| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 8.67 Miles |
1,520 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.67 Miles | 6 Hrs 19 Mns | | 1.42 mph |
| 1,520 ft AEG | 12 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | I had walked around up on Cooks Mesa once before and hadn't found a thing. It's a big mesa so I wasn't inclined to return until Petrophile gave me the coordinates of a structure he spotted on a satellite picture. Though usually I like to find my own destinations I'm thankful for this tip which looked like a good choice given the 10deg temp drop for the weekend.
I took a close look at the jeep road that climbs the mesa before deciding (once again) it wouldn't be a smart choice for me (alone) in my Subaru. It's probably doable, but the safer choice doesn't add that much to the hike. I mainly followed jeep roads past the tanks (all dry) until I got near the buttes I was heading for. These are sort of cool formations coming off the south edge of Cooks Mesa and look like natural lookout/habitation locations for defensive-minded people.
The first butte has a small rectangular room clearly visible in the satellite picture. The walls were low but reasonably intact and a small section of wall continued of one edge of the structure. I found some pottery there so probably people lived there. The view to the second butte was more interesting though: looked like a bigger wall on that one.
The 2nd butte is very well defended. The rock cliff goes almost the way around - only reasonable approach is from the SW where the cliff is more broken. Plenty of overgrowth adds to the defense. Once on top I found it was a fortified enclosure: one clear entry way but on the south end, the only accessible side, a barrier wall was constructed across the entire butte width (30-40' or so wide). Inside the enclosure were several ruin room outlines and again some pottery. I found a couple small petroglyphs there as well.
I walked back across a drainage so I could sample another butte and some new ground. Didn't come across any more cultural signs but I did see 5 or 6 deer running away in the distance. Good day, not to hot, thanks for the tip Mike!
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
