101 Main St / P.O. Box 118 Bluff, Utah 84512-0118 Fax (435) 672-2365 Toll Free (800) 422-7654 |
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 4 Day Upper Canyon
Location: Bluff to Mexican Hat, 26 miles 
OverviewThis 26-mile journey with three nights camping affords a closer experience with the Upper San Juan. In addition to visiting ancient rock art sites and cliff dwellings, we'll hike to the top of Comb Ridge for its commanding view of the surrounding landscape. We'll travel through a quarter of a billion years' worth of colorful rock formations, making camps in spectacular corners of the canyon.ItineraryNight Before Departure:You will meet at Wild Rivers in Bluff at 7:00 p.m. for the prelaunch orientation. Your trip leader will hand out waterproof bags and boxes. We can also supply sleeping bags, pads and tents, but be sure to reserve them in advance with our office. Day One: In the morning the group departs in a Wild Rivers van from Bluff to the Sand Island Launch ramp four miles west of town. The float begins as the river meanders past orange and black streaked sandstone outcroppings. Soon the boats pull into shore and we take a short walk to a site once inhabited by ancient desert farmers, the Anasazi. Large oval steps are carved into the cliff wall and petroglyphs appear around every corner. Down river a short distance, lunch is served under the cottonwood trees at the famous Butler Wash petroglyph panel with plenty of time to examine this extensive group of mysterious images. After lunch we may observe additional rock art panels across the river on the south bank, or we may explore panels near our camp a few miles downstream. Camp is pitched in the late afternoon on a sandy beach amongst the cottonwoods and giant sagebrush. The guides prepare dinner, complete with appetizers and dessert. Sunset and campfire, then it's off to sleep in a tent or out under the stars. Day Two: First light finds the guides in the kitchen making coffee and fixing breakfast. After breakfast the group walks to River House, an 800-year-old cliff dwelling. You can spend time amid the round walls of a kiva where dried corn cobs remain with bits of pottery. This hike can be extended by exploring the nearby benchlands for more sites and another large kiva. We'll then hike a short distance downstream to observe a great kiva and associated surface sites, and then a hike up San Juan Hill. This steep route was chiseled along a diagonal opening in the cliff by the famous Mormon "Hole-In-The-Rock" expedition in 1880. The views from its top--also the top of Comb Ridge--are incredible. Day Three: After breakfast we'll pack the boats for a short float downstream to Chinle Wash, where painted rock art and cliff dwellings hide among the rock alcoves. Author Tony Hillerman calls Chinle Wash "Many Ruins Canyon" in the mystery novel Thief of Time. At Mile 9 the river enters the "anticline" and the canyon walls rise up dramatically. The river narrows and the pace quickens as small riffles and rapids rock the boats. Camp is made deep within the canyon where the limestone walls are full of fossils and a lively current murmurs against the rocks. Day Four: There is time after breakfast for fossil hunting. An undulating pattern to the rocks reveals the presence of "bioherms." Porous mounds in an ancient shallow sea, they act as a reservoir rock to capture oil. The trip continues with more floating and fun rapids. Desert bighorn sheep may appear along this stretch. The rocks tilt and canyon walls diminish as Mexican Hat Rock comes into view, a large red slab balanced on a small pedestal. The vivid reds and grays of the anticline zig-zag across the eastern horizon, a Navajo blanket of stone. The journey ends by 2 or 3 p.m. at the boat launch in the town of Mexican Hat, where Wild River's vans will transport you back to Bluff. Note: Itineraries can vary depending on the river level, weather, group ability and interest. All hikes are optional. Many groups prefer to stretch this trip into five days to allow for more exploration or a more leisurely pace. Suggested ReadingHUMAN PREHISTORYIce Age Peoples Of North America: Environments, Origins, and Adaptations Robson Bonnickson, ed. Humans at the End of the Ice Age : The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition Lawrence Strauss Ed. The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization Brian Fagan Those Who Came Before Robert and Florence Lister Enemy Ancestors Gary Matlock Ancient Ruins of the Southwest David Noble Indian Rock Art of the Southwest Polly Schaafsma Richard Witherill: Anasazi Frank McNitt The Book of Navajo Raymond Locke The Book of Hopi Frank Waters Collapse Jared Diamond HISTORY Traders of the Navajo Frances Gillmore and Louise Wetherill Explorations of the Colorado River and its Canyons John Wesley Powell Hole in the Rock Expedition David Miller San Juan County, Utah Allan Kent Powel Anchored Lariats on the San Juan Frontier Norma Perkins Young Encounters With the Archdruid John McPhee River Runners of the Grand Canyon David Lavender Crossing the Next Meridian Charles Wilkinson Fire on the Plateau Charles Wilkinson Mormon Country Wallace Stegner The Gathering of Zion Wallace Stegner Conversations on History and Literature Wallace Stegner Reopening the Western Frontier People's History of Wilderness Water in the West High Country News Books (various authors and editors, see: www.hcn.org) Reclaiming the Native Home of Hope Robert Keiter New Genesis : M ormon Reader on Land and Community Terry Tempest Williams, Ed. Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water Mark Reisner Glen Canyon Before Lake Powell Eleanor Inskip GEOLOGY The Colorado Plateau Don Baars Geology of the Canyons of the San Juan Don Baars San Juan Canyons (River Guide) Don Baars and Gene Stevenson Life in Stone: Fossils of the Colorado Plateau Christa Saddler NATURAL HISTORY The Ice-Age History of Southwestern National Parks Scott A. Elias Packrat middens: The last 40,000 years of biotic change Julio Betancourt & Tom Van Devender A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country David Williams Eating Stone Ellen Meloy Wind in the Rock Ann Zwinger Run River Run Ann Zwinger Desert Plants of Utah Berniece A. Andersen Grasses of the Southwestern United States Frank W. Gould Sibley Field Guide to North American Birds David Allan Sibley Singing Stone Thomas Lowe Fleischner A Field Guide to Mammals A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians A First Guide to Insects of North America A First Guide to Butterflies and Moths These are all Peterson Guide Books OTHER FICTION AND NON-FICTION Desert Solitaire Abbey The Monkey Wrench Gang Abbey The Sound of Mountain Water Wallace Stegner A Thief of Time Tony Hillerman Listening Woman Tony Hillerman The Dark Wind Tony Hillerman Coyote Waits Tony Hillerman Coyote's Canyon Terry Tempest Williams Pieces of White Shell Terry Tempest Williams Red Terry Tempest Williams Refuge Terry Tempest Williams Ceremony Leslie Mormon Silko Waterlines Ann Weiler Walka |