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| Hiking | 3.60 Miles |
588 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.60 Miles | 2 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.62 mph |
| 588 ft AEG | | 5 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Hike #7 & #8 of 10 of our Spring 2014 Utah trip.
After three days and six hikes, all of them up on The Comb, it was time for have a change of pace. So with some vague information on a few possible ruin sites in Comb Wash we decided to check them out. Since both hikes were about the same in length and duration I'm lumping them together in the same triplog.
Hike #7 (Ruin #1) I had three waypoints of possible sites along/near Comb Wash Road so we had high hopes of finding at least one. (If it was anything like our hike in Comb Wash last year when we lucked into a site I had no idea was there, there was reason for hope)
As we approached the first waypoint most of the area looked to be just a grassy meadow with a high-walled wash on the other side. Seeing vehicle tracks heading in that direction followed them until they stopped at the wash.
A few trails to choose from we took the one that aimed closest to the first waypoint. After a winding route through thick brush in the wash we came up against the high wall of the wash and set about finding a route up.
In Butler Wash we'd already learned to follow cow paths when available so that's what we did and soon found a way up. Once up on top we were confronted with a wide, grassy plain, devoid of anything but two large boulders a quarter-mile away. Both had what appeared to be southwest-facing overhangs, which is what we would expect from a ruin site, so we had high hopes.
The first one was empty but the second and larger of the two did in fact have a partial ruin. It seemed too small for a long-term dwelling but thought it may have been used for storage or a temporary hunting shelter. Not much to see so after a few photos (with Tracey's camera) we headed back to the Jeep.
I was going to shoot a video with the GoPro but although I copied the files off the night before and I could remember (and even visualize it) re-inserting its 64 Gb MicroSD card, it was not there!
Ok, so I'd use my Olympus for the video... whoops, the hard case I had around my waist seemed a bit light... and it was for a reason, no camera inside!
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
Taking a moment to think, I realized I took the Olympus out of the case to shoot a few photos from the car earlier so I would have it for the next ruin site if we found one.
As far as the GoPro card?? On our return to our campsite Tracey would find the card covered in dust and laying on the road. Appeared to have been run over (probably by me) but it worked fine.
Whew! 
I couldn't understand how it got there, nor could I believe the luck in finding it intact!
Hike #8 (Ruin #2): As we approached the second waypoint it appeared if there ever had been a site it was washed away long ago, and evidence of an old road that I hoped would lead to the next possibility was no longer in evidence either. But once we were a few hundred yards past that area and looked back, I could see evidence of the old road. But with no place to park there we continued just far enough to get off the road.
We walked back and caught what was left of the old road and followed it until we found another small ruin site across the canyon. We dropped down, climbed up to it, shot a few photos and I decided to continue up to the top of a ridge to see what it looked like in the next canyon, which I would find out later was Mule Canyon. Nice views but no evidence of another ruin site so we headed back.
On the return leg I figured we could take a more direct route which entailed going through a small slot canyon. Although tight I made it through the first part easy enough but had Tracey wait until I could determine if we could make it all the way through. It's very possible we could have done so, but when I reached a spot I'd have to drop down without knowing if I could continue, or even get back up, we decided to head back the way we came into the canyon. Once we were back out of the canyon we cut directly across the grassy meadow to the car.
With no more information of other ruins to locate here in Comb Wash we headed out of Comb Wash, east on UT 95 up and over The Comb and back to camp in Butler Wash, where we would embark on the last hike for the day. |
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