Bogley

[James_B_Wads2000]

So after hiking Alien Car Canyon on Saturday (see TR in canyoneering section) we headed out Sunday morning for Range Creek Canyon.

Where is Range Creek you ask? Even I had to look it up and I have a nine-foot tall map of Utah in my living room. It is a large canyon system in the Book Cliffs that drains into the Green River just up stream from the Price River confluence.

Why go here? Well a few years back a rancher named Waldo Wilcox sold his ranch that had been in his family for over sixty years to the federal government. His father had bought it from the family that had originally homesteaded it around the turn of the century. Basically the canyon had been without public access since the arrival of the White Man. Which is good because it is full of untouched Fremont Indian ruins. We are talking not touched by anyone since the Fremonts abandoned them around and before 1300AD. For more on the canyon read this article that contains this quote.

Quote: "I was cussed all my life for locking those gates," the 74-year-old Wilcox said Wednesday. "Now the archaeologists tell me we were heroes for doing that. Otherwise the hippies would have come in here and destroyed the place."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19415-2004Jun30.html

Well starting this past spring/summer they have started a permit system to allow the public to hike in this archeological gold mine. I won't bore you with the details but the gist is that with a permit you can hike from the gate on the road down canyon and explore the sites. No overnight camping allowed beyond the gate and only horse and foot traffic allowed beyond the gate. Rangers patrol every weekend and there is a stiff fine for anyone found out there without a permit. More details here:

http://wildlife.utah.gov/range_creek/index.php

Well anyhoo a friend of mine had tipped me on this place and invited me to meet him out there on Sunday. After getting gas and water in East Carbon we headed for Horse Canyon. The road up and over the pass down to Range Creek is pretty exciting. It has been cut out of the mountainside and hangs thousands of feet above the canyon floor almost the whole time. When we did it the road was mostly dry and no problem for the mighty 4Runner. It has snowed since and chains are now required for anyone thinking of heading out there in the next few weeks (canyon closes from late November to Late May depending on snow conditions.)

We started hiking around eleven and only made it about 2.5 miles down canyon. There isn’t much to see as the rock art and ruins are subtle and the vegetation is thick. Charles (my friend) had talked to a guy who had just spent a couple of days in the canyon and he gave him some tips where to find some sites. After finding one with Charles I decided to catch up with Corrin and Brad who had kept hiking down canyon. I caught them as they were heading back up canyon to find me (I had the avocado and tomato in my pack for the canyoneering sandwiches we packed for lunch.)

After finishing lunch, two trucks came driving up the canyon and stopped on the road right next to us. A woman jumps out of the first one and says she is the ranch manager (archeologist). She was showing her cousins some sites and asked if we wanted to join them. Turns out there was a panel just above where we were having lunch. We scrambled up the cliff bands toward some unassuming alcove that was full of pictographs. She offered us a ride back to our car which was cool as it was getting late. On the way out she showed us a couple more rock art panels. We then drove home.

Commentary: There are no signs or interpretive trails in Range Creek Canyon. The sites are subtle and hard to find. We spent a whole day and only found a handful of rock art sites. Also there is no beta out there on the web (to my knowledge) detailing how to find sites. If you want big ruins and panels go to Mesa Verde or Ninemile Canyon. Keep this place pristine so that archeologist can excavate these untouched sites. And if you do go, get a permit and follow all regulations!

James

My friend Brad took all the photos:

[James_B_Wads2000]

I just attendend a free lecture at the University of Utah featuring Kevin Jones State Archaeologist about Range Creek. Very interesting.

If you want to find out more there will be a free screening of the upcoming documentry "Secrets of Lost Canyon" tonight. If you miss this screening, the documentry will air Monday November 21 at 8:00pm on KUED (channel 7 in SLC)

More below:

http://www.kued.org/diversevoices/

KUED Public Television,
Salt Lake City Film Center
and The City Library present the
"Diverse Voices" Film and Discussion Series.
All film screenings and discussions are free and
open to the public. Seating is limited.

Join us at The City Library at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
November 15 for Secrets of the Lost Canyon

It was called one of the most significant finds in North America in the past 50 years. Nestled in the heart of Central Utah in Range Creek Canyon were the remains of a lost civilization that once thrived in the American Southwest. For 500 years, the Fremont Indians lived in parts of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau as hunters, gatherers and farmers. They left detailed art and symbols on the stone faces of canyons they inhabited and stored their grain high on cliff walls in well-built granaries that still survive. Then, 800 years ago, the Fremont seemingly disappeared. Today, University of Utah archeologists are surveying an entire canyon of some 2,000 untouched Fremont Indian sites. But this KUED documentary captures a range of issues and challenges that threaten efforts to understand the past.
Learn more about Secrets of the Lost Canyon.

Join us for a Q & A after the screening with
producer Nancy Green

FREE FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION
Tuesday, November 15, at 7:00 p.m.
The City Library Auditorium
210 East 400 South

“Breaking the Silence” airs on Sunday, October 23, at 4:30 pm, on KUED-Channel 7.

The screening of Secrets of the Lost Canyon is sponsored by KUED, City Library and Salt Lake Film Center.