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Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
1,400 AEG |
| Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 4 Hrs | | 1.25 mph |
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1,400 ft AEG | | | |
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| no partners | | I overslept and almost didn't make it! Thankfully my friend Maryellen rang the doorbell and 5:40. I quickly threw my crap together and we hit the road, getting to the Visitor's Center just after it opened. We put our names down and went back out to the truck to prep our packs. A few minutes later we heard the announcement to gather up in front of the VC, which we did. We met our guide for the day, a ~26 year-old Navajo woman named Cassandra Parrish. We caravan-ed to the trailhead, where we parked and formed the group. There was Cassandra, from Shonto/Kayenta, a group from Detroit, a group from somewhere else, a French-Canadian from Ontario, and Maryellen and myself from Page. We started down the trail, and made a few stops along the way, Ranger Parrish explaining various things about the route. While she was Navajo, she made it very clear and very obvious that she had deep respect for the Hopi people, for whom Betatakin is one of their ancestral places (called Talastima in Hopi). A particularly notable view was overlooking Tsegi (or as Cassandra said it, "Say-yat" - a pronunciation that is new to me) Canyon to the north, all the way towards Navajo Mountain. We descended down the old CCC/CWA stairs and switchbacks. We joked and talked, but knew that the ascent would be much less fun. Cassandra stopped us for a while below the rim, in the shade of a cliff, and we were told about many of the plants we'd seen, and how Navajos and Hopis use some of the plants. She also explained how many plants require special offerings in order to be able to harvest the leaves/seeds/berries/roots/etc. It was a fascinating stop and talk - Cassandra was obviously knowledgeable beyond simple book learning about such things. She was passionate about the subject. Eventually our little group moved on, descending a sand dune that would be our bane on the hike out. Before we reentered the Monument's boundary, Cassandra gave us one more talk about some more of the local plants, including Rocky Mountain Bee Plant and various types of yucca. Then we were on to Betatakin. While waiting to ascend to the ruin while a member of the group stopped at the bathroom, Cassandra and I talked for a little while. I asked her my usual question that I ask all rangers: "What is the stupidest question you've ever gotten here?" Her answer was one I've gotten before, out at the dam - people asking where to see "real Indians" wearing feathers and buckskin. We climbed up into the Betatakin alcove, a yawning mouth of stone in the Navajo Sandstone. The ruins were amazing - the profusion of wood protruding not just as beams and door supports, but ladders, wall reinforcements, and other unknown uses was awesome! The buildings seemed perfect in places! Now, obviously, I've been to a lot of these places by now, so seeing some pretty intact set of ruins is not uncommon for me, but I was still stunned by the completeness of Talastima. I knew that some restoration had occurred back in the 1920's and 1930's, but even that did not diminish my impression. We followed the old CCC trail to a ledge overlooking a set of mealing bins. It was on this part of the hike that I realized that I wouldn't get to go in and explore the intact, complete section of Betatakin, which was kind of disappointing. Cassandra set about giving some of the various stories about the region and Betatakin in specific, talking about Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni migration stories, in addition to the archaeological evidence. It was really a great talk - she presented all sides fairly and with much obvious respect. She mentioned what Betatakin means in Navajo ("House on a Ledge"), what Talastima means in Hopi ("Place of the Corn Tassel"). She also said another Hopi name for the place, which I cannot remember, but which meant "House Plastered Against the Rock". We wandered through the unrestricted section, admiring the views, and then headed down to the base of the cliff again, past the cool spring, and then up to another set of ruins. There were several clan symbols that the Hopi associate with along that section of cliff, Cassandra explained, including the Horn, Fire, Flute, and (if I recall correctly) Water Clans. That was it. The end. We were left to fend for ourselves at that point, and the 700' scrambled back up the cliff. Maryellen and I set off, talking as we hiked, and generally cursing the sand dune we were climbing. By the time we hit the switchbacks we were in front of everyone else, but we had to take a breather about halfway up in the scanty shade of a pinon tree. The French-Canadian passed us at that point, and beat us up to the top (though not by much). We took up hiking along together and discovered that he was a character. We stopped to see if could, as Cassandra had suggested, eat a yucca seed pod. The flesh was hard and unappetizing, but we did each eat a couple of the seeds. I do not recommend it - tastes pretty icky. Not inedible, but certainly not going to be high on my menu list. We made it back to the truck and hit the road to Kayenta, where we washed the taste of yucca out of our mouths with Burger King, and then headed back to Page. Another good trip in the books! |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon |
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