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| | | Black Point Intaglios and Hill - Blythe, CA | | | |
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Black Point Intaglios and Hill - Blythe, CA
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| Hiking | 2.87 Miles |
420 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.87 Miles | 1 Hour 28 Mns | | 2.07 mph |
| 420 ft AEG | 5 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Having a shoulder injury (long story) means I will not be paddling or bicycling much over the next month or more, until it heals. I'm RV camped through early December near Blythe, California, on the Colorado River, where there is virtually no trail hiking nearby. However, there are a few hills and mountains in the vicinity with microwave towers, and roads to the top. I don't want to do a lot of off-trail peak-bagging with this shoulder injury, because the potential for falling is pretty high in this type of extremely rough terrain.
So, I started up a dirt road leading to a little hill with a microwave cluster on top. It's just north of Blythe, off CA Hwy 95, near the river. The scenery was pretty bleak, but the view of the river valley was nice. I was surprised when I soon came upon a sign next to a fenced-in area, saying it is an archaeological site. I went into the area, wondering if it would be a village site or an intaglio (aka geoglyph, or very large petroglyph on the ground.) After looking at the area, I decided that it might be an intaglio, but I'd have to look it up when I got home. I couldn't see much. There's a well-known geoglyph site, called Blythe Intaglios, about 4 miles to the north of this. There are several of these sites on the Arizona side, some of which I've visited in the past, such as the Bouse Fisherman.
Sure enough, when I got home I found that the site is called Black Point Intaglios, and I found an aerial photo, which will be included in my photoset. The information said the intaglio is supposed to represent the Universe. Okay...
I continued up the dirt road. I came upon another sign saying there is a BLM Wilderness Area behind it. Again, I had to look it up when I got home. It's the Big Maria Mountains Wilderness Area. Might be fun to explore.
The view from the top of the hill is pretty nice. I could see the river snaking its way across the farmlands, and could clearly see the small dam, called Palo Verde Intake, the only one I know of on the Colorado River which has an actual canoe/kayak portage trail around it. (Palo Verde Dam also has a small walking trail with a nice footbridge over a canal, but it is closed at this time due to Covid.)
The summit of the hill has no structures on it, which made it good for taking a rest, taking in the views. |
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There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life. |
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