HIKING CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK & MORE
October 11 - 17, 2010
$1480
Lalita Malik, Trip Leader
Itinerary
Day 1, Monday,
Oct 11, 2010
Arrive Durango, CO by 2pm. Drive to Monticello, UT (2 hours).
Dinner and orientation. Stay at Roughlock Inn for 5 nights.
Day 2, Tuesday,
Oct 12, 2010
Drive 1 hour then hike from Squaw Flat Campground to Peak-a-boo Springs
(10.4 miles).This trail connects Squaw Flat Campground with Salt Creek
Canyon. The route crosses two other canyons on the way to Salt Creek,
and some minor scrambling is required in a few places to get in and out
of the streambeds, especially in Lost Canyon. Lost Canyon was an
important location for the early ranchers who ran cattle in the Needles
District during the first part of the last century because it is one of
the few canyons in this area that contains a relatively reliable water
source. Just before reaching Salt Creek the trail passes below an
interesting panel of Indian pictographs. This art was painted on the
cliff face by the Fremont culture sometime before 1300 AD. The white,
shield-like drawings are typical of Fremont art, although there is no
evidence that the Fremonts ever established permanent dwellings in the
canyon. Also you will see drawings laid down over the top of another
very faint collection of reddish-brown paintings that are obviously
much older. In fact the underlying art was painted on the cliff face at
least a thousand years before the Fremont by the Archaic People who
lived in these canyons between 2,000 and 8,000 years ago.
Day 3, Wednesday, Oct 13, 2010
Hike to Chesler Park and through the Joint Trail (10 miles). Hiking
this trail brings visitors to a saddle overlooking Chesler Park, a
scenic expanse of desert grasses and shrubs surrounded by colorful
sandstone spires. The loop around Chesler is fairly level and winds
through a series of deep, narrow fractures called the Joint Trail. If
possible, visit Druid Arch.
Day 4, Thursday,
Oct 14, 2010
Drive 1 hour then hike the Confluence Overlook Trail (11 miles) from
Big Spring Canyon Overlook. Unlike other hikes in the district, this
trail traverses mostly dry, open country along the northern edge of the
geologic faults that shaped the Needles. Trail ends at a cliff
overlooking the junction of the Green and Colorado rivers.
Day 5, Friday,
Oct 15, 2010
Drive 1 hour for a full day hiking in Grand Gulch Primitive Area on
Cedar Mesa to see the “Big Man Panel”. The 8-mile round trip hike will
follow an old road, zigzag down an old horse trail, and then follow the
wash upstream to a panel of large anthropomorphs located high above the
canyon floor. This panel is well worth the effort to find. One of the
large figures at Big Man Panel has a waist decoration similar to the
large anthropomorphs on the San Juan River. Big Man Panel is named for
the other large, dominant Basketmaker Style figure with its more
certain gender identification. They both have rounded heads with
ghostly eyes and pigtail hair. Their shoulders are broad and square.
Their torsos include outlining and detailing in white. Handprints,
smaller anthropomorphs, geometric figures and tally lines surround
them, mostly in white paint.
Day 6, Saturday,
Oct 16, 2010
Drive to Lowry Ruins. Lowry Pueblo had a total of about 40 rooms and 8
kivas at its peak in the early 11th century, and was home to
approximately 100 people. The pueblo was arranged in a roughly
rectangular block, with some portions reaching as high as three
stories. A great kiva, constructed outside the eastern limits of the
village, is nearly 50 feet in diameter. Unlike most sites, two
different cultural traditions are evident at Lowry. Portions of the
pueblo are similar to early styles of Chacoan architecture and later
additions are more characteristic of those styles found at Mesa Verde.
Lowry was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967 and in 2000
became part of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Then
drive to the Anasazi Heritage Center Museum near Dolores, Co and lastly
visit Notah Dineh Trading post for some last minute shopping. Then
drive back to Durango for a final celebratory dinner at a restaurant
and night in a motel.
Day 7, Sunday,
Oct 17, 2010
Depart for airport after breakfast. Flights depart after 9am.
Return to Outing
|
|
