Ferron Rock Art

This week, a couple of us from work busted out for a brainstorming / rock art finding roadtrip.  My bosses are the best -- instead of just sitting around an office making plans for the park, we drove around looking for rock art.  We always seem to come up with more creative ideas when we're exploring and hiking around.

This week, we drove out towards Ferron to find some Fremont and Barrier Canyon rock art panels.  Our Region Manager is a pro at finding obscure, remote rock art panels and he can remember places he hasn't visited for 20 years!  So the rest of us followed his lead to find the rock art in the Ferron Box and Short Canyon.  Honestly, we went on so many unmarked dirt roads that I have no idea how we found these panels.  But if you're in the Ferron area, it's definitely worth poking around!

Ferron Box

Molen Reef snake

Segregation Panel @ Ferron Box

 

 

 

Short Canyon

Short Canyon

Short Canyon

Jones Hole Creek

The Jones Hole Creek trail is a wonderful 8-mile (round trip) hike located in the northwest corner of Dinosaur National Monument.  Vernal is an unapologetic mining town surrounded by flat gray desert, so a vivid green trout stream is a nice, unexpected surprise.  This 2,000-foot-deep gorge runs along the border between Utah and Colorado.  The trail starts just below the Jones Hole Fish Hatchery, and meanders pleasantly along the creek for about four miles to join the Green River.  The trail is fairly flat and easy to follow.

Jones Hole Creek

fish @ Jones Hole Fish Hatchery

This lush, green oasis is teaming with plants and wildlife.  Seriously, after living in the desert for five years, I'm pretty excited by clear water and critters!  I'm the world's worst fly fisher, but even I could tell this was a great trout stream. The water was crystal-clear, and you could see trout swimming and mayflies hatching.  A herd of five bighorn sheep let me watch them graze for a while.  I also saw deer, a pair of mergansers, and a rusty-colored marmot. 

About 1.7 miles south of the trailhead, you'll see a short spur trail that heads to the base of the western cliff.  This takes you to the Deluge Shelter rock art with a really vivid elk pictograph.  A little further south, there's a 0.5 mile side trail to the Ely Creek Falls.

Deluge Shelter pictograph

Finally, after 4 miles of hiking, I reached the Green River.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really impressive.  The river was surrounded by soaring 2,000 foot cliffs and actually lived up to its name and looked green, instead of the sediment-laden brown I usually see back home.  I felt a weird sense of satisfaction knowing this same water would eventually flow by my home in Green River, UT -- a 4-hour drive and 226 river miles away.  I feel an epic whitewater trip brewing ...

The Green River -- 226 miles from home.

bighorn sheep

To get to the Jones Hole Creek trail, drive east out of Vernal on 500 North Street.  When the road forks, go left and follow the signs that say Jones Hole.  Follow the paved road for another 33 miles to the Jones Hole Fish Hatchery.  The trail starts at the south end of the hatchery, about two hundred yards from the visitor parking lot.

Dinosaur National Monument

After over four years in Utah and loads of epic weekends, I feel like I’ve at least done a cursory exploration of most of the major geographic regions in the state.  One of my favorite nerdy pleasures is unfolding a map and re-tracing roads and trails in my mind.  But there are still some big blank spots I haven't explored, including the area around Dinosaur National Monument.  Coincidentally, I had a work thing up in Vernal this week (the opening of the new Field House curational facility!) so I jumped at the chance to check out Dinosaur NM and the surrounding area.  Jordan had to go back to work, so this trip did double duty as my last solo weekend before we get married (one month -- holy sh*t!)

For as much as I knock National Park "windshield tours," that's always what I end up doing the first time I visit one.  I guess it's just a good way to get an overview of the place, knock out all the cheeseball sites, and scope out good places to dig a little deeper.  So the first thing I did at Dinosaur was visit the Quarry Exhibit Hall, which showcases a wall of 1,500 embedded dinosaur bones.  The entire back wall of the building is a quarry site full of fossils.  These bones are in such great condition -- many of the skeletons are nearly complete and arranged in the correct anatomical position.  Jordan and I get pretty excited finding tiny little bone shards when we're out hiking, so I can't imagine finding something like this!

camarasaurus skull

quarry wall

The Quarry Hall is what drew me to Dinosaur National Monument in the first place, but of course there's a lot more to see.  The landscape is a contorted rainbow of uplifted rock carved into steep canyons by the Green and Yampa Rivers.  Whitewater rafting is a big deal in Dinosaur NM, and I can see why.  From origins high in the Rocky Mountains, the Green and Yampa Rivers wind across sagebrush plains, then squeeze into tight canyons surrounding by soaring cliffs.  The wild Yampa is the last un-dammed river in the Colorado River system, and it has some crazy Class V rapids.  The Green is little more manageable with Class II-IV rapids.  Of course, it's tough to get your hands on a permit, but I'm definitely going to try!

Green River from the Split Mountain overlook

Green River from Jones Hole

Echo Park Overlook

Dinosaur NM is also full of incredible petroglyphs and pictographs.  I've seen a lot of rock art in Utah, but the classic Vernal style is really distinct.  These images were created by the Fremont people around 800-1,200 years ago.  The figures tend to be trapezoid-shaped anthropomorphs with elaborate headdresses, necklaces, and earrings.  It's impossible to know exactly what rock art represents, but to me these figures seem a lot more war-like and foreboding.  Many of them are carrying shields and what look like decapitated human heads.  Spooky, but really cool.

McKee Spring Petroglyphs

lizard rock art along Cub Creek

map credit:  nps.gov

McConkie Ranch -- Dry Fork Canyon Archaeological Site

The rock art around Vernal is unbelievable.  I've seen a lot of rock art in Utah, but the classic Vernal style is really distinct.  These images were created by the Fremont people around 800-1,200 years ago.  The figures tend to be trapezoid-shaped anthropomorphs with elaborate headdresses, necklaces, and earrings.  It's impossible to know exactly what rock art represents, but to me these figures seem a lot more war-like and foreboding.  Many of them are carrying shields and decapitated human heads.  Spooky, but really cool.

check out those feet!

After work at the Field House, two coworkers and I went to explore the rock art at the McConkie Ranch.  There are dozens of intricate, well-preserved panels carved and painted onto the cliff walls.  The images are located on private property, but thankfully everything is open to the public.  A rough trail runs along the edge of the cliffs below the rock art, and the three of us spent an hour or so gawking and speculating.  It's definitely some of the most impressive, distinct rock art I've seen in Utah.

Three Kings panel

To reach the ranch, drive to downtown Vernal and then get onto 500 North Street. Follow that street west to 3500 West Street. Turn north and follow 3500 West to the McConkie Ranch Road. It is about 6.4 miles from the 500 N/3500 W intersection to the ranch road turnoff. As you follow 3500 West it becomes the Dry Fork Canyon Road.  A sign clearly marks the turnoff to McConkie Ranch. Follow the McConkie Ranch Road for about 1/2 mile to the signed parking area. All these roads are paved.

From the parking area, the Main Trail is clearly marked and leads immediately up the cliff to the rock art. The 3 Kings Trail also begins at the parking area. You have to hike through ranch fields to get to the rock art along the 3 Kings Trail, but it is well worth the effort. Follow the trail markers over a fence and through fields, and then up the cliff to the rock art. Keep going until a sign indicates you have reached the trail's end. From that point you will have a clear view of the 3 Kings Panel.

Grand Gulch: Big Man Panel + Mule Canyon

Spring in Utah can be a little schizophrenic -- over the course of a day the weather can oscillate between 70-degree-sunny-gorgeous or windy-blowing-sleet-nasty.  We had a little of both this weekend down in Grand Gulch, but surprisingly the nasty sleety day ended up being a really cool desert experience.

We busted out after work and drove down to Grand Gulch.  Grand Gulch is a serpentine canyon that delves into the otherwise gently sloping surface of Cedar Mesa, and it's packed with Ancestral Puebloan (aka Anasazi) rock art and ruins.  The Anasazi thrived in Grand Gulch between 800 and 2,000 years ago, and they left behind some incredible cliff dwellings and petroglyphs.  You have to hike into the canyon to see these artifacts, and for the most part nothing is signed or marked.  That feeling of wildness and discovery makes Grand Gulch one of my favorite places in Utah.  Of course, parks like Mesa Verde and Chaco are incredible, but all the people, fences, and pavement make the ruins seem sort of artificial and sanitary.  It's a totally different experience to be miles from pavement and searching for hidden cliff dwellings that are still surrounded by undisturbed pottery sherds, corn cobs, mano/metate, woven mats, etc.

milkvetch

  
On this trip, we did a couple day hikes.  On the first day, we trekked 10.6 miles (round trip) down to the Big Man rock art panel, which was incredible.  The panel shows life-size figures that are surrounded by hand prints.  I love rock art hand prints -- there's something so essentially human about them.  We also explored a couple nearby structures and granaries.  If you're planning a hike into Grand Gulch, I'd recommend bringing Trail's Illustrated Grand Gulch map and David Day's Utah's Incredible Backcountry.  They both show and describe the main features down in the gulch, which is especially helpful for things that aren't visible from the canyon floor.

To get to the Big Man panel, drive 13.5 miles south from the junction of Highway 95 and 261 near Natural Bridges National Monument.  After passing the Kane Gulch ranger station and a couple other trail heads, you'll see a sign on the east side of the road that says "Cigarette Springs."  Take the unmarked road on the opposite (west) side of the highway.  You'll follow a good dirt road for about 7.5 miles.  There are a couple intersections, but just keep following the signs that say "Government Trail."  The last 1.5 miles of the drive are on a rough dirt road, and we ended up putting the Jeep in 4WD to get over a couple spots.  This will get you to the start of the Government Trail.

Start your hike on the Government Trail.  The first 2.8 miles of hiking are on an old 4WD road, which is still fairly scenic.  You'll finally reach the edge of the plateau and get a great view into Grand Gulch and Polly's Canyon.  Start the 620 ft. descent to the canyon bottom, then head 1.6 miles north upstream.  The Big Man panel is about 200 feet above the canyon floor and you can't see it from the canyon bottom.  It's a little tricky to find, so remember that about 1.2 miles upstream from Polly's Canyon you'll see another large side canyon coming into Grand Gulch from the east.  Just after this point, the streambed swings to the west, creating a bulge in the canyon wall.  The rock art is up on this bulge --  watch for a little cairn and a sandy social trail on your right.

Big Man Panel

800-year-old hand prints

The next day, we explored the Anasazi ruins in Mule Canyon.  The hike is about 10 miles round trip, but give yourself lots of time to climb up and explore everything.  The start of the hike didn't look too promising, because the canyon bottom was coated in tumbleweeds and a nasty storm was brewing.  But I'm really glad we pushed on.  We saw some incredible ruins -- one or two every mile!  As we were hiking, a chilly rain started to fall.  Normally we don't hike in desert canyons during a rainstorm, but Mule Canyon was wide and dry enough that we weren't worried about a dangerous flash flood.  It was really cool to watch as water started flowing down the canyon walls and dry creak beds.

To get to Mule Canyon, drive east on Highway 95 past the entrance to Natural Bridges National Monument.  After 9.1 miles, you'll see a gravel road on the north side of the highway leading up to Texas Flat.  Turn left, drive 0.3 miles, and you'll see a little kiosk down inside the canyon on the left side of the road.  Start hiking here.

House on Fire

Sego Canyon

In the spirit of finding cool places near Green River, we drove a couple miles down the road to check out Sego Canyon.  Sego is a dense hub of cultural history with three distinct rock art styles (Fremont, Ute, and Barrier) and a well-preserved ghost town.  It's really easy to find -- you only have to drive a couple miles off I-70 and you can see everything from a good dirt road.

This is some seriously cool rock art.  The canyon walls are coated with images created by people who lived thousands of years apart.  The alien-eyed Barrier Canyon anthropomorphs are up to 8,000 years old, while the historic Ute drawings date to the 1800s.  Somewhere in the middle, the triangular Fremont figures show off their snazzy necklaces.  It's amazing to see so much diversity in such a condensed area, and it really makes me wonder.  What about this place drew all these people here?  Sometimes it's really easy to image the lives of ancient people, but in some ways it's always going to be perplexing.  I guess that's what keeps it interesting!

Barrier Canyon rock art

Fremont rock art

After checking out the rock art, we drove a little further up the road to see the ghost town.  On the way, you'll see the little Boot Hill cemetery on the right.   The simple graves have some intriguing headstones, and it's fun to imagine the lives of the people who lived out here.  A little further down the road, you'll see Sego ghost town.  The company store and boarding house are still in great shape.  They were built in the early 1900s to support a coal mine, but the town ran into trouble when the water supply started to dry up.  In 1947 the mine was closed and the property sold at auction.

old company store

 

 
To get to Sego Canyon from Green River drive 25 miles east on I-70. Take exit 187 and drive north on the main road through the town of Thompson. Take a paved road 3.5 miles north of Thompson to reach the three rock art panels.  To find the Sego Ghost Town, drive 0.5 miles further up canyon on a good gravel road.  You'll reach a fork, where you turn right (east.)  The cemetery is immediately to the right.  Keep heading up the road 0.8 miles, and you'll see the ghost town.

Hidden Valley

For the next adventure with my sister, we took Megan on a 4-mile round trip day hike up to Hidden Valley.  This hike is close to Moab, and you get some great views of town and the Behind the Rocks area + some incredible rock art.

Anasazi rock art

switchbacks on the 700 ft. climb

To get to the trailhead, drive 3 miles south from Moab on U.S. 191 and turn right onto Angel Rock Road. After two blocks, turn right onto Rimrock Road and drive to parking area.

The trail takes you up some steep switchbacks to the top of the Moab Rim.  The trail is in great shape -- it's well marked and easy to follow.  After climbing around 700 feet, the hike levels out to Hidden Valley, which is pretty and grassy.  It's cool to look over the rim and see the town below.  Every time I've been there, it's been cold and shady, so if it's not summer, bring a jacket!

After hiking through the valley, the trail swings to the left and goes over a low pass.  You get some fantastic views of the Behind the Rocks area.  Best of all, the big butte on the right is coated with rock art.  Hop off the trail and skirt the bottom of the cliff to see loads of thousand-year-old petroglyph panels.  Both Anasazi and Fremont cultures overlapped here as they used this route to get into Spanish Valley.  Nice!  If you're feeling feisty and have a shuttle car, you can keep hiking to the Colorado River via the Moab Rim Trail.

looking out over Behind the Rocks area

Map credit:  http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/moab/recreation/hiking_trails/hidden_valley_trail.html