In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Comb Ridge
A favorite camping destination, west of Blanding, Utah.
Wednesday 22 November 2017
Wednesday is another adventure, checking out 2 ruins down county road 262, another fairly good gravel road that runs between hwys 95 and 163. Our first stop s at mile 13.5, for the Monarch Cave Ruins. This is about a mile up the wash, up on a ledge with a deep pool at the bottom. I wonder if there is a spring or if it has simply collected. It does not appear to be moving downstream so I am assuming it is collected. But it is November, a good indication that this spot may have had year round water; There was no water at all at Mule Canyon, yesterday’s excursion.
Monarch Cave has a large number of petroglyphs and some pictographs. Some petrogyphs are slashes that Dave mentions is an indication of tools – arrowheads, etc – being sharpened. There were also hash marks as well as a few lines of circles. Both of these images seem quite common, including in the Picture Canyon area of Southeast Colorado. None of the hash marks seem to resemble the writing form that the Picture Canyon writer spoke about.
The pictographs are generally hands with a couple of other indistinct images. The figures here are along the line of the elongated figures with chicken-like feet; also a couple of birds that may have been turkeys; Also an nearly intact mestate; lots of pottery shards; some dried corn cobs which were tiny…and I am amazed they are intact after 700 or so years.
We have lunch before heading back.
The next stop is the Wolfman Panel. The hike is not as far but requires a couple of climbing/scrambling type moves which I am out of mental shape for and I realize how mentally tired I am. But its only one move and I preserve with lots of encouragement. And the panel makes it all worthwhile! This comes close to being exquisite (though not nearly as much as the pictographs in Virgin Springs Canyon along the San Rafael River). This one has a sun, large and small beings. The main wolfman being has very human legs. There are a couple of other images that I wonder about: one looks to be a bird hanging upside down as well as a couple of necklaces and a mask. I need to bring a small sketch book on these trips!
Then back to the car and camp, again going thru Bluff
Tonight’s dinner is pizza: 3 crusts, 2 from the cooks illustrated recipe and one from Pam’s premix. Pam;s is the winner as it is the only one that is crisp. The other 2 are kind of mushy.
Thursday 23 November 2017
On Wed’s morning I woke up with a really stiff knee; I thought the walk would loosen it up but on Thursday I am camp bound but happy for a rest day, reading and writing in my journal and a short bike ride which helped with the knee.
Tuesday 21 November 2017
The next day is Tuesday. Since we need to cook and do dishes, we decide to go our own way. Once tasks are done, we put on our packs and head south on the Comb Wash Road. After about a mile, there is a good 2-track that we follow into Mule Canyon and then we pick up a good trail into the canyon itself. We hiked for about 2 hours, do not see any ruins, and retrace our steps. The canyon is overall wider than yesterday canyon at Sand Creek, much like many of the canyons we see in the San Rafael Swell with high walls of red and white sandstone. We get back to camp and find out there are ruins we have missed! We needed to continue on the 2-track instead of taking the trail. Maybe we’ll get back there yet.
It is a little warmer this evening. Supper is chicken marsala with enough left over for breakfast.
24 November 2017 - 25 November 2017
No notes from these 2 days. On the 24th, we hiked up to the 'Fire' House which is ablaze when the sun is at a certain level. The last ruin from the 25th is in Mule Canyon which we missed on Tuesday
Monday 20 November 2017
We sleep till 8 AM or so; our breakfast is sausage and eggs over easy which is a treat since we usually have them scrambled. We are ready for the first days’ outing by 10:30.
Our first stop is Fish Canyon as there are a couple of ruins Dave wants to check out. I note they are all built into the north side, probably to catch the winter sun.
Our next destination is the River House ruin, down near the San Rafael River. From the Fish Creek parking area we head south on the Combs Wash Road, cross Hwy then continue again on Combs Wash Road. South of hwy 163, the road is quite sandy with many steep drops into draws and back up again. No place for my forester, and I’m glad Dave and Ginni have their F2. The directions we have are a bit vague and we end up at the river with no ruins in sight. We backtrack to a signpost and head uphill on a road that turns quite steep and rocky with ‘steps’ to maneuver. Dave manages and we soon are back on level group. We pass an old trading post (“The Rincon”) and around the brow of a cliff and we are there. These rooms are larger than those at Fish Creek, with a kiva, multiple rooms. There is a granary up a bit with pictographs.
It’s getting late so we return to the car and start back as we wanted to do “the steps’ while we still had light. Actually, I hope we do the whole track while we have light. Near the end, we stop and help 2 women stuck in the sand. Then on to hwy 163, east to Bluff, north on hwy 191 to hwy 95 and back to camp. A good day out!
Supper tonight is shrimp and peppers with cumin, quite yummy. Gary makes coffee drinks while I cook as it is too cold for a beer. We sit about chatting after then take refuge from the cold in Ginni’s & Dave’s camper. Before long, I decide it’s time to go to bed, return to the tent, crawl into my sleeping bag. It does not take long to go to sleep.