petroglyphs, Paths Untraveled

Over Thanksgiving in 2023 I decided to head over to Cedar Mesa, in hopes of spending some time in unfamiliar portions of Grand Gulch. I have yet to through-hike its entire length (a bucket list dream of mine), but have explored various parts of its canyons. Before this trip I had visited the long and winding canyon system in three sections: Sheiks Canyon, Government Trail to Big Man Panel, and Collins Spring to Water Canyon. Every time I have visited Grand Gulch, I have left feeling more mystified and inspired than when I arrived. I owe it to the person who told me about this magical place – a lone hiker I met while backpacking in the Needles District of Canyonlands.

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A few weekends ago, I planned a short visit to Central Utah in search of new rock art sites. Being based in Colorado, most of my exploration has been limited to Southeast Utah near Moab, Canyonlands, and Cedar Mesa. My motivation for exploring this new area was seeing some interesting and unfamiliar pictographs in Polly Schaafsma’s The Rock Art of Utah. So I decided on making Green River, Utah a home base for the long weekend, and focusing my search beyond the reef in the San Rafael Swell region, starting in Nine Mile Canyon. My two big takeaways from this trip are that petroglyphs can be just as impressive and awe-inspiring as their pictograph counterparts, and that the rock art in Central Utah is abundant – well deserving of repeat visits.