IntrepidXJ
12-07-2011, 06:38 PM
November Cedar Mesa & Comb Ridge Trip 2011
Friday & Saturday, November 11-12, 2011
The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO (http://adventr.co/2011/11/veterans-day-weekend-at-natural-bridges/)
Right after an awesome three day weekend in Northern Arizona (http://adventr.co/2011/11/the-wave-weekend/) I was headed down to Cedar Mesa with my friend Jackson for another long weekend over Veterans Day weekend. Our destination and goal for this trip was to explore Natural Bridges National Monument for two days. I had been to the park once before, but at that time we only stayed up on the canyon rim and viewed the bridges from their respective overlooks. This trip we were planning on descending down into White Canyon so that we could begin to explore the area for the abundent ruins and rock art found within the park. This was just the first of many trips I plan to spend exploring the area!
One of the main pictographs I was looking for on this trip was the White Man. We managed to find that one first.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/6422674635_f0e891079d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6422674635/)
White Man Alcove (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6422674635/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There's a few other interesting white pictographs next to it, including a large T-shaped design.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6439310897_628f702274_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439310897/)
White Pictographs (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439310897/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
The White Man is larger than it might look in the photos above. Here's Jackson standing next to it for scale.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6434035067_a614abb920_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434035067/)
Jackson and the White Man (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434035067/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There were a few ruins near the White Man including these. Both of these structures have small deep holes in front of them. The one that is closest also has two small wood beams criss-crossed and mortared inside. I wonder what these could have been used for?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6439291923_5cf99aa5a3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439291923/)
X Marks the Spot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439291923/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A look at the other deep hole.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6439245003_19592faf8a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439245003/)
Deep Hole (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439245003/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Next we climbed up to a ledge not far from the White Man to visit some more ruins. These petroglyphs and pictographs were found up there.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6439233413_121b895164_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439233413/)
Spiral & Diamond (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439233413/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A small structure with a door stone in place.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6439222635_f054b92113_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439222635/)
Door Stone (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439222635/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Here's a view down on the large ruin near the White Man pictograph below.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6433996223_2f50754982_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6433996223/)
White Man Ruins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6433996223/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Another small structure still in good condition.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6434560175_88327be81d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434560175/)
Square Room (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434560175/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A view down the ledge the ruins are located on.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6439209251_93fef69bd5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439209251/)
Lightning Ruins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439209251/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Our next destination was a visit to the Horsecollar Ruins. Along the way we found many handprints located in a very large alcove.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6434086105_433b74bc30_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434086105/)
Natural Hands (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434086105/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
The Horsecollar Ruins were discovered by non-Indians in the late 1880's. In 1907, an archeological expedition documented the site and later recommended the establishment of Natural Bridges National Monument. It seems seems that these ruins were then forgotten for a while. Then, one cold November day in 1936, it was rediscovered by Zeke Johnson, the first curator of the Monument. He wrote:
I am very much thrilled over a discovery I made the other day. I was working about half way between Sipapu and Kachina Bridges and at lunch time I was in the narrow canyon where the sun does not shine very much at that time of year, but I could see that about thirty feet above me the sun was shining warm and bright on the cliff. I crawled up a broken ledge thinking that it would be nice to eat my lunch there when to my surprise I saw a ledge full of houses, within 80 yards of the trail over which I have walked for more than twenty years. There is one large kiva with the roof almost complete and a fine ladder standing in the hatchway with the small willows still holding the rungs in place. I could not tell how many rungs are on the ladder because of the debris which the pack rats have piled up around its base; only three and a half feet show between the top of the pile and the hatch. Beside the kiva are two well-preserved stone and adobe houses with no roofs but walls which are in a fine state of preservation. A small barrel shaped structure abuts against one of the houses. Six or eight rooms with walls of fine masonry but partly torn down are also on the ledge. There is a lot of broken pottery and flaked stone lying about. I picked up six arrow points and several broken ones. You know, I felt like a foolish kid to have passed so near these ruins for so many years and not know of their presence, but someone had found them before I did many years ago; a few pits have been dug in the ruins but the kiva has not been touched.
That's when the Horsecollar Ruins reentered the world of Natural Bridges. The park says that not much has changed since Zeke Johnson's day. The ladder into the kiva is gone, and much of the debris inside has been removed. Sadly, one can no longer find pottery or arrowheads here anymore since practically everything has been taken away by other visitors.
Two photos of the largest ruin found here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6439165827_1fb58d9941_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439165827/)
Big Ruin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439165827/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6434112493_60672c70e0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434112493/)
Horsecollar Rooms (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434112493/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
This site is considered to be unusual because there is a square kiva and a round kiva at the same site. Round kivas are typically found in Southwest Colorado and Southeast Utah, while square kivas are usually found in Northern Arizona. This is the roof of the square kiva found here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6439093515_226e571e71_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439093515/)
Square Kiva Roof (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439093515/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A closer look at the entrance into the kiva.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6434132585_1d8b19e49c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434132585/)
Kiva Entrance (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434132585/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Many 'bird-feet' carvings found in the mortar of one of the ruins.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6434195425_e290574223_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434195425/)
Birds Feet (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434195425/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There's not much left of this small structure.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6439118815_599c284290_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439118815/)
Falls Apart (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439118815/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A wall stands with a large doorway.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6439107909_4a9a091753_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439107909/)
Horsecollar Doorway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439107909/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
[i]This set of ruins is where the name
Friday & Saturday, November 11-12, 2011
The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO (http://adventr.co/2011/11/veterans-day-weekend-at-natural-bridges/)
Right after an awesome three day weekend in Northern Arizona (http://adventr.co/2011/11/the-wave-weekend/) I was headed down to Cedar Mesa with my friend Jackson for another long weekend over Veterans Day weekend. Our destination and goal for this trip was to explore Natural Bridges National Monument for two days. I had been to the park once before, but at that time we only stayed up on the canyon rim and viewed the bridges from their respective overlooks. This trip we were planning on descending down into White Canyon so that we could begin to explore the area for the abundent ruins and rock art found within the park. This was just the first of many trips I plan to spend exploring the area!
One of the main pictographs I was looking for on this trip was the White Man. We managed to find that one first.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/6422674635_f0e891079d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6422674635/)
White Man Alcove (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6422674635/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There's a few other interesting white pictographs next to it, including a large T-shaped design.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6439310897_628f702274_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439310897/)
White Pictographs (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439310897/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
The White Man is larger than it might look in the photos above. Here's Jackson standing next to it for scale.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6434035067_a614abb920_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434035067/)
Jackson and the White Man (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434035067/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There were a few ruins near the White Man including these. Both of these structures have small deep holes in front of them. The one that is closest also has two small wood beams criss-crossed and mortared inside. I wonder what these could have been used for?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6439291923_5cf99aa5a3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439291923/)
X Marks the Spot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439291923/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A look at the other deep hole.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6439245003_19592faf8a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439245003/)
Deep Hole (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439245003/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Next we climbed up to a ledge not far from the White Man to visit some more ruins. These petroglyphs and pictographs were found up there.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6439233413_121b895164_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439233413/)
Spiral & Diamond (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439233413/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A small structure with a door stone in place.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6439222635_f054b92113_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439222635/)
Door Stone (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439222635/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Here's a view down on the large ruin near the White Man pictograph below.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6433996223_2f50754982_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6433996223/)
White Man Ruins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6433996223/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Another small structure still in good condition.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6434560175_88327be81d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434560175/)
Square Room (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434560175/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A view down the ledge the ruins are located on.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6439209251_93fef69bd5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439209251/)
Lightning Ruins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439209251/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Our next destination was a visit to the Horsecollar Ruins. Along the way we found many handprints located in a very large alcove.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6434086105_433b74bc30_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434086105/)
Natural Hands (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434086105/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
The Horsecollar Ruins were discovered by non-Indians in the late 1880's. In 1907, an archeological expedition documented the site and later recommended the establishment of Natural Bridges National Monument. It seems seems that these ruins were then forgotten for a while. Then, one cold November day in 1936, it was rediscovered by Zeke Johnson, the first curator of the Monument. He wrote:
I am very much thrilled over a discovery I made the other day. I was working about half way between Sipapu and Kachina Bridges and at lunch time I was in the narrow canyon where the sun does not shine very much at that time of year, but I could see that about thirty feet above me the sun was shining warm and bright on the cliff. I crawled up a broken ledge thinking that it would be nice to eat my lunch there when to my surprise I saw a ledge full of houses, within 80 yards of the trail over which I have walked for more than twenty years. There is one large kiva with the roof almost complete and a fine ladder standing in the hatchway with the small willows still holding the rungs in place. I could not tell how many rungs are on the ladder because of the debris which the pack rats have piled up around its base; only three and a half feet show between the top of the pile and the hatch. Beside the kiva are two well-preserved stone and adobe houses with no roofs but walls which are in a fine state of preservation. A small barrel shaped structure abuts against one of the houses. Six or eight rooms with walls of fine masonry but partly torn down are also on the ledge. There is a lot of broken pottery and flaked stone lying about. I picked up six arrow points and several broken ones. You know, I felt like a foolish kid to have passed so near these ruins for so many years and not know of their presence, but someone had found them before I did many years ago; a few pits have been dug in the ruins but the kiva has not been touched.
That's when the Horsecollar Ruins reentered the world of Natural Bridges. The park says that not much has changed since Zeke Johnson's day. The ladder into the kiva is gone, and much of the debris inside has been removed. Sadly, one can no longer find pottery or arrowheads here anymore since practically everything has been taken away by other visitors.
Two photos of the largest ruin found here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6439165827_1fb58d9941_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439165827/)
Big Ruin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439165827/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6434112493_60672c70e0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434112493/)
Horsecollar Rooms (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434112493/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
This site is considered to be unusual because there is a square kiva and a round kiva at the same site. Round kivas are typically found in Southwest Colorado and Southeast Utah, while square kivas are usually found in Northern Arizona. This is the roof of the square kiva found here.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6439093515_226e571e71_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439093515/)
Square Kiva Roof (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439093515/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A closer look at the entrance into the kiva.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6434132585_1d8b19e49c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434132585/)
Kiva Entrance (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434132585/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
Many 'bird-feet' carvings found in the mortar of one of the ruins.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6434195425_e290574223_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434195425/)
Birds Feet (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6434195425/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
There's not much left of this small structure.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6439118815_599c284290_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439118815/)
Falls Apart (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439118815/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
A wall stands with a large doorway.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6439107909_4a9a091753_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439107909/)
Horsecollar Doorway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlngstrt/6439107909/) by IntrepidXJ (http://www.flickr.com/people/rlngstrt/), on Flickr
[i]This set of ruins is where the name