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| Hiking | 14.90 Miles |
750 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.90 Miles | 7 Hrs 32 Mns | | 2.24 mph |
| 750 ft AEG | 53 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I'd had this one on my list for a few years, so it was nice to finally check it out. The final approach to the trailhead on FR 642 was relatively flat but narrow, a two-track surrounded by brush on both sides. Passenger cars wouldn't have much problem driving it other than the tall brush in the middle of the two-track that would cause a lot of undercarriage scraping.
For such a remote location, the trailhead was more substantial than I expected and had several informational signs about the rock art, a map, and a sign-in register. Interesting side note: a group that visited last month wrote in the register that they believe their great-great grandfather, John Conrad Naegle (Naile), ranched in the canyon and built the rock house near Naile Canyon, not far from the trailhead.
We set out just after sunrise, and it was fun to see the sun slowly light up the canyon as we hiked west. The trail wasn't nearly as overgrown as I expected given the lack of foot traffic it must get--the first few miles, especially, were very easy to follow and not very brushy. We reached the first rock art panel in a small alcove just over two miles in. That site had one of the highest quantities of drawings and a mix of petroglyphs and pictographs that we didn't see at the other sites. [ youtube video ]
We continued west, stopping frequently at additional pictograph panels along the way, including one with a red devil figure high up on a wall, a site with several V-shaped drawings, and a variety of unique figures painted in reds and yellows. The middle of the canyon between the trailhead and Table Rock was light on rock art--there were long stretches where we passed pristine, flat panels of rock with nothing drawn.
We started to see more panels again as we approached Table Rock, and the big alcove eventually came into view with small ruin walls visible. I went up for a closer look...the walls were very small and looked more like storage areas than old dwellings, but it was hard to tell with the level of deterioration in there. The alcove also had a few more red pictographs high on the wall. [ youtube video ]
From there, we explored a short distance down Table Rock Canyon toward the spring, and I saw one stray pictograph in that area before we headed back to the Big Panel. It was interesting that all the other panels we'd seen throughout Snake Gulch were on south-facing walls, but the biggest here was on the other side of the canyon. It was an impressive site, with big pictographs high on the walls that were visible from far away and more illustrations extending down the wall. [ youtube video ]
We signed the register and took a break in the shade before starting back down the canyon. We noticed a few more panels and an inscription that we'd missed on the way in and made good time back to the trailhead--Snake Gulch is a very flat canyon, and this was about as easy as it gets for a ~15-mile hike. We didn't see anyone all day; if not for the rock art, I'm sure even fewer people would visit...it's a pleasant hike but not overwhelmingly beautiful. But the quantity and variety of art throughout the canyon is impressive. The artists took advantage of ledges to draw high on the walls and must've used ladders in some spots. |
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