Trip Report Nine Mile the Third

I had planned on camping at Cliff Dweller Flat and hiking Eardley Canyon this weekend, but a 30% chance of rain scared me off. The long section of slot canyon in Eardley is no place to be during a storm given its huge drainage area. Instead, I slept in late at home and on Saturday morning made up my mind to hit Nine Mile Canyon once again. There were several sites I wanted to visit: some I'd seen from a distance on my last trip, some I'd gleaned from the internet, and others I learned of from a friend. At the very first site I hiked up to I encountered a small rattlesnake--I heard it before I saw it. The dogs had run past it twice before I realized what the sound was because from a distance it sounded more like an insect. I took the dogs down to the Jeep then hiked alone back up the talus slope to check out the petroglyphs. Funny--the main figure at this panel was a large snake.

A small midget faded rattlesnake at the first rock art site I visited
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...0/IMG_4448.JPG

Snake and other petroglyphs
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...0/IMG_4456.JPG

Tethered sheep petroglyph that seems to be a common theme in Nine Mile Canyon
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y...0/IMG_4462.JPG

Big feet
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...0/IMG_4464.JPG

The next site was a very short distance down the road and there were quite a few good petroglyphs there. Many of them were obscured by mud or patina, though their original artistry was still evident.

Large, horned human figure
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...0/IMG_4466.JPG

Shield figure and sheep
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...0/IMG_4475.JPG

Mud-covered petroglyph
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...0/IMG_4482.JPG

Mud-covered petroglyph with life-sized hands
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U...0/IMG_4487.JPG

High petroglyphs
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...0/IMG_4492.JPG

Figures holding sticks and shields
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...0/IMG_4501.JPG

Two shields
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...0/IMG_4504.JPG

Large, weathered petroglyph
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...0/IMG_4512.JPG

I passed up on hiking to a few sites that I saw and just photographed them from the road on the way to my next destination. The next stop held a few pit houses and some great petroglyphs. My favorite was a large elk that had some lichen growing in its peck marks.

High, distant petroglyphs photographed from the road
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...0/IMG_4520.JPG

Petroglyphs on private property near Argyle Canyon
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...0/IMG_4522.JPG

Pig Head Rock
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...0/IMG_4525.JPG

Semi-circular alcove with petroglyphs very high above the canyon floor
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...0/IMG_4528.JPG

Pit house remnants
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...0/IMG_4529.JPG

Side canyon
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...0/IMG_4535.JPG

Abstract figure
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...0/IMG_4541.JPG

Two snakes
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P...0/IMG_4543.JPG

Snake and bison(?)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-X...0/IMG_4547.JPG

Sheep with pronounced hooves
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p...0/IMG_4551.JPG

Fingers, toes, and fairy dust
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N...0/IMG_4568.JPG

Large elk
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...0/IMG_4574.JPG

Lichen growing in the peck marks in the elk's body
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-v...0/IMG_4578.JPG

Snake and canine(?)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...0/IMG_4584.JPG

Sheep with funky feet
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...0/IMG_4592.JPG

Human figure behind a large stone slab
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r...0/IMG_4597.JPG

Again, I stopped for some panels that I noticed from the road. I finally found the Santa and Reindeer Panel that was impossibly high on a cliff, though I think I figured out how to get up close to it--something for another trip! I also scrambled up to some granaries and wonderful white snake pictographs that I spotted during my last trip.

Lots of dots
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...0/IMG_4617.JPG

An interesting panel, but heavy winds and rain kept me from getting a closer look
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...0/IMG_4621.JPG

Santa and his reindeer
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...0/IMG_4628.JPG

Dots and wavy line
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...0/IMG_4630.JPG

Pit house remains below some granaries
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...0/IMG_4645.JPG

Remains of two granaries
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q...0/IMG_4647.JPG

High granary
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...0/IMG_4651.JPG

Pit house remains
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...0/IMG_4663.JPG

High alove with white snake pictographs
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...0/IMG_4669.JPG

White snake pictographs
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...0/IMG_4677.JPG

My last stop was at the Family Panel. I had been ridiculously close to it last time but didn't spot it then. This time I had some info from a friend that helped me find it. The dogs were tired of being cooped up in the Jeep--luckily some clouds had moved in and made it possible for me to leave them there safely--and I drove home while consciously trying not to spot more rock art.

Horned spiral snake
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g...0/IMG_4688.JPG

Figures near the spiral snake
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...0/IMG_4687.JPG

Family Panel
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2...0/IMG_4694.JPG

Pictograph near a Boulder
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P...0/IMG_4718.JPG

Full photo gallery: https://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis....neMileTheThird