t visible from the road. I drove a little further south and hiked to it, but the hiking distance is about the same whether you drive further or not.

The boulder is located just below a point and has a commanding view below, across, and to each side. There is a small section of still standing wall segment.

Most of the rubble appears to have fallen on the south side. There is an old but modern ladder among the debris. My side trip hike here took about 0:40 minutes.

Coincidentally, at the point where I parked about 0.4 miles south of the Navajo Hogan, there is a mesa top ruins site very close to the road. Though it is visible from the road, it is overgrown with sage brush. This mesa top site was about 100 yards from the canyon rim and about 0.4 miles from the boulder lookout ruins site.

The road continues south through a large sagebrush field. I stopped at a random point and walked about 0.3 miles to the Cross Canyon west rim. Cross Canyon continues to the McLean Basin area. In the southwest side of McLean Basin, there is a rough road that climbs up and probably connects to this mesa top road, but I didn’t get that far. I stopped at a fence and gate that was 4.2 miles past the Canyons of the Ancients sign.

Woods Canyon Mesa Top

2011-04-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Mesa Top area between the Canyons of the Ancients Woods Canyon on the east and Sandstone Canyon on the west can be accessed along County Road W west of the Community of Yellow Jacket in southwest Colorado.

The turn off is west on County Road Y from Highway 491, then south on Road 16 to Road W. At the end of Road W near a gas facility, BLM Road 4529 provides as easy trail. I followed the BLM road as it twisted south and east for about 1.5 miles until it ends with a turnaround circle.

On this hike I wanted to see where this road goes and didn’t detour off even though most of the Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites and the good views are usually found near the canyon rims. At the road end, hiking can continue for another 1.5 miles or so out toward an overlook of the junction of Woods Canyon and Sandstone Canyon.

The mesa top area has some narrow sections where there are views both east and west. The west view is one of the best available views of the middle part of Sandstone Canyon. It looks like there is a trail leading toward the canyon bottom below the view point, but I didn’t see where this trail might connect to the mesa top. I scanned the area below with binoculars and didn’t spot any ruins sites, but they are often obscured by the forest.

Further out toward the junction overlook on the Woods Canyon side, I spotted a small rubble pile ruins site just below the rim. It was easy to find a way down for a closer look, but this appeared to be a small site without any walls still intact.

On a previous hike south of the Woods Canyon Pueblo site, I sighted a square tower in the cliffs below the neck area of this mesa top. It is in an alcove in the darker rock layer that is near the canyon bottom. I looked all along the rim above this structure but couldn’t see the tower from above. I did see a couple of rock cairns in the vicinity, but these didn’t help me find a view point.

The cliffs are very steep here. I looked around for more than an hour but the only view of the tower I could find was to descend all the way to the canyon bottom and slightly up the other side. I came across a trail at the bottom of the canyon, probably a cow trail.

Besides the cliffs above the tower, there are also cliffs below and the side approaches seemed steep, so I didn’t get a better view than the one from across the canyon. From below, it looks like there should be a route to view the site closer, but the straight up approach is steep. My approach was toward the south side where it was less steep but the structure goes out of site as you climb.

My total hike took 4:30 hours for about 6 miles on a 56 F degree windy mid April day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Holly Ruins to Bridge Canyon (Bike Trail)

2011-04-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

The Holly Ruins Group is one of the outlying sites of Hovenweep National Monument in southwest Colorado. The rough road leading to the Holly and Horseshoe Units is about 5 miles north of the Hovenweep Visitor Center along County Road 10.

I started my hike close to the Holly Ruins Unit and continued south and east along the BLM road into the Canyons of the Ancients. This is part of a loop route in this area that mountain bikers follow. The Holly Group features several structures that are perched on large boulders including Tilted Tower where the boulder has shifted, dumping most of the structure into Keeley Canyon.

After about 10 minutes of hiking there is a marked junction with BLM Road 4723 turning south and Road 4721 continuing southeast. I stayed to the left on 4721 which crosses the canyon bottom of Bridge Canyon. Toward the east side there are two side canyons as the road begins to climb to the mesa top area between Bridge Canyon and Hovenweep Canyon. The first side canyon has two small stock ponds near the road.

The ridge between the two side canyons has a large rubble pile ruins visible from the east side as the road climbs to the mesa top area. I approached from the east side and found a way up to the site, but there is a layer of cliffs and the way wasn’t easy. This site isn’t visible from the west side near the stock ponds, though the climb up looks easier from that side.

There are collapsed structures in front of the boulder based rubble piles. I was 0:45 minutes into my hike when I spotted this site and it took a total of 1:00 hour to arrive. I had to look around for several minutes to find a way to climb up and only found one gap in the cliffs below the east side.

On the back side of the large boulders, there was an interesting wall section that blocked access to the site from the east. The routes up were so limited and difficult that I wondered if this was more of a safety fence than a barrier to entry.

The best wall sections still holding together were on the back side along the boulder top. There is just a narrow passage way along the back side between the structures and other large boulders. The style of brickwork makes an obvious change from the left to right sides. The visible pottery shards that I saw here were a mix of corrugated and painted black on white.

It was easier to descend down the west side of the ridge to the drainage and loop back to the stock ponds, than to return the way I came. From the ruins site, it only took 0:10 minutes to return to the ponds. From the ponds I retraced a short distance east and arrived at the mesa top area on the east side of Bridge Canyon. I turned around at the marked junction with BLM Road 4722 that heads north.

Road 4722 is part of the bike route and eventually loops west to a junction with County Road 10 about 1 mile north of the Holly turnoff and there is an old corral visible near the intersection. My return hike took 0:50 minutes and my total hike took 2:40 hours. I also made a short visit to the Holly Ruins Group. It was 56 F degrees at my 10:20 AM start and 68 F degrees at my 1:00 PM finish on a warmer than average early April day. I carried and drank 2 liters of water.

Goodman Point Pueblo

2011-03-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Goodman Point Ruins Group of Hovenweep National Monument is an unpublicized site in the vicinity of the north end of the Sand Canyon Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Goodman Point was the first site in the country to receive protection, withdrawn from homesteading in 1889. In 1951 it was added to Hovenweep National Monument, though the other Hovenweep sites are many miles to the west.

The site has a good sign but it is down the trail and not visible to those driving by. There are hints that there might be something here. In summer, there may be portable rest rooms that don't have an apparent reason for being there. There are two entrances through the fence into the site along County Road P between Roads 17 and 18 northwest of Cortez in southwest Colorado. The site fence has some tiny NPS signs that are also a clue that there is something here.

The Goodman Point Unit consists of 42 different sites. In April 2008, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center began a six year project to examine these sites. The easiest site to view is the main pueblo site on the east side of the unit. In 2008 many of the rubble piles had trenches cut into them, string lines placed, sandstone bricks neatly stacked and piles of excavated soil resting on plastic sheeting. The trenches were all covered with custom fitted doors, but in spring 2011 this activity appeared to be mostly finished.

Entering at the east entrance and following the trail to the head of the canyon, there are two short trails on each side of the drainage leading to the numerous rubble pile sites. The environment here is Pinon Pine and Juniper forest with sage brush mixed in. There are enormous rubble piles on both sides of the trail. The short brochure has a map of the site showing the locations of towers, kivas, and the village enclosing walls. I didn’t see any intact wall sections but the amount of rubble is enormous.

Along with the Sand Canyon Pueblo, this is one of the largest pueblo sites in the area, and it is interesting that Sand Canyon and Goodman Canyon are adjacent. The site enclosing walls are reasonably easy to pick out, long and low structures on the east end and also along the north side.

The site map shows a great kiva on the south side of the canyon. Although the rubble piles are confusing for amateurs, there is a large circular area with a depression in the center that is reasonably recognizable. I walked around this large area for about 2:00 hours on a 44 F degree late March day.

Cannonball Cliffs to Yellowjacket Creek

2011-03-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

The north cliffs of Cannonball Mesa overlook the lower section of Yellowjacket Canyon in the southwest part of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The west end of Cannonball Mesa is 26 miles west of Cortez, CO on County Road G to the rough Yellowjacket Canyon Road at Ismay Trading Post.

The unmarked cow trail that provides an easy route to the top of Cannonball is 1.4 miles north along the rough road. At the top I turned left or north, and continued along the rim, past a narrow northwest point to an overlook of a boulder based Ancestral Pueblo ruins site. Slightly to the east, there is a notch in the cliffs that allows a descent down the slope.

I had spotted this site on a previous hike along the Cannonball Mesa Cliffs. The notch has several easy to view petroglyphs near the rim. It took me 0:45 minutes to arrive at the notch.

The hike down the slope is somewhat slippery but feasible. The best routes are often easier to see looking up the slope rather than down. At the ruins site, there are some minor wall sections still in place around the edges on top and much rubble has tumbled down on the south side. I didn’t see any other structures around the boulder. From this site it is an easy walk down toward the canyon bottom and the flowing creek and there are many other large boulders in the vicinity.

One of the large boulders about 100 yards to the west has a clearly visible horse image sitting above a faint but larger horse. This panel faces the canyon bottom area.

At the canyon bottom there is a continuation of the Yellowjacket Canyon road, but direct access is blocked by private property. This section of the canyon bottom is part of the Canyons of the Ancients for about 1 mile. Many other segments of Yellowjacket Canyon bottom are private property.

I followed the old road, walking slowly and scanning the opposite side with binoculars. In about 20 minutes of direct walking, the road leads to the creek and dead ends. I didn’t spot any ruins sites in the creek area, but they are often hard to see from a distance. During my hike, there was an old backhoe parked at the end of the road.

I was 3:10 hours into my hike when I arrived back at the ruins site on my return hike. I saw a few alcoves high to the west and wanted to see if there was another route to this area. When I climbed to a ridge below the alcoves I had a major surprise. Otherwise, my total hike took 4:10 hours on a 60 F degree partly cloudy and windy mid March day. I carried and drank 2 liters of water for about 5 miles of hiking.

Hovenweep and Yellowjacket Junction

2011-03-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

The northwest corner of Cannonball Mesa overlooks the junction of Yellowjacket and Hovenweep Canyons in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, near Ismay Trading Post in southwest Colorado. After visiting a small ruins site along the north Cannonball Cliffs rim hiking route I looked for an alternate route back to the mesa top.

I was so stunned when I came over a small ridge that I gasped aloud. Besides being surprised by this ruins, this site has an impressive location that sits with a perfect view down Yellowjacket Canyon and up Hovenweep Canyon.

There are many boulder based ruins sites in the Canyons of the Ancients, but this one seems to be perched on a perfect cube and has several clearly visible rooms.

I saw one large petroglyph image on the boulder foundation and a small spiral. I could see the Yellowjacket Canyon road and my parked car from this site. It is visible with binoculars from down below, but is hidden when hiking along the rim. I didn’t find an easier return route than the way I came.

Risley Canyon Trail

2011-03-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

Risley Canyon is a tributary to Yellowjacket Canyon in the south central part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trail head that I used is 3.4 miles north on the BLM road that is about 20 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G. At this starting point, high on the south side, there is a rough road leading east.

This is north of the starting points for hikes to the Cannonball Mesa Pueblo site and the Lucy’s Warbler habitat area. The Lucy’s Warbler hike is west along the south rim of Risley Canyon to its junction with Yellowjacket Canyon. After about 20 minutes of hiking, there is a junction with a left turn that pushes into the central area of upper Risley Canyon.

After about 1:00 hour of slow hiking, with a lot of scanning with binoculars, I spotted a larger boulder outcrop in the center of the canyon area with some rubble on top. There are vague ATV tracks that lead down toward the boulder site, making it easy to walk to. It looks like there was a lookout structure on top of the boulder.

Not visible from a distance are all the structures on the south side. Many of these Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites would be easily missed in the forest if it weren’t for the rubble that is frequently on the tops of large boulders. A circular structure on the southeast side is protected under a small overhang.

There are additional wall sections to the left of the circular structure and built into other rocks in the vicinity. The pottery shards visible here are mostly the corrugated style.

From this site I hiked north a short distance to the cliffs. I didn’t see any more ruins sites, but there are good views back toward the boulders and the surrounding area. Rather than return the same way I came, I hiked west, gradually descending down the drainage until I arrived at the main BLM road.

My total hike in Risley Canyon took 3:30 hours for about 4 miles. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on a 60 F degree mid March day.

Cannonball Mesa Point

2011-03-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Cannonball Mesa Point overlooks the Ismay Pueblo and Petroglyph site along the southwest side of the Canyons of the Ancients area in southwest Colorado. This area is about 26 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G, then about 0.2 miles north on the rough Yellowjacket Canyon road.

I started my hike 1.4 miles northeast along the rough Yellowjacket Canyon road and followed a cow trail to the top of the mesa. The cow trail isn’t marked but is reasonably obvious and the climbing is easy. It took me 20 minutes to get to the rim where I turned right, back southwest toward the point. At the top, I startled a group of cows that were lounging there. I followed the rim along the cliffs overlooking the mouth of Yellowjacket Canyon.

Near the point there is a new looking protective barbed wire fence and a short distance beyond there is an ancient zig zag rock wall that encloses the point, about 300 yards from the tip. It took me 0:45 minutes of hiking to arrive at the rock wall.

On the south end there is a circular structure tied into the wall. Also at the south end there are views over McElmo Canyon and County Road G. This is one of the better view points that can be found in the region.

Between the rock wall and the point, particularly on the north side, there are several rectangular outlines made of flat slab rocks turned vertically. Mesa Verde National Park has some excavated and interpreted sites similar to these on the Mesa Top self guiding tour and also on the Badger House Trail. The information there says that the transition from pit houses to pueblo villages featured shallow slab lined pits supporting a frame and lattice of wooden poles that were plastered over with mud.

In later eras, the wooden structures were replaced with stone masonry. The Mesa Verde Interpretation suggests that there may have been a shortage of wood, or that disastrous fires prompted the change. The date of this style is given as 850 AD. I also noticed a large circular depression that was outlined with similar rocks.

There is also a Mesa Verde interpretive sign describing small stone lined food storage structures, maybe like this.

The rocky tip of the point has quite a few potholes in the sandstone that catch and hold quite a bit of water. There is water available for this site in the canyon bottoms below from the flowing creeks, but none near the mesa top point other than these natural storage tanks.

The mesa top area is dry rocky terrain with a few Juniper trees and desert shrubs and grasses. From this water storage area, there are also views overlooking the pueblo site that is near the Ismay Trading Post.

Looking south near the south end of the zig zag wall, there is a boulder perched structure between the cliffs and County Road G. I only viewed this structure from the rim. I lingered on the point for 1:15 hours and the return hike took 0:50 minutes for a total hike of 2:50 hours for about 3 miles. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on a 52 F degree early March day.

Cannonball Mesa Cliffs

2011-03-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

The west end of Cannonball Mesa has impressive cliffs that overlook the rough Yellowjacket Canyon road at the junction of Yellowjacket and McElmo Canyons. This area is on the southwest side of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. Follow County Road G about 26 miles west of Cortez, CO to the Ismay Trading Post and turn north.

I started my hike about 0.25 miles northeast on the rough dirt road below the Ismay Petroglyph and Pueblo site that is based on a large boulder. I hiked along the road for about 1 more mile until I found a cow trail that leads to the rim in an area where the cliffs are not so impossible looking. From where I started, it took me about 0:25 minutes to find the trail and another 0:25 minutes to get to the rim. The road is rough but it is possible to drive to the cow trail.

At the canyon rim I turned left and followed the rim northeast for about 1 mile. There is a narrow finger of a point and then the rim turns east. In the east segment near the point, I spotted a boulder based ruins site well below the rim. I didn’t climb down to view it closer, but did look closer at the petroglyphs that were close to the rim. I was 1:10 hours into my hike when I stopped to view these images.

Another 30 minutes of hiking brought me to the neck that separates the east and west portions of Cannonball Mesa. The large Cannonball Mesa Pueblo site is on the east side of the neck, approximately 2 more miles of hiking. I turned around at the neck overlook point.

The Cannonball Mesa top is relatively dry compared to the mesas to the north. Juniper trees are few and scattered, with other plants including Mormon Tea, Cliff Rose, Narrowleaf Yucca, Prickly Pear Cactus, and desert grasses. I saw a few cows grazing up here and it looks like most visitors arrive on horseback.

Parts of the floor of Yellowjacket Canyon are privately owned, but in this east and west section there appears to be a 1 mile stretch of canyon bottom that is part of the Canyons of the Ancients. There is a faint road below, but I didn’t see any other development. The area visible here has a broad flat bottom and the creek has flowing water most of the year and there is good riparian habitat. I scanned the area with binoculars and didn’t spot any other ruins sites but they are not always visible from a distance.

The return hike took 1:30 hours out of a total hike of 3:10 hours for about 6 miles. My hike was on a 58 F degree early March day and carried and drank 2 liters of water.

Winter Footprints at Lowry Pueblo

2011-01-13T05:37:00.000-08:00

Lowry Pueblo Ruins is located west of Pleasant View in southwest Colorado on County Road CC. It is one of the few easy to visit sites of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. In the winter, the site is accessible but be prepared for deep snow. County Road CC is cleared of snow to the turn into the site. I parked at the beginning of the driveway and snow shoe hiked about 0.25 miles to the hilltop ruins area.

One of the several interpretive signs along the north side of the hilltop site is titled “Footprints.” It describes how the Great Sage Plain in southwest Colorado and southeast Utah was the most densely settled region of the Ancestral Pueblo world. We see mostly the large ruins sites, here, and at Mesa Verde, and other publicized sites, but there are many subtle sites hidden in the canyons and mesa tops in the Canyons of the Ancients area. The Hopi consider these sites to be footsteps of the ancestors.

The Lowry site has views of all of the regional mountain ranges.

Lowry Pueblo is generally rectangular with doorways on the east side facing a plaza area that extends down to the Great Kiva. I noticed on the south side several lines of stones that seem to be glazed, or at least have a different color that were placed together. This southeast corner seems to clearly show a wall section that abuts the larger wall, rather than being tied into it.

The west wall doesn’t show any ground level doorways. On this side there is a line of small rooms that were entered from roof top entryways. The winds and weather systems in this region are mostly westerly; perhaps this arrangement offers protection from weather. The snow appears to really pile up on this side also.

It is possible to enter Lowry Pueblo on the east side to view the interior kiva. This kiva is famous for the painted designs that were on the interior walls. These paintings aren’t visible anymore, but there are pictures and a preserved section at the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores, Colorado. On the interior there are close up views of the interior stone work and passageways.

I spent about 1:30 hours on this visit on a 15 F degree sunny winter day. The mid January snow was about two feet and walking moderately difficult in most places. The entry road snow was somewhat compacted by a vehicle and was relatively easy walking.

Escalante Pueblo Hilltop Winter Views

2011-01-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Escalante Pueblo is one of the few excavated and easy to view sites in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The site is located on the hilltop at the end of the 0.5 mile Interpretive Trail behind the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores, CO. In winter, the trail is cleared of snow and can be easily hiked.

Escalante Pueblo and its nearby neighbor Dominguez Pueblo were built in the 1120s by the Ancestral Pueblo people. The location is remarkable for the views over the Dolores River with the San Juan Mountains visible in the distance. It has a rectangular layout surrounding a circular kiva. The building style resembles the Far View House at Mesa Verde and the Lowry Pueblo near Pleasant View, CO.

The Escalante Pueblo overlooks the area called the Big Bend of the Dolores River. The Dolores flows south from its headwaters near Lizard Head Pass and makes a sweeping turn to the northwest, flowing toward a junction with the San Miguel River and on to a junction with the Colorado River upstream of Moab, Utah. The area that is now flooded by McPhee Reservoir is rich with now submerged archaeology sites.

The view to the east is dominated by the LaPlata Mountains, featuring Mt. Hesperus, one of the four sacred peaks of the Navajo. The grassy mesa top areas on the north side of the McPhee Reservoir have some small ruins sites that can be visited by hiking. The Anasazi Heritage Center acts as the visitor center for the Canyons of the Ancients and has excellent and creative displays of the artifacts that were recovered prior to the construction of McPhee Reservoir.

Getting to Know Canyons of the Ancient National Monument

Yellowjacket Canyon near Woods Canyon

2010-12-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

Yellowjacket Canyon is one of the largest of the rugged Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado. There is an access to the north rim along the extension of County Road 14, south of County Road U. This area is west of the community of Yellowjacket, northwest of Cortez, CO along highway 491.

From the trailhead area near the Carbon Dioxide Gas Plant into Woods Canyon at Roads 14 and U, I continued driving south for 2.3 miles to a point where there are views along the north rim of Yellowjacket Canyon. The well maintained gravel road continues for about one mile to several carbon dioxide gas wells. I started hiking west along the canyon rim, parallel to the road.

Yellowjacket Canyon is oriented east and west in this area and is very deep and wide with a flat canyon bottom. There is a meandering creek along the floor. In some areas the Yellowjacket Canyon floor is still private property with farming operations. I was hiking slowly, stopping frequently to scan with binoculars for Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites.

After about 1:00 hour, but only about 0.6 miles I came across a rubble pile site that was about 50 feet back from the rim. Many of these sites sit on the rim and spill over the edge, but this one was more of a mesa top site. I didn’t spot any ruins sites below the rim or near the canyon floor.

This site looked like it had at least two large rubble pile structures and a large circular depression and some perimeter walls. Not much has held together above ground, but it looks like a fairly large site.

I continued west for about another 0.5 miles to a view point. I turned around at the view point, but there is about another mile of mesa top out to a rocky cap that overlooks the junction of Yellowjacket Canyon and the unnamed side canyon to the north. There is a rough trail ATV that continues along the mesa top.

On the return hike, I followed the rough trail back east to where it connects with the end of the maintained gravel road. Before that junction I found another mesa top site, somewhat smaller than the previous one. There were at least two rubble piles at this site, both overgrown with sagebrush and trees. My return hike only took about 0:30 minutes out of total hike of 2:30 hours for about 2 miles. I hiked on a mild 46 F degree early December day.

Two days later I returned to the same area and continued on the rough ATV trail to the rocky cap overlooking the point where Yellowjacket Canyon makes a bend to the southwest. I started at the end of the well maintained gravel road, and re-hiked the first 0.5 miles of ATV trail, passing the second ruins site again. At the end of the point, about 1.5 miles of hiking, a little past the rocky outcrop, there are good views down Yellowjacket Canyon.

I saw one small ruins site along the south facing canyon rim a short distance before the rocky outcrop. The rocky outcrop itself appeared to have a small shelter ruin with a small wall fragment. I spent 2:20 hours on this segment of hiking of about 3 miles.

Little Ruin Canyon Trail in Fall

2010-11-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

The Little Ruin Canyon Trail is located at the Visitor Center of Hovenweep National Monument along the south Utah and Colorado border. The 2 mile loop visits at least 10 Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites, mostly perched along the canyon rims.

Little Ruins Canyon appears to be dryer and more desert like than most of the surrounding Canyons of the Ancients area. The mesa top area is mostly Sagebrush, Mormon Tea, Cliff Rose, Prickly Pear Cactus, with a few scattered Utah Juniper trees. These plants are identified with small signs on the trail segment close to the Visitor Center. The canyons only a few miles further north are much thicker Pinon Pine and Juniper forest. Most of these plants retain some green color into the fall and winter seasons.

The trail here at the Hovenweep Visitor Center provides more ruin site viewing in a short distance than most trails in the region. The nearby Sand Canyon Trail has many small sites and Chaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico has very large sites. Sun Point at Mesa Verde has many sites visible from one view point.

Following the loop trail clockwise, there is an 80 foot descent into the canyon and a climb out the other side. The canyon interior is closed except for special tours. Several of the ruins sites can be viewed from this low angle including Stronghold House, the Twin Towers and Eroded Boulder House. Climb a little higher and Point Tower, Unit Type House, and Rim Rock House are visible. The canyon bottom has thicker vegetation than the canyon rim area, with some Rabbitbrush visible. The canyon head area has some Hackberry Trees.

The upper end of the south fork of the canyon head has some of the largest and most impressive of the Hovenweep Towers. Hovenweep Castle across the canyon head is the largest and most impressive. The Square Tower down below the rim is the most mysterious and seems to have been build with slight spiral. It overlooks the spring that provided water for the overall site.

There are a few small structures that aren’t pointed out. From the Tower Point loop segment looking north there are some small storage structures in the shallow alcoves under the rim. In fall, these small storage areas were probably stocked with the produce of the summer season.

Another unnamed ruins structure is at the point where the trail begins to descend into and cross the small canyon. This unnamed site would be a major find along the wild canyons of Canyons of the Ancients but is easily ignored here. Looking east, there is a view toward Sleeping Ute Mountain. The Holly Trail leads from the campground 4 miles north to the Holly Ruins Group, the nearest outlying site of Hovenweep. The Little Ruins Canyon Trail takes 1 or 2 hours depending on how long you linger at each site. I hiked in mid November on a sunny 45 F degree day and there were about 10 other vehicles at the visitor center during my visit.

Woods Canyon Square Tower

2010-11-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

There is an old road that provides an easy descent down into Woods Canyon in the Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado. The access is at the corner of County Roads U and 14, west of the community of Yellowjacket, northwest of Cortez, CO along Highway 491.

There is some parking along the road across from one of the carbon dioxide plants in the area. The south leg of the trail leads to a large Ancestral Pueblo ruins site after about 0:45 minutes of hiking.

I continued on the trail past the Woods Canyon Pueblo for another 0:40 minutes until the route seemed to fizzle out in a thick sagebrush field. In the fall, the creek at the bottom of Woods Canyon had a healthy flow of water. The northwest canyon slope appeared easy to climb at this point, so I decided to walk up hill to get a better view. I didn’t realize it, but the mouth of a side canyon was only a short distance ahead.

At the hill top, I had a good view into the side canyon and noticed a square tower perched on the west side cliffs, below the rim. From the distance, I couldn’t see any other structures nearby. This location made it appear that the tower kept a watch on the side canyon entrance. The area below the tower appeared to be steep and I decided just to view the tower from the distance. I was 1:50 hours into my hike at this view point.

I turned back north along the east rim of this side canyon, expecting to see more ruins sites, but didn’t notice anything. I made my way back to the main Woods Canyon and descended back to the canyon floor trail in the vicinity of the Woods Canyon Pueblo. My total hike took 5:30 hours for seven or eight miles. It was a 60 F early November day and I carried 3 liters of water.

Mockingbird Mesa below the Rim

2010-10-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

The access to Mockingbird Mesa is the well maintained road that is the extension of County Road 12, south from the junction with County Road BB west of Pleasant View, Colorado. It is 5.8 miles south to the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument sign. It is 8.5 miles total to the normally closed gate and there is a left turn at a BLM sign describing the Mockingbird Mesa area as closed to vehicles but open to foot traffic and horses.

On a previous hike along the Mockingbird Mesa east rim, I noticed a boulder based Ancestral Pueblo ruins site below the rim, less than 0.5 miles south of the closed gate.

I started at the closed gate and hiked east to the rim, past the large rubble pile ruins site that is behind the carbon dioxide plant. I found one of the many notches in the sandstone rim that allows a descent onto a wide ledge area and hiked south toward the ruins site. This canyon appears to be a side canyon of Sandstone Canyon.

From the rim, all you can see is the rubble on the top of two boulders. This site is about halfway to the canyon bottom. On the rim side of the site there are the remains of some wall sections visible, along with a lot of rubble that appears to have fallen from the boulder top. It took me 0:40 minutes to reach this site, with slow hiking.

A closer look shows the extent of the rubble. There might be a grinding stone visible at the site. Most of the pottery shards I saw were corrugated.

Around the south side there are some small alcoves with some minor wall work still in place. Using large boulders as the foundation of a building site seems to be common around the edges of the Mockingbird Mesa area.

From this site I continued down canyon and down slope southeast for another 0.5 miles, and 0:30 minutes and stumbled across another site. This site is obscured by the thick Pinon Pine and Juniper forest and I don’t think it is visible from the canyon rim. From the west side view, it seems to be horseshoe shaped or an incomplete circle. It sits on a flat area to the west of the canyon bottom and is hard to spot until you are very close to it. I was 1:40 hours into my hike when I arrived at this site.

The east side of this site has a thick wall section still holding together. I didn’t see any other walls or structures close by this circular site. It seems to stand alone. There were some painted design pottery shards visible here.

From this second site I crossed the canyon bottom and continued a little further southeast but then turned back north, scanning the cliffs visible to the east and north, but without seeing any other ruins sites. My return hike stayed more on the east side of the canyon bottom than my descent. My total hike took 3:30 hours for about 3 miles on a 62 F late October day. I carried 3 liters of water and drank 2 of them.

Upper Rock Creek Canyon Loop

2010-10-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

The lower part of Rock Creek Canyon can be visited on parts of the popular Sand Canyon Trail system in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. Rock Creek Canyon has an east fork and a west fork with trails circling around both forks.

The upper part of the west fork can be accessed along the extension of County Road N, about 2.7 miles west of the north Sand Canyon trailhead. There is a place to park at a good overlook very close to the rim. I started my hike at the overlook and walked close to the rim, but there is also a dirt well service road that runs very close to the rim.

At the start of the hike there are also some views of the San Miguel Mountains far to the north. The area of this hike is shown on the north part of the Sand Canyon Trail Map that is available at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, CO.

If you walk along the well service road, there are pullover points where there are good views up and down the canyon. The first pullover view point is about 10 minutes of walking from the junction with the main road. At this overlook point I noticed a boulder based ruins site below the rim. Looking closely, there is rubble on the top of the boulder and rubble around the base. There are two levels of cliffs to get past to get to it. I didn’t see an easy way past the second level, so just viewed it from above.

While hiking along the rim, an exploration road is visible in the canyon below. The exploration road enters the canyon from the east side, crosses the canyon bottom and heads south, more or less parallel to the rim road. These two roads eventually intersect about 2 miles south from the lookout point. I arrived at the intersection after 1:20 hours of hiking and decided to follow the exploration road down below the rim.
There were spectacular canyon views down Rock Creek Canyon. I walked out to a point that I thought would be a good site for a lookout tower, but only got the good views.

The exploration road crosses the canyon bottom and then circles south and east as it climbs the east side. I was 3:10 hours into my hike when I reached the mesa top area. There are more good views back toward the area where I had just hiked.

The trail continues south and east when I wanted to go north and west back toward my starting point. As I was looking for a shortcut, I spotted a rubble pile on the east side of a sagebrush field area, sitting up on a low rocky cliff overlooking a drainage. This site appeared to be circular and open in the center. There was some additional rubble extending down the hill, but overall it appeared to be a small site. There is at least one more ruins site in this area that I noticed on the hike I called Sand Canyon North Overlooks.

Some of the wall was still holding together on the inside. From this ruins site I continued hiking north, not on the exploration road, which continued south and east. An arm of the canyon extends east so hiking has to stay straight north to get around it, but a short cut is possible. From the ruins site it took me another 1:40 hours to return to my starting point. The last mile was along the main gravel road that enters the area. My total hike took 5:25 hours for about 10 miles. It was a 58 F degree mid October day and I carried 3 liters of water.

Negro Canyon to Mockingbird Mesa

2010-10-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

Hovenweep Canyon in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado can be hiked across using the old mineral exploration roads. Starting at the Upper Trailhead for the Cutthroat Castle Trail, the west rim of Negro Canyon, the next canyon to the east, can be reached with about 1:00 hour of easy hiking. This area is about 10 miles north of the Hovenweep National Monument Visitor Center along County Road 10, then east on the marked turnoff to the Painted Hand Pueblo.

Below the west rim of Negro Canyon, there are three Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites visible. One of them includes part of what looks like a circular tower perched halfway up a cliff, with some rubble remains on the rim. It takes a few minutes of searching along the south section of the canyon rim to find a route down to the canyon floor. In the vicinity of these ruins sites, there is a vague ATV trail that leads east toward the dirt road that runs along the bottom of Negro Canyon, near the dry creek bed.

Hiking near the dirt road at the canyon bottom, I spotted some unusual structures in the cliffs to the south. These two walls are north facing and appear to enclose small alcoves in the rock face. More often, hikers see circular granary structures in locations like this. There is also a small arch in this same area.

From the bottom of Negro Canyon, I continued east along the south side of a side canyon, climbing toward the east rim and Mockingbird Mesa. The Mockingbird Mesa area is said to have a very high concentration of archaeological sites, and is also an area that has some industrial activity, mostly carbon dioxide and oil and gas wells. There is a good road traveling the length of Mockingbird Mesa but it is blocked to vehicles by a normally closed gate. Hikers can enter the area and explore on foot.

While hiking northeast along the south side of the side canyon, I spotted a very large ruins site at the head of the side canyon. There is another old exploration road that crosses this area. It connects vaguely to the Negro Canyon bottom but I didn’t notice it there. I came across it along the way and followed it to the canyon rim. The large site is easily visible from the road and it is a short walk along the rim over to the site. It was 2:40 hours into my hike when I arrived at this large ruins site.

Amidst all the rubble, there are several wall sections still standing. Most of this site is along the rim and just below the rim. The site didn’t appear to extend back into the forest area. There is a drainage in the middle of the site. I didn’t see any flowing water or any vegetation that indicates a lot of water, like Hackberry or Cottonwood trees.

My return hike took 2:50 hours. I used the old road for easy hiking all the way from Mockingbird to the bottom of Negro Canyon. It was on the return hike that I detoured off the ATV trail and looked at the small arch and the small walled in alcoves. In the area near the alcoves there are more spots to climb to the west rim of Negro Canyon.

From the Negro Canyon west rim it was easy hiking along the old road, across Hovenweep Canyon, back to the starting point. My total hike was 6:00 hours for about 9 miles on a 70 F degree mid October blue sky day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water. Along the total route from the west Hovenweep Canyon rim, across Negro Canyon, to the west rim of Mockingbird Mesa, I saw four modest ruins sites and the one large one, not counting the publicized Painted Hand Pueblo. Almost all of this hike into the Ancients backcountry can follow existing old roads and trails.

Getting to Know Canyons of the Ancient National Monument

Ruins Canyon East Rim

2010-10-09T04:36:00.000-07:00

Ruins Canyon is visible along the west side of County Road 10 in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The canyon head is southeast of the developed Lowry Pueblo Ruins site and it flows southwesterly, parallel to Cow Canyon and Cross Canyon. There is an access at an old drill site that has some green tanks, about 14 miles north of the Hovenweep National Monument Visitor Center.

I tried hiking along the east rim of Ruin Canyon, northeast toward the canyon head. In the vicinity of the green tanks trailhead, there are at least two small Ancestral Pueblo ruins site near the deep canyon bottom, and a large site directly west across the canyon. The hiking along the rim is very close to County Road 10 for the first ten minutes, and then stays behind the irrigated hay fields the rest of the way. I tried to stay as close to the rim as possible, stopping frequently to scan the west side cliffs and looking for ruins sites along the east rim.

I saw at least two, maybe three small sites along the east rim in the first 1:10 hours of slow hiking. The most interesting was a D shaped site on the rim. It appears to be about the size of the circular kivas that Mesa Verde features, but is only a semi-circle. It looks like it has been worked on somewhat. This structure appeared to be isolated, nothing else near it that I could see. The other site that I noticed was a shelter under a rock overhang with some rockwork in front. I also saw a very small rubble pile, but it didn’t appear to be big enough to be a structure.

After about 1:45 hours, about 2.5 miles, there is a large rocky outcrop on the west side with a mild slope down to the canyon bottom. Scanning the many large boulders with binoculars, it looked like there was some rubble near one of them. At the canyon bottom there is a small creek to cross. Climbing up the other side, I passed another small shelter site in a small rock alcove.

This site looked like it could have been a tower perched on the boulder, and all the material has tumbled off, piling up along the sides. Except for the small shelter, I didn’t see any other structures near this site.

The area north of the rubble pile site has several forks of the head of Ruin Canyon and a wide sagebrush field on the canyon bottom. There is a trace of an old road leading to the west. I followed the old road trail for about 0:15 minutes and spotted another rubble pile near the top of one of the mesa areas.

I didn’t climb up to view the second rubble pile site. It is just below the rim and didn’t appear to be part of a large site. I turned around after about 3:00 hours of exploring and my return hike took 1:50 hours for a total hike of 4:55 hours for about 6 miles. It was a blue sky 58 F degree early October day and I drank two of the three liters of water I carried.

Ruins Canyon to Cow Canyon

2010-10-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

Cow Canyon and Ruins Canyon run parallel to each other in the western part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. Cow Canyon starts near the excavated Lowry Ruins site and Ruins Canyon starts a little to the southeast. Both of these canyons lie to the east and flow parallel to Cross Canyon.

I started my hike at the place I call the Green Tanks trailhead. This old drill site is about 5.5 miles north of the marked east turnoff to the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail along County Road 10, and about 14 miles north of the Hovenweep National Monument visitor center. From the parking area, about 100 yards south there are notches in the steep cliffs that allow a descent into Ruins Canyon.

There isn’t a marked trail but it is feasible to walk down the slope. The elevation change is about 400 feet. On a previous hike I visited a boulder based small Ancestral Pueblo ruins site that is visible from the rim, a short distance up the west slope from the canyon bottom. On this hike I went past this site again and climbed up to the mesa top area above. It took me about 1:00 hour to cross Ruins Canyon.

Only two minutes of hiking west from where I arrived on the mesa top there is a side canyon with a large ruins site on the west side. Here, there is a choice of crossing another canyon or hiking north around the canyon head. I chose to take the relatively easy level walk around, arriving at the site 1:40 hours into my hike.

This site extends for a relatively long distance along the canyon rim and spills over below the rim. It appears as mostly large rubble piles with a few wall sections holding together. There are notches in the rocky canyon rim to get views from below the rim.

There were several vertical rock surfaces below the rim, but I didn’t see any rock art. The pottery shards visible in the ruins area were mostly the corrugated style.

On a large boulder below the main rim structures it looked like a circular tower once stood. From this site, I navigated west using a compass across the mesa top, looking for the east rim of Cow Canyon. It took me about 0:45 minutes to cross.

Along the way I passed one mesa top archaeology site. It appeared as some low sagebrush overgrown mounds with a concentration of pottery shards and some rock work visible, but didn’t look like a village where people would live. Some of the pottery I saw had painted designs rather than all corrugated styles. The Pinon Pine and Juniper forest is mostly open enough to walk through easily with some zig zagging around fallen trees and shrubs.

I arrived at a point on the east rim of Cow Canyon that overlooks the junction of Cow Canyon with Cross Canyon 2:45 hours into my hike. There is a large sky island in the middle of the canyon junction area. I scanned the area with binoculars but didn’t see any large ruins sites along the canyon rim areas. Looking north up Cow Canyon, the mesa top area where Lowry Ruins sits is visible about 3 miles away. Many of the ruins sites in this area are below the canyon rims and aren’t visible from a distance.

I recrossed the mesa top, and the side canyon, navigating with a compass, and arrived at the west rim of Ruins Canyon about 400 yards north of where I had originally crossed. As I was descending from this different angle, I was lucky to spot another ruins site near the bottom. This site is very hidden by the forest and would be hard to spot from an angle other then directly above it. It appears as a circular cone and is hollow in the middle like a dead volcano. On the east side, there were two lines of low walls between the ruins structure and the creek at the canyon bottom.

My total hike from Ruins to Cow Canyon took 5:30 hours for about 6 miles on an 80 F degree late September day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Mclean Basin North Rim

2010-09-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

There is an access to the north rim of McLean Basin is along the dirt road trail that turns west from County Road 10 1.1 miles north of the east turn to the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The McLean Basin is a large feature just west of the outlying sites of Hovenweep National Monument.

The turnoff is also about 0.4 miles south of the Canyons of the Ancients sign if traveling from the north. On a previous hike I walked the 1 mile distance to the east rim of a short side canyon that has a boulder based Ancestral Pueblo Ruins site just below the west rim. For this hike I drove close to the to the rim and began hiking there, crossing and passing by the same site.

On the previous hike, I had spotted a rubble pile about 1.5 miles further west on the north rim, but didn’t make it that far. I also saw a second boulder based ruins site on the opposite side of the point from the first site, but it was below steep cliffs and not easy to visit from where I was able to view it.

After reaching the mesa top, I hiked northwest around the next side canyon, then southwest until I reached the rubble pile, perched on the rim overlooking the wide McLean Basin.

It took me 1:30 hours to arrive at the rim rubble pile. Descending just below the rim, the rubble pile spills over the side down onto the lower level.

Looking over to the left, there is a wall of large stones, with more large stones on top of a boulder. There were a number of corrugated pottery shards in view at this site. From this site I hiked further west along the rim for 0:35 minutes until I arrived at the road that ascends from McLean Basin. At the road, a hiker could turn right and explore further north along the east edge of Cross Canyon or turn left and descend easily into the basin.

I chose to turn left and descend and pass by the elusive McLean Basin Towers. I had hiked to the towers previously, starting on the basin south rim on the Pedro Point Road and crossing the basin. I was 3:00 hours into my hike when I arrived at the twin towers.

From the towers, I hiked northeast, across the bottom toward the side canyon where I started. This route makes the hike more of a loop, and allows an approach to the boulder based site that I had previously viewed from the rim. There are two old stock ponds on the basin floor, with a cow trail between them that provides a trail for part of the distance. It took me 1:10 hours to get from the towers to the boulder site.

This site is very rocky and appears to be centered on two structures perched on side by side large boulders. A lot of rubble has spilled off the boulders and is piled up around the base. There is a small rock art panel at this site, but it didn’t look aged and weathered like they usually do. One of the figures looked like a turkey foot.

There are some wall structures built with large stones, similar to the site that is on the rim. That site is in view as I hiked to this one, above and slightly to the west. From here, I hiked east around the point, and back up the side canyon where I started. There is something of a ledge midway up the slope that is easier hiking than the canyon bottom.

This last leg took 1:30 hours, longer than I thought it would. My total hike was 5:45 hours for about 6 miles on a 75 F degree early September day. I carried 3 liters of water.

Lower Burro Canyon Trail

2010-08-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

The lower west end of the Burro Canyon area, in Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado, can be explored along an old road that descends from the south rim and crosses to the mesa top area between the two apparent parallel canyons. The old road curves back to the west and runs along the south side of a large sky island, then continues out to viewpoints overlooking Yellow Jacket Canyon. There aren’t many official trails in Canyons of the Ancients, but the old roads often make good routes through these wild canyons.

The unmarked old road is about 4.8 miles west of the Canyons of the Ancients entrance sign on the west extension of County Road N. This entrance sign is 1.2 miles west of the north trail head for popular Sand Canyon Trail. The trail makes long switchbacks for about 1.5 miles down to the bottom of Burro Canyon. It then follows the canyon bottom east for about 1 mile before climbing out to the mesa top. Looking across, there are several grassy areas on the mesa top area near the sky island. About half way down, another trail splits off, heading west down canyon. At the canyon bottom, the trail passes a very large pour off point.

There is a small Ancestral Pueblo ruin site perched on the rim overlooking the pour off. The site can be viewed from the trail and it is only a short hike to get a closer view.

This small site looks like it might have been a circular tower. I didn’t see any other structures associated with this site. My hike continued up canyon and onto the mesa top, and out to the point overlooking Yellow jacket Canyon. Despite the scenic canyon country and some reasonable looking locations, I didn’t see any more ruins sites in this area. Hikers interested mostly in ruins sites could stop at the canyon bottom and return to the rim. There are several ruins sites to find at the upper end of Burro Canyon, so I was disappointed not to find more in the lower end.

It took another 1:50 hours of hiking to get to a point, west of the sky island, where there are views in both directions of Yellow Jacket Canyon. The Yellow Jacket Canyon bottom view down canyon has some roads and farming activity and is mostly private property. The trail continues further than I went, at least another 0.5 miles out to a point more in the middle of Yellow Jacket Canyon.

The view up canyon has some sandstone outcrops that I scanned, looking for the Yellow Jacket pictograph panel. I think this panel is in this area, but I couldn’t see it from this distance. My total hike was 6:40 hours for at least 8 miles on an 80 F degree late August day. I carried 3 liters of water and drank every drop.

On a separate hike in late September, I started at the same rough road but then followed the road that splits off half way to the canyon bottom. This trail follows the south rim west and curls around a point that overlooks Yellow Jacket Canyon. There are good views toward the mouth of Burro Canyon and across Yellow Jacket Canyon. It might be possible to hike all the way to the bottom of Yellow Jacket Canyon here, but I didn’t see any ruins sites below to head for. A segment of the canyon bottom in this area is public land, but crossing and trying to climb the opposite side looks like a major effort.

The trail curls around the point and follows a long section of southwest facing cliffs. I thought this segment had some potential ruins locations, but I didn’t notice any despite a lot of scanning. I turned around at the end of the cliff segment, about 3.5 miles from where I started. The trail continues south at this point and may eventually loop back north toward the starting point, but it could be a long distance. The end of this loop is the road that is directly across the road from where I started, so a separate hike could start there. This separate hike took 4:10 hours for about 7 miles on a 78 F degree late September day.

Negro Canyon West Rim Trail

2010-08-10T05:12:00.000-07:00

Negro Canyon is to the east of Hovenweep Canyon and west of Sandstone Canyon in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The upper trailhead for the Hovenweep Cutthroat Castle Trail can be used as a starting point for a hike to the west rim of Negro Canyon. This area is about 10 miles north of the Hovenweep Visitor Center on County Road 10.

There is an old road that branches off near the Cutthroat Trail Head and descends into Hovenweep Canyon. As this road passes below the Painted Hand Pueblo site, there is a side road that climbs to the east rim of Hovenweep Canyon. This side road can be spotted easily from the rim area above, but is easy to miss down below if you’re not watching for it.

At the rim, the mining road continues south but I turned east off the trail and walked the short 100 yard distance to the west rim. It took 1:00 hour of hiking to get to the west rim of Negro Canyon.

Scanning the rim area to the north and south with binoculars I spotted an Ancestral Pueblo ruins site in the level area below the cliffs. In the area overlooking the site, there is a drainage that offers a way down, though it is tricky and there is an easier route about 200 yards to the south.

The site spotted from the rim looks like it is spread out on both sides of a drainage, or it could be considered to be two sites. The structure to the north has a large section of wall holding together on one side and looks like a large rubble pile on the other sides.

Just south across the small drainage there is a circular looking structure. Rubble piles form the circle and there is a depression in the middle. The amateur observer might think this resembles a great kiva. I didn’t want to climb back to the rim the same way I came down and walked south where the cliffs appeared to be easier to climb. There were some alcove formations along the way, but I didn’t see any signs that they had ever been used.

About 150 yards south I came across another rubble pile site. This site also appeared to be circular and appeared as rubble piles. This site is close to the base of the cliffs and the forest is thick enough that it is obscured unless you are very close to it. The cliffs are easier to climb in this vicinity than where I descended and I made my way back up to the rim.

The canyon rim makes a bend to the east above the second site and gives a good view back to the north. Scanning back north I saw a ruins wall section north of the first ruins site and decided to walk back, about 0.4 miles to look closer.

Above the wall section there are some rubble remains of a rim site. This site is at the south junction point of a short side canyon off of the main canyon. Across Negro Canyon is Mockingbird Mesa and the large power lines to the industrial sites there are visible.

The wall section that I saw from the distance appears to be part of a circular tower that has a precarious perch over a steep cliff and is well below the rim top rubble remains. There is a notch in the cliff that might be a steep and narrow way down, but I didn’t try it. It was hard to get a good angle to see the tower from the rim above. A juniper tree has taken root and perfectly blocks the view. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice this structure when I was down below, only about 200 yards to the south.

There are some rough 4WD trails in the area below the tower. There is a road that enters the north end of Negro Canyon but there is a normally closed gate that blocks unauthorized vehicles, though a hiker or mountain bike can enter.

The view of the tower wasn’t better from the south angle, but there is a good side view of the overall site. If a tower in this position was used for communication, there might be another to look for on the east side of Negro Canyon. I spent about 2:00 hours in the area of these three close together sites.

From a previous hike I know there is another boulder based site about 0.5 miles north of this area along this same rim. My return hike from the tower site took 1:10 hours for a total hike of 4:15 hours. The temperature at 9:30 AM was 70 F and it was 82 F at 1:45 PM on an early August day. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Cow Canyon West of Lowry Ruins

2010-08-04T05:53:00.000-07:00

The large mesa top Lowry Ruins is one of the featured sites in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. It sits on a hilltop between two forks of the head of Cow Canyon and is the center a large community of outlying sites.

Near the parking area a primitive road heads south and allows hikers to explore for some of the surrounding sites. Lowry Ruins is located 9 miles west of Pleasant View, CO on County Road CC.

I hiked south of Lowry Ruins along the primitive road for about 0.5 miles, and then turned west to the east rim of the Cow Canyon west fork. Scanning with binoculars, it looked like there was a nearby alcove site below a canyon rim and further on I could see a rubble pile in a higher layer of cliffs. The alcove site was a little vague but there was a rubble pile under the cover of a shallow rock covering.

The rubble pile site was a little tricky to find, even though it was clearly visible from a distance. From above it was hard to get a good angle to view it, and several trees have taken root right in the middle of the site. It took me 1:00 hour of scanning and hiking to arrive at this moderate sized site.

From below, it appeared to be based on a large boulder with a lot of rubble having slipped off and formed a pile down below. I spent about 1 hour exploring the area around these two ruins sites. After viewing these sites I hiked slowly south about 1 mile along the east rim of the west fork to the point that overlooks the junction of the two forks of Cow Canyon. I didn’t notice any ruins sites along the way to the point.

This junction had very steep cliffs and a good view down Cow Canyon. I thought that the jumble of rocks at the point looked like a good location for ruins site but all the sites in this area appear to be closer to the canyon bottom in the east fork, which seems to have better southern exposure and was closer to the water source. Continuing back north along the rim I saw three likely boulder based sites well below the rim, close to the creek at the bottom. The northern most of these three sites I had visited before. On this hike, I only viewed these sites from the rim.

My total hike took 4:40 hours for about 4 miles. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a 75 F degree day that had higher humidity than is typical in this area.

Sandstone Canyon West Rim

2010-07-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Sandstone Canyon is one of the Canyons of the Ancients, located to the east of Mockingbird Mesa and west of Pleasant View in southwest Colorado.

The starting point is the normally closed gate next to the Carbon Dioxide processing plant 8.5 miles south along County Road 12 from County Road CC. Instead of hiking along the gravel road I stayed close to the canyon rim.

For first time hikers in the Mockingbird Mesa area, there is an Ancestral Pueblo ruins site directly behind the gas plant close to the Sandstone Canyon rim. There is another large rubble pile site about 0.5 miles south on the west side of the gravel road at the point where the road is very close to the canyon rim.

There are also at least two boulder based sites visible down in the canyon in the first 0.5 miles. I skipped past all of these, looking for more sites further south.

After 1:30 hours and about 2.2 miles I came across a small mesa top rubble pile site that was about 100 feet from the canyon rim. I noticed several pottery shards that had washed down that lead me to the site. The hiking along the rim was level and easy with a vague deer trail to follow.

The views are good along the rim and I stopped frequently at good overlook points to scan the canyon bottom with binoculars. There are some possible ruins sites down in the canyon but I couldn’t tell for sure.

In another 0:30 minutes I arrived at a south facing point overlooking the area where water from Sandstone Canyon drains down toward Yellow Jacket Canyon. Below the south facing point there are two boulder based ruins sites very close to each other.

The eastern most site has a wall section holding together under the shelter of the boulder. There is a small amount of rubble on the top of the boulder. There are other large boulders nearby that could have been chosen as building sites, but weren’t and I didn’t see any structures on the canyon rim.

Hiking west back toward the rim, I came across another boulder based site only about 100 yards to the west. I was surprised that these two were so close together. The further west of the two sites is also mostly rubble with small wall sections still intact and seemed a little larger than the eastern site. There was rubble remains on two boulders at the west site. One of the two large boulders is very close to the rim but not attached to it.

These two boulder sites have a spectacular view south toward the Yellow Jacket Canyon area. There may be a large pictograph panel near this canyon junction. Getting down to the drainage below looks feasible but the cliffs look steep, so it’s not clear if this is a good route for finding the panel.

I started back along the east side of the long sagebrush field that is in the middle of Mockingbird Mesa. The gravel road is across on the west side of the sagebrush and the large power lines are visible. A rock outcrop on the east side of the sagebrush had a small but mysterious circle of stones.

My return hike took 1:30 hours and I finished the last 1.5 miles on the gravel road. My total hike took 4:30 hours for about 6 miles. The starting temperature in late July at 9:00 AM was about 70 F and it was about 88 F at 1:30 PM. I carried and drank 3 liters of water. The biting gnats that are a nuisance in these canyons in June are out of season by late July.

Upper Burro Canyon Exploring

2010-07-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Burro Canyon is tributary to Yellow Jacket Canyon from the east and is more or less in the center of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The access is the west extension of County Road N, west of the north trail head for the popular Sand Canyon Trail. A short distance past the Canyons of the Ancients sign is the north and west leading Burro Point road, which I’ve called the Burro Canyon North Rim Trail.

I started at the junction where the Burro Point road starts and hiked north for a few minutes, then turned west off the road under the major power lines and hiked northwest, no trails here, looking along the drainages at the head of Burro Canyon. Along the northern most canyon fork there was a section of cliffs with some rubble down the slope that looked like it could be an Ancestral Pueblo ruins site. I was approaching from the south rim and had a good view across. The descent from the south side and climb up were easy.

I didn’t see any wall sections until I was all the way into the alcoves, but there are several well preserved structures hidden under the protective rock cover. The small storage room looks nearly perfect and the door for it may be lying to the right side.

There is a series of small rooms still partially holding together. From where I started it is about 1.5 miles to this site and it took me 1:20 hours to find it. The cliffs behind the site are steep, but I found a place maybe 30 yards back to the east to climb to the rim. I was ready to return to my starting point but wanted to scan up and down the canyon from the elevated position.

Hidden in the thick Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest slightly to the west is a very large tower structure. Towers are mysterious. Some appear to be clearly positioned at view points but this one can hardly be seen until you are right next to it. I didn’t see it from the south rim or from the ruins site. It is lucky that I chose to climb to the north canyon rim or I would have missed it. I climbed back down to the canyon floor for a closer look.

This is a very large diameter and tall tower. There is some rubble near the tower but the shape of these lower rooms isn’t very clear. About 1 mile down the canyon from this tower there are some rim structures that might have a line of site to here. I saw these on the Burro Canyon south rim hike.

The cliff ruins site has a distinctive rock formation that overlooks the tower. I started my return back the way I came, up the south side canyon slope and walked east along the rim. Even knowing where the tower is located I could barely see it through the forest. About 100 yards east, up canyon, it looked like there was a collapsed large circular structure near the canyon floor, but I only viewed it from the rim.

There is a vague cow trail along the north side rim that leads east back toward the Burro Point road. This vague trail makes a junction with one of the side roads off the Burro Point road, but the junction is practically invisible. This side road is not far past the power lines. My total hike was 3:30 hours for about 3 miles. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on an early July day. The temperature was about 68 F degrees at 9:00 AM and about 80 F at 12:30 when I finished. I didn’t have any trouble with the biting gnats that are a nuisance mostly in June.

Woods Canyon on the Rim

2010-07-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

The south segment of the Woods Canyon Trail arrives at the base of large Ancestral Pueblo ruins site in Woods Canyon in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. This trail starts west of the town of Yellow Jacket on County Road U west of County Road 15 in front of a small industrial facility.

There are many rubble pile ruins on the canyon slope and some intact wall sections in the sheltered area just below the canyon rim. On this hike I was trying to find a route to the rim, above the sheltered area.

From below, there are some structures visible above the rim, but steep cliffs prevent easy access to the mesa top area. I looked to the left or west side of the large site for a route up to the rim. It took me 0:45 minutes to arrive at the base of the site from the trailhead and another 0:30 minutes to find a way to the mesa top ruins area.

There are several large rubble pile structures up above and they are all very close to the rim, with broad views over Woods Canyon and Sleeping Ute Mountain visible in the distance.

There is one good section of wall still standing. This looks like the back wall of a square structure and this is the one that can be spotted easily from below. The old road that acts as the Woods Canyon Trail leading to the site is clearly visible down below.

On the return hike I stayed closer to the edge of the rim and found a shorter route down, than the way I came up, that connects to a trail that visits the several small sites that are just below the rim. From below the rim, this trail winds left around a cliff corner and there are some rocks arranged that have been secured with a T post to aid in the climb up or down. This vague trail leads past the small room block that is on the left or west side of the overall site.

There are a couple of more small structures along the under the rim trail and eventually the trail leads to the larger wall sections that catch most of the attention. From this side of the site, there are some cow trails to look for that make the descent a little easier than from below the larger wall sections.

The approach from the left side also allows a close view the three large boulder based structures that are near the bottom of the canyon slope. My total hike took 4:00 hours for about 5 miles on an early July morning. The temperature at 9:00 AM was about 65 F degrees and it was about 85 F degrees at 1:00 PM when I finished. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

On this hike I knew where the site was when I started and didn’t spend any time searching, as is often the case. There is a lot to see at this large site.

Painted Hand Pueblo Neighbors-Hovenweep Canyon

2010-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Painted Hand Pueblo Trail is one of the few publicized trails in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trailhead is along the marked east turn off of County Road 10 about 10 miles north of the Visitor Center for Hovenweep National Monument.

Further along the same rough road is the upper trailhead for the Cutthroat Castle Trail, one of the outlying Hovenweep sites. Just south of the trailhead there is an old road that leads down into Hovenweep Canyon and heads north, following parallel to the creek bed and passing the area below the Painted Hand Pueblo site. The Canyons of the Ancients doesn’t have many official trails but there are many old roads to follow while exploring this outdoor museum.

I started my hike at the Upper Cutthroat Castle Trail Head and followed the rough road down into the sagebrush and greasewood canyon bottom area. After passing below the Painted Hand Pueblo, I noticed a possible collapsed boulder based ruins site about 0.2 miles further north, but continued on.

After about 1.5 miles, the trail crosses the dry wash and continues north. About 50 yards past the wash crossing I turned east off the trail and started climbing toward the mesa top area that is between Hovenweep Canyon and Negro Canyon. I was surprised to see a fairly large south facing ruins site about half way to the mesa top. Part of a circular tower similar to the Painted Hand tower stands out from a distance.

There are several structures with wall sections still standing. The site is north and east of the Painted Hand site, about 1 mile away. The vicinity of Painted Hand is visible but I couldn’t see the site for sure. I could see the collapsed site that is just to the north of Painted Hand.

Like the other Hovenweep area sites, this site seemed to have several towers with a mix of square, circular and perhaps a D shaped. There are large piles of rubble here also, but the site seems very compact. It also looks like there are some perimeter walls at the rim but I didn’t see any structures on the area above the rim. I didn’t see any trails nearby or evidence that this site gets visited very often.

My original hiking goal was to get to the mesa top and continue to the rim of Negro Canyon and explore the area. I was lucky to stumble on this large site. It took about 1:00 hour to reach this very good ruins site.

It was a short walk across the mesa top between Hovenweep and Negro Canyons. From the west rim of Negro Canyon I could see a green tank and there is a dirt road running along the canyon bottom. Across the canyon on Mockingbird Mesa I could see two of the Carbon Dioxide facilities and the large power lines. I scanned along the far canyon rim with binoculars but didn’t spot any ruins structures.

There was one boulder based collapsed ruins site below the cliffs near the point where I first arrived at the rim and also a circular petroglyph that was visible in the same area. I continued south for about 0.3 miles along the rim and then turned west and found my way back to the original trail. My hike took 5:00 hours for about 5 miles on a relatively cool 65 F mid June day. The biting gnats that swarm in June didn’t appear until the day warmed up later in the afternoon. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

Northeast McLean Basin Trail

2010-05-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

The northeast corner of McLean Basin can be hiked to along the dirt road trail that turns west from County Road 10 1.1 miles north of the east turn to the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado.

This is the same area where the outlying Hovenweep National Monument sites are found. It is about 1 mile of hiking to the east rim of a short side canyon close to the point where it joins McLean Basin.

The turnoff is also about 0.4 miles south of the Canyons of the Ancients sign if traveling from the north. I drove a few hundred yards along the trail road to a point where the thick sagebrush thinned out enough to park without blocking the road. The two track dirt road heads west and then curves south. There are two side roads that I bypassed, staying on track to find the canyon rim.

The terrain along here is mostly level with sagebrush and scattered Junipers. In mid May a lot of desert wildflowers are in bloom. I bypassed a side road that went directly to the side canyon rim and stayed southwest for about 0.5 miles until the trail came to a dead end at the rim of McLean Basin.

There are good views across McLean Basin and there might be a rubble pile ruins site along the north rim about 1.5 miles to the west. I walked back northeast along the east rim of the side canyon toward the side road that I had bypassed and spotted a boulder based ruins site on the opposite side of the canyon.

This site is high on the north and west side of side canyon but below the rim. It is a little north of the side road and I found an easy canyon crossing route about 200 yards up the canyon past the site. In mid May there was flowing water in the easy to cross creek at the canyon bottom.

Besides the boulder top rubble and rubble around the base, there are other minor wall sections and perimeter walls at this medium sized site. There is a vague petroglyph on an alcove wall that could be a flute player, but it is very rough. From this site I walked down canyon toward McLean basin along the rim out to a point that overlooked the basin.

At the point there is a small pile of brick shaped stones. I didn’t have a very good angle to look over the edge for signs of ruins structures below, and I didn’t see anything else here besides this pile. I scanned to the west for the elusive McLean Basin towers, but I don’t think I had a good angle to see them. The possible rubble pile site that I had seen was still a long way to the west. Looking back north up the next side canyon to the west on the north rim of the basin, I sighted another boulder based ruins site.

The cliffs surrounding this site were very steep and I didn’t see an easy way down. From above, it looks there was a circular tower perched on one of the boulders. The flat door cover of the tower appears to still be laying there. To the left of the main part of the site, it looked like there was an alcove with a shelf inside.

My return hike from the second site took 1:10 hours back to my starting point. The total hike took 4:10 hours for about 5 miles on a 75 F degree mid May day. Much of the time hiking in Canyons of the Ancients is spent scanning and route finding and visiting the sites. The biting gnats that are a nuisance in June in the canyon areas were starting to appear on this mid May hike.

Mockingbird Mesa Trail

2010-05-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Mockingbird Mesa Trail is the well maintained road that continues past the closed gate next to the Mockingbird Mesa Kinder Morgan carbon dioxide gas plant in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado.

This road is the extension of County Road 12 south from the junction with County Road BB west of Pleasant View, Colorado. Visitors to the Hovenweep National Monument area arriving from the north side pass this junction when traveling west toward County Road 10.

It is 5.8 miles south to the Canyons of the Ancients sign. It is 8.5 miles to the closed gate and there is a left turn at a BLM sign describing the Mockingbird Mesa area as closed to vehicles but open to foot traffic and horses.

This was my first hike in this area and my goal was to stay near the road. I didn’t know anything specific about the area and was lucky to meet the plant operator, Rick, who was very enthusiastic and helpful. Kinder Morgan has several carbon dioxide wells and processing facilities along the first three miles of road.

There are some small oil and gas facilities toward the further end of the road and large power lines along the whole length. This industrial activity appears to be very clean and well managed and could be cited as an example of good cooperation between industry and outdoor recreation. The carbon dioxide is obtained from a very deep rock formation and is used to aid oil extraction. Much of it is currently being transported by pipeline to west Texas.

A hike starting at the closed gate can get off to a good start by finding the ruins site that is behind the Kinder Morgan gas plant. I went through the gate and circled counter clockwise behind the plant. There are several large rubble pile ruins a short distance from the rim overlooking Sandstone Canyon. I imagine that when the builders originally chose their site they didn’t imagine what would someday be in their backyard.

There is another rubble pile ruins site 0.6 miles down the road on the west side. Neither this site nor the site behind the gas plant is apparent from the road and were pointed out to me by Rick the plant operator.

This site is at the point where the road is very close to the Sandstone Canyon Rim and there are some taller trees about 50 yards west from the road.

I was expecting that ruins sites would be visible from the road, but I didn’t see any. The Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest is relatively thick and there aren’t many good view points along the road. I made several random turns off the road into the forest and found two minor ruins sites along the way, but it is hard to describe where they were.

I walked about 4.5 miles past the gas facilities called Hovenweep C Cluster and Hovenweep D Cluster. There are side roads along the way to explore. There is a site called Seven Towers in southwest part of this area to search for. At about 4.5 miles south there is an oil facility called Cutthroat B. Some visitors may want to bring a mountain bike to travel down the main road before starting a hike further into the backcountry.

On my return hike I walked the last 0.6 miles along the Sandstone Canyon rim rather than stay on the road. Following the rim east of the road may be the best strategy here if you are only going to visit the area once. From the rim I spotted two ruins sites associated with large boulders in the area below the rim.

There is a drainage at the canyon bottom with a couple of leafy trees indicating some permanent water. These sites look approachable but I was too tired to go there this time. There may be a ruins site on the other side of the canyon to the northeast of the trailhead gas plant. Rick says there is one there but I couldn’t spot it for sure from the distance. My total hike took 6:10 hours for about 9 miles. I carried two liters of water and drank it all on a 60 F mid May sunny day.

Hovenweep & Bridge Canyon Bike Trail

2010-05-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

The central part of Hovenweep Canyon in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado can be accessed along an unmarked dirt road south and east from paved County Road 10, and north of the Hackberry and Holly outlying Hovenweep sites. This road is the north part of an established mountain bike route.

The trail road has an old corral visible from the main road and is about 1 mile north of the marked road to Hackberry Ruins and Holly Ruins, and about 6 miles north of the Hovenweep Visitor Center. The route leads through mostly Utah Juniper and sagebrush rocky terrain with small canyon drainages on both sides. The loop that mountain bike riders use connects with the road to the Hackberry and Holly Ruins Groups.

With binoculars I was scanning the canyon rims for rubble piles or other signs of the Ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the area 800 years ago. About 2.5 miles down the trail there are two minor side roads branching left and east into Hovenweep Canyon. I followed the second side route through a gate to a point where there was a good view into the basin below. The main trail continues south and makes the loop that connects back to the Hackberry and Holly road.

The only structure I came across was an odd stack of rocks on top of a small hill. This seemed more like an oversized cairn built recently than a 700 year old structure, but who knows. This was to the north side about one mile along the road. This hill and rock pile is visible for a long distance in this area and can be used as a navigation point.

Just east and north of the odd rock pile is a small side canyon that looked promising as a possible ruins location. Most of the good sites in the area are at the heads of small canyons near a seep spring. I walked up this small canyon for about 0.5 miles to the head, but only saw a few scattered pottery shards.

About 0.5 miles south and east of the odd rock cairn is the head of Bridge Canyon. This canyon runs north and south and is to the east of the Hackberry and Horseshoe Ruins sites of Hovenweep. I thought Bridge Canyon might be a similar location to the canyons that support the large Hovenweep sites. I hiked along the west rim of this canyon for about 0.5 miles and noticed two leafy green trees near the canyon head and some pools of water on the canyon floor.

Oddly, there is another large rock cairn about 1 mile south of the old corral, but not near the road bike trail. I haven't seen cairns this big anywhere else in the Canyons of the Ancients.
To the west of Bridge Canyon, north of Hackberry Canyon, are some hilltop areas with good views and extensive sagebrush fields. Despite these favorable features I didn’t see any ruins sites in this area. I did three separate hikes in this area, each was about 3:00 hours.

Cow Canyon East of Lowry Ruins

2010-05-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Lowry Ruins site, 9 miles west of Pleasant View Colorado along County Road CC, is the center of the large Cow Canyon Ancestral Pueblo community. For this hike I navigated southeast about 0.5 miles through the Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest, looking for the west rim of the east fork of Cow Canyon.

There isn’t a trail to follow and I used a compass to guide my direction. The forest is open enough to hike through, with only the fallen Pinon Pines to avoid. I arrived at a point that is about 0.5 miles south and east of Lowry Ruin. From this view point I was luckily only about 200 yards up canyon from two large ruins sites, one on each side of the canyon. They are in this view, but mostly obscured by the forest.

I noticed the site on the opposite side of the canyon first. It appears to be a large rubble pile that is overgrown with sage brush. Looking at it with binoculars, I could see a small wall section below the rim in an alcove and more rubble on the slope below the rim.

The site on the west rim appears to be much larger. There are very large and extensive rubble piles on the west rim. This site is much like the interpreted Sand Canyon Pueblo site in size and appearance.

I found a notch in the cliffs to get below the rim. The site is as large below the rim as it is above. The slope is steep in spots and there is tangled vegetation in the way so the walking below isn’t very easy. There are at least two boulder top building sites, but I didn’t see any wall sections that had held together here. I didn’t try to cross the canyon to get to the site on the other side.

There is about 0.5 miles of west rim south of this large site to follow out to the lookout point overlooking Cow Canyon as it makes a swing toward the west. I noticed a possible collapsed tower site perched on a boulder about half way to the point and another more definite boulder top collapsed tower just before the point. The view of the tower from the lookout point is good and it is possible to descend to get a closer view, but I didn’t go all the way down. This site appears to be isolated. I returned to Lowry Ruins on the dirt road that runs straight south from the parking area. I spent 2:40 minutes on this 2.5 mile hike on a 65 F degree early May day.

Burro Canyon North Rim Trail

2010-05-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

The Burro Canyon North Rim Trail is the one lane gravel road that makes a junction with County Road N 0.6 miles west of Canyon of the Ancients entrance sign. This entrance is 1.2 miles west of the north trailhead for the popular Sand Canyon Trail northwest of Cortez in southwest Colorado.

The gravel road runs about 3.5 miles west to a lookout point facing the junction of Burro Canyon and Yellowjacket Canyon. There are several dirt side roads along the way. The first 2 miles or so pass through mesa top Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest with patches of sagebrush without any wide views.

This area has some carbon dioxide gas well development with some of the facilities visible in the distance. The hiking is easy on the mostly level gravel road.

After about 1.2 miles or so I turned south on one of the side roads that had a old fence on the east side. This road went about 100 yards south, then turned west and ran parallel to the main gravel road for about 1 mile.

Along this side road there is a mesa top ruins site that is visible as rubble mounds. There are several large mounds with a depression between the mounds. The side dirt road loops back to make a junction with the main gravel road.

Past the junction the road is closer to the canyon rims on both the north and south and the views are better. The south facing cliffs looked like good locations for ruins sites but I didn’t spot anything. The cliffs in this area have many joints and gaps between them.

The road continues out to a point with good views toward the canyon junctions to the west. On the return hike I tried to follow cow trails back to the east that were closer to the south facing rim and pass through a different section of mesa top. It seems like there should be more ruins sites in this area, but I didn’t spot any.

I did see some isolated pottery shards, one with some black on white design. I was able to spot the boulder top lookout point ruins site across the canyon that I had visited on a previous Burro Canyon south rim hike, but didn’t see any others this time. The boulder top site stood out even though it was about 0.5 miles away. My total hike took 3:30 hours for about 7 miles on a 50 F degree early May day. I carried and drank 2 liters of water. (There are more ruins sites in this area. I just didn't find them on this hike.)

Burro Canyon South Rim Trail

2010-04-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

The north trail head of the popular Sand Canyon Trail is west of Highway 491 on County Road N near Cortez in southwest Colorado. About 1.2 miles west of the Sand Canyon Trailhead, the County Road re-enters the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. About 3.6 miles west of the entry sign, there is a cleared area with some gas facilities and a good view along the south rim of Burro Canyon.

From this starting point the Burro Canyon area looks like two parallel canyons with two high mesa top islands in between. The terrain here appeared to be all Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest with no obvious sage brush fields down below. There are large power lines along the well maintained gravel road that are helpful for navigation. I chose to hike toward the south facing cliffs on the mesa top island that looked to be about 1 mile north and slightly east. There isn’t a trail here except for deer trails but the forest is open enough for reasonable hiking. As I got closer, there appeared to be a rubble pile in the east end of the mesa top island and some wall sections in the area below the rim. There is a climb up through a boulder area to get up to just below the rim.

There are several rough wall sections and a moderate sized site below the rubble pile. About 20 yards to the left of the lower site there is a notch that makes climbing to the rim easy. The upper site has a better wall section that can be seen from below and excellent views across and down the canyon.

The structure is on a boulder with a gap separating it from the main cliffs. This site certainly has the appearance of a lookout point. The start point for this hike is clearly visible across the canyon.

It is only about 200 yards across the island mesa top to the north rim and the views across. I was surprised to spot a similar boulder top structure on this north facing rim with some masonry work around the base and a log leaning as if it were a ladder. This site is slightly below the highest rim, requiring a search for a notch to get through a short cliff layer.

From the north rim it is a short walk to the west rim and a view down canyon toward the junction with Yellowjacket Canyon. Several of the regional mountain ranges are visible from these mesa top view points, There is an old road in the area below that lead up to another mesa top island. I think the old road starts somewhere along the south rim, dips down into Burro Canyon and then climbs toward the mesa top island.

On the return east along the rim toward the first mesa top site I spotted another site that is about 200 yards to the west of the first site. I only looked at this site from the rim. It isn’t very visible from below. It took me 2:00 hours to reach the first ruins site, but I spent much of that time looking and scanning and deciding which way to go. I spent 1:00 hour viewing the sites and the return hike took 1:00 hour for a total of 4:00 hours for about 4 miles of hiking. I carried and drank two liters of water on a 60 F degree late April day.

Yellowjacket Canyon East Rim

2010-04-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

Yellowjacket Canyon is one of the major features in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. There is access to the central part of Yellowjacket along the BLM road that is 20 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G. Yellowjacket in this area has a broad flat bottoms area with deep soil and a stream that runs for most of the year.

I started my hike 4.6 miles along the BLM road at a point where there is a short ATV trail to the left leading to a rocky hill that provides a good view into the canyon bottom. The main road continues into the canyon bottom, but is blocked by a locked gate and a private property sign. I hiked north along the east rim following small drainages and deer trails, working toward a rocky point that extended toward the middle of the canyon. This route stays on the National Monument land.

Toward the end of the rocky point there is a circular tower ruins structure that sits on the edge of a cliff, but not on the mesa top. It is about halfway to the bottoms area. It seems to be an isolated structure with a good view down the canyon to the south. It can be sighted with binoculars from the top of the large pueblo site that is about 1 mile away, down the canyon. There is a layer of cliffs to get through to get down to the layer holding the tower. It looked like the easiest way down was to continue past the tower toward the end of the rocky point.

The tower is so close to the cliff edge that it is impossible to get a view from the front, only side and back views are available. There are side channels flowing into the Yellowjacket Creek that are deeply cut, showing how deep the soil is here. I didn’t see any pottery shards around this site or any rock art nearby. Tower structures are common in this region but the use of them is a mystery. This one seems to be positioned as a lookout and there is a line of sight connection down canyon, but not up canyon.

Climbing back to the mesa top and looking up canyon, there is a rocky hill that appears as an island in the otherwise flat canyon bottom. With binoculars a ruins site on top of the hill can be clearly viewed, mostly rubble with a few small wall sections standing. This site would be easy to visit if it wasn’t on the private property. To the east of the small hill, there is a rock outcrop with some small alcoves. It looked like there might be a storage ruin in one of the alcoves.

Further up the canyon, there are irrigated hay fields and a large ranch house. I couldn’t spot any more ruins structures along the east rim from the tower area. I spent 3:00 hours on this hike of about 4 miles. It was a 65 F degree early April day and I carried and drank 2 liters of water.