San Juan River, Comb Ridge, Monument Valley, Cedar Mesa

[tmartenst]

The trip report should say Bluff, San Juan River, Comb Ridge, Valley of the Gods, Muley Point, Mexican Hat, Monument Valley, Cedar Mesa or I suppose just Four Corners Memorial Day Weekend.

Arrived in Bluff on Friday at around 11:30pm. Plan was to stay at a friend's home away from home. Grad students of architecture (which our friend was) at the U of Utah spend a semester down in Bluff building houses for Navajo families in need. On the first part of this trip we spent a bit of time hanging with a few different semester's worth of these people so had good fun at night and spent the days exploring.

Day 1, Saturday: Hiked from the house to a sweet swimming hole, explored the area for some petroglyphs and went decently far up a canyon that ended at an alcove. Didn't see petroglyphs until I got back down near the swimming hole but couldn't scramble up due to time constraints.

Around 5pm, we got out on the San Juan River. We did not have a permit so we just rafted from West of Bluff to Sand Island takeout. We rafted to the other side of the river to check out Seventeen Room House which took a good hour of hiking. After that, we only stopped one time on a rock island to hang out and made it to Sand Island takeout around sunset. The river was very mellow above Sand Island.

Day 2, Sunday: Long day of driving/hiking. I went back to the local petroglyphs to get a better look and spent about an hour and half hiking up and around. They were mainly recent Native American and cowboy petroglyphs but still cool. We left Bluff around noon and immediately went to Comb Ridge. We did about an hour hike up to the top of Comb Ridge where the no-see-ums were maddening but the view was good. Back down, we headed out on a random road South of 163 to an overlook of the San Juan River. Then we headed back on 226 and drove most of the roads of Valley of the Gods. I wasn't really impressed, is that bad?

From there we drove up Moki Dugway and checked out Muley Point which was a sweet vantage point. Then back down to Mexican Hat where we hiked up to just underneath it. My friend was trying to check out how to climb it but it didn't look like the accessories he needed to be there were there anymore. Then to Monument Valley for sunset where we hung out with the hoards for a few minutes then wised up and went down on the road for some solitude. After sundown and dinner we headed back up the Moki Dugway for our Road Canyon destination. I actually took the Lime Creek road which was pretty adventurous and definitely slower than the normal Road Canyon road would have been.

As I was setting up my sleeping arrangements in the back of the truck, I found that the caps had come off of 5 bottles of beers (none broken though) due to the off road pounding & elevation I guess. Needless to say, my sleeping bag was covered in beer so I had a pretty uncomfortable night with makeshift blankets, etc.

Day 3, Monday: We got up early and left camp/TH by 9:00am for a Road Canyon ruin destination that was on my list. We made it down the canyon and up the other side, then back in 4 hours with a solid hour of photography and lunch. Back home in Salt Lake by 8:00pm with an extra hour of sitting in Hwy 6 traffic near the road to Diamond Fork Hot Springs. Great trip, good to get out in the desert.

Seventeen Room House:

Bluff Petroglyphs:

Comb Ridge:

Muley Point:

Mexican Hat:

Monument Valley:

Cedar Mesa:

[ibenick]

How'd I miss this thread??? Nice TR and pics! Thanks for posting!

[asdf]

wtf
you really posted this in June?

awesome stuff man

[Iceaxe]

I also missed this the first time around....

[bowjunkie]

very nice I missed it to oops!!!!!

[tmartenst]

I missed that you responded until now! I'm sure there is a way to get notified when peeps respond to your threads but I've not figured that out (or tried).

It was a quick and busy trip but fantastic at the same time.

[oldno7]

I love hanging out in the Bluff area.
So the 17room ruin is on Navajo land?
Looks incredible.

[tmartenst]

17 room is on Navajo land. There used to be a foot bridge across the San Juan but I believe some local groups destroyed it. While we were there, there were two Navajo farmer's sitting in the trees below getting out of the shade. We felt like the site was even more hands off with them watching.

[Reddirtdawg]

There used to be a foot bridge across the San Juan but I believe some local groups destroyed it

Naw......a flood on the river took it out a few years back. Use to be that the slats (rungs) were spaced with large gaps in between them.....that helped let the water through when the river rose. But a group....I believe maybe Boy Scouts.....decided to replace all the deteriorating rungs with new ones....and they butted them up tight...right next to each other. First river flood after they did that, the water could not flow through at all and took the bridge down. There was an effort a few years ago in Bluff.....where they would give you a bead necklace if you donated to the rebuilding of the bridge......but I don't think that has amounted to anything....and they may have disbanded that effort now.

As far as Casa del Eco (17 Room) goes. You can still get to if coming in from the other side on the Rez. Though technically you are suppose to have a permit to visit any ruins on the Rez.....this one has always been visited by folks without a permit....and are never harassed. Unlike Poncho House.....which can get almost violent at times with the Navajos if you go in there and get caught.

[Philippe]

Though technically you are suppose to have a permit to visit any ruins on the Rez.....this one has always been visited by folks without a permit....and are never harassed. .

I visited 17 room last Spring, there were Navajos at the pull out. They were friendly but quite surprised to meet a guy coming from France to visit this dwelling.

Unlike Poncho House.....which can get almost violent at times with the Navajos if you go in there and get caught

Before entering Poncho House site there is a fence (with no opening) with a big sign "No trespassing ! violators will be prosecuted" so if you enter you know that you do something wrong and that you can get in big trouble, unlike at 17 room where there is no sign at all.

About one year ago it was possible to hire a local Navajo guide to visit Poncho House but it is no more possible as somebody has stolen some artifacts that the Navajo guide was showing to visitors before hiding the artifacts again. Navajos think that a guided visitor came again furtherly to stole the artifacts the guide has shown him, so they want nobody to come again on this site.

Philippe

[tmartenst]

a flood on the river took it out a few years back.....

Glad others are here to correct my unverified word of mouth gibberish!

[Brian in SLC]

Then back down to Mexican Hat where we hiked up to just underneath it. My friend was trying to check out how to climb it but it didn't look like the accessories he needed to be there were there anymore.

Route is still there (and the bolts too) on the standard "Bandito Route". The first bolt is fairly high off the ground, you need either a stick clip or time-honored should stand to clip it. Exposed and a bit scary.

Always something interesting on the summit. First time I climbed it, was old biker magazine in the summit register. Last time...:



Photo by Todd Gordon. When we last climbed it, the cap on the bottle was taped to the pin, and, you had to squeeze the handle on the grenade to pull the pin and remove the cap to take a swig. Pretty funny.

Route has been climbed in under 6 minutes...

Royal Robbins has the first known ascent, via a scary aid route that looks frightening (with bad bad fall potential). He found a cairn on the summit. Someone reported talking to family at the base a few years back who reported that their dad climbed it in the 40's when he and his friends laid a drill pipe against it, and, climbed up the pipe. Nutty.

Fun stunt climb!

[tmartenst]

Route is still there (and the bolts too) on the standard "Bandito Route".

Good to know. He looked for a long time around the whole thing and couldn't spot it. Would have helped for us to do a quick search on the route in advance I suppose.