Cannonball Mesa Point

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

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.

Ismay Petroglyph Trail and Lower Yellowjacket Canyon

From the old Ismay Trading Post, along the south edge of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado, the dirt Yellow Jacket Canyon Road turns north. This site is west of Cortez, CO about 26 miles along County Road G.

Only about 0.2 miles north of the old trading post, a large boulder is the foundation of a ruins site, and has an extensive petroglyph panel.

Around the left side of the boulder are some small wall sections and petroglyphs are visible on the side and back of a piece broken off the main rock.

The inside of the boulder has the most works of rock art. The ages probably vary as there are some horse figures and some English letters, but also many drawings of sheep and geometric figures.

It is easy to climb up on the broken piece and get a good look at the figures inside. Around the boulder there is a lot of rubble scattered and some intact wall sections. There is a probable kiva on the back side of the boulder.

Not all the rock art is ancient. The JW initials look like the work of John Wetherill, one of the famous brothers associated with Mesa Verde and other Four Corners ruins sites.

This site is at the junction of McElmo and Yellowjacket Canyons, both having water for most of the year. The area is otherwise very dry with very few trees growing except along the streams.

The top of the large boulder has some ruined wall sections also. It seems to be common in this area to build on the tops of boulders.

The Yellowjacket Canyon dirt road continues north for about 1.5 miles along the wide canyon mouth. Just before reaching the small farm area, there is an elevated rocky area that looks like a possible ruins area.

There are a number of large boulders and flat areas overlooking the farming area and many rock surfaces that looked like good places for petroglyphs, but I didn't see anything that I was sure was a ruins.

There was a locked gate in the farm area and it didn't appear that any road or trail continued further up the canyons. This area is near the junction of Yellow Jacket Canyon coming from the east and Hovenweep Canyon from the north.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is a large area with a high concentration of Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites but it doesn't have many official trails and there aren't very many easy to find access points. It is a discover things on your own park.

The wash in the center of the canyon is deep and wide and probably has year round water. The Yellow Jacket Canyon is a favorite among birders for the lush riparian habitat it provides. They have been having luck spotting Lucy's Warbler, a rare sighting in this area. Visiting the Isamy Petroglyphs and continuing up Yellow Jacket Canyon provides about 2:00 hours of hiking and maybe more if you linger.

(On a later visit I noticed a cow trail that leads to the top of Cannonball Mesa about 1.4 miles northeast along the rough dirt road. Following the cow trail, there are good hikes up above that I call Cannonball Cliffs and Cannonball Point. There are at least four other ruins sites to find in this immediate area. There is also a small site on the west side of the Yellow Jacket Creek. Use the labels for more on these hikes.)