TR: Prickly Pear Flat and Box Flat

[Udink]

This trip report could probably just as easily go in the hiking section since I did a fair amount of hiking, but since I accessed the difficult portions on my ATV, I'll just keep it in the 4-wheeler section. I expected to have bad weather yesterday (rain/snow), but it turned out to be perfect. I unloaded the ATV on Big Flat and rode into Prickly Pear Flat. I stopped to check out an old cowboy camp, and hiked to the rock art panel. Then I rode to an awesome overlook of Devil's Hole, then over to Box Flat and did some more hiking there. Devil's Hole and Box Flat were just awesome, and the area begs for some more exploration on foot. I'm sure I'll post a couple of trip reports in the hiking section later on in the year.

The full image gallery is here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/PricklyPearAndBoxFlats

If you want to read the long version of my trip report, you can check it out here on my website: http://udink.org/archives/2009/02/prickly_pear_an.shtml

And here is my GPS tracklog from the trip (in Google Earth KML format): http://castlecountry.org/geo/PricklyPearAndBoxFlats.kml

Old cowboy camp on Prickly Pear Flat:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5X_pa8U7I/AAAAAAAADR8/9nkrvUPglzc/s800/IMG_6631_stitch.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SlVk3SiHFFXZq9w3ewdijg)

Navajo Sandstone cliffs on the way to the rock art panel:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YCwSxB2I/AAAAAAAADSM/obaGPsITRg4/s800/IMG_6651.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CTOPtBzZjAIjgIo7H0i23Q)

More Navajo Sandstone cliffs on the way to the rock art panel:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YEYD0JsI/AAAAAAAADSU/kTWgQVx0mjY/s800/IMG_6655.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FrutPO-XGl28L6KP1E1U0Q)

This is my favorite pictograph on the panel:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YFX68GaI/AAAAAAAADSc/UeepNN6P2jw/s800/IMG_6664.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yc93coqcOjU96hWSOYMhww)

The two-spotted dog:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YGYeRCgI/AAAAAAAADSk/YvyNpRvqHJM/s800/IMG_6666.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BZZRkFyTzc-uWl18XNw3Ig)

Pictographs:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YHRh-tlI/AAAAAAAADSs/s_bwTAeh3kM/s800/IMG_6667.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M2exHW4VOMddtKu_6nbSXg)

Pictographs:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YIsGgLqI/AAAAAAAADS0/UKRX2yIqE38/s800/IMG_6668.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NZsU2rbjMrPUuJWTBMseRw)

Wider view of the panel:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YNITqBQI/AAAAAAAADTU/TVQGWuyWDdA/s800/IMG_6678.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-lp2_kkxPc_G0rVEb4jzRA)

The trail across Prickly Pear Flat:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YQUyIpII/AAAAAAAADTs/2WNRZs_QyYo/s800/IMG_6693.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/leQIMveXaqhHR-Hby7gY0A)

Panorama of Devil's Hole:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YSUEyfWI/AAAAAAAADT0/caRkaHaX8HY/s800/IMG_6697_stitch.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/u2iZTs3fpwh4JOvhLzcD1A)

Parked overlooking Devil's Hole:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YUZiWcRI/AAAAAAAADUE/MdYIZ8xw7Mk/s800/IMG_6707.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/u1ldQKoaw3ApNHKAN2fuGw)

Box Flat:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YUxBQ1aI/AAAAAAAADUM/mPK8LhHeOfo/s800/IMG_6711.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g5Lmvsp0LIQxKqi2u9NhJQ)

A canyon near Box Flat:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YV--BaWI/AAAAAAAADUU/CmXvX9xwZJE/s800/IMG_6716.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7ah2RTl0LV490GcAOUOSHQ)

Looking up the canyon (same as in previous photo) near Box Flat:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YWxpr61I/AAAAAAAADUc/xKTHfLXm4kY/s800/IMG_6718.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MTUDRQdEneKES9GvvbQ-9w)

Parked at the WSA boundary on Box Flat:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YX2R6LHI/AAAAAAAADUk/xDKciPPqEpI/s800/IMG_6744.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VU6exvaVGTBiv3xd6b9YwQ)

The "gap" leading from Box Flat to Jackass Flat:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YcwT4ghI/AAAAAAAADVQ/87hQ-J1-0x0/s800/IMG_6789.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7K9mFFO6A_WlfDHoVLuVsA)

Along the road to Box Flat:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5Ye5cuTEI/AAAAAAAADVg/wd4QlhLZuV4/s800/IMG_6802.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U4m_lRW0LmDL25xjHPnKHA)

More of the Box Flat road--it's pretty difficult to follow across the exposed sandstone sometimes:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SY5YgL745uI/AAAAAAAADVo/qHgpchH4xHo/s800/IMG_6803.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DTvYMSK7FqOU5J1EXNjctQ)

[accadacca]

Jeez, it looks like summer in some of those pictures... :slobber:

[CrazyFinn]

I'm jealous! Nice pics.

[Jaxx]

very cool. What is with the cowboy camp. Is that supposed to be a fence to keep people out?

[Udink]

What is with the cowboy camp. Is that supposed to be a fence to keep people out?
I'm not really sure. I think that maybe somebody used to live there, and the fence was to keep the cows out. There's a small concrete dam very close by that was used to impound water, so I'm sure this was a livestock operation of some sort.