Cavates of Crescent Mesa

rock_shelter, originally uploaded by grynstar.

A few weeks ago I was driving around in the mountains aimlessly looking for somewhere to hike. I was on one of the major forest roads when I pulled off at a turn-out to let a few cars pass by me. As I sat at the turn-out, letting my morning coffee jump-start my reticent brain, I starred up at a small mesa shaped like a crescent moon. It appeared to be only about 1/2 mile away, and I thought I'd hike to the top to view the surrounding landscape.

So I ditched the car, shouldered my pack, and let off toward the mesa on a boulder strewn slope covered with pinon and juniper. The soil was extremely soft... and with every step my feet sunk into the light airy pumice rubble that had settled on its angle of repose. This made going uphill very hard, and that was the only direction I wanted to go.

Forty minutes later I was at the foot of the mesa. As I skirted the mesa, I peered up at it's sheer tuff cliffs and erosion-mutilated rock forms looking for a way to climb up. I began noticing that some of these cliff faces had large holes or caves big enough for someone to sleep or even live in. Then I began seeing that some of these caves actually had smoke blackened cielings.

I began to explore the holes and caves until I came across a rock wall inside one particularly large cave. Nearby there was another cavate with charcoal and another time-ravaged but still standing wall.

I made note of the location in my own time ravaged brain, and then spent the rest of the day hiking and enjoying the winter sunshine. I knew this area had thousands of archeological sites (highest site concentration of anywhere in North America from what I'm told), and those with any significance had been already documented and recorded by local archeologists. It is a rare occurence when something other than a field house is found which hasn't been recorded.

Later when I was at work, I was discussing the cavates I discovered on Crescent Mesa with the district archeologist. He listened to me patiently with a gentle smile like a parent listents to an enraptured child about their backyard adventures. He said he'd look on their site maps to see if he could find the site I came across and tell me more about it. I was talking about an area right next to a major forest road, so it was a certainty that this area had been recorded before.

When we finally sat down to go over the site map, I could only tell of my location with a vague certainty. Sure I could probably get there again, but the area was rife with mesas, hills, and canyons and there were hundreds of site markings on the map. Tentatively, I pointed to an area on the map that was blank of the archeologist's markings. The archeologist looked at me with clear doubt in his eyes, raised an eyebrown for extra effect, and asked, "you sure?"

I wasn't, but I had seen no evidence of previous looting or archeological site markings. Besides, the day was all sunshine and blue skies and sometimes your just waiting for an excuse to get outside.

We headed out and I found the area again without any problems. On the way up to the mesa we came across several other sites that had been looted due to their close proximity to the road. Expectations were low, but we carried on.

Eventually we arrived at the cavates and my suspicions were confirmed. Though these sites had probably been found before by those that lived or grazed their cattle in the area, up till now they had remained undetected by archeologists and looters. The archy was thrilled and I was glad that my amatuerish musings were validated.

We recorded the sites for the next several hours. We found several chunks of charcoal and some corn cobs that appeared to be those grown and eaten by the puebloan people of the area. We also discovered several scraps of pottery nearby and an oddly placed stone corn grinding slick, which told us that children and women had also inhabitated the site at one time.

Once we had gathered all the data we could from these sites, it was time to head back. On the ride home I wondered if I had done the right thing... maybe it was better to leave these caves to the mesa and time. Maybe those corn cobs were better off with the spirits of those who grew and gained nutrition from them than an archeologist's storage cabinet.

I'm not sure. Yet, I have faith that the knowledge and understanding of the people and their culture gained from this area was worth its temporary disturbance.

Crescent Mesa Cavate 2

Crescent Mesa cavate 2, originally uploaded by grynstar.

This is where the second cavate was found at Crescent Mesa. This cavate (the cave at the bottom of the photo) was the largest one found at the site and contained an inside room used for storage. Water continues to drastically erode this side of the mesa, but the basic charactersitics of the site still exist (including some internal rock walls). Excavation of the site yielded alot of charcoal and some corn cobs. A grinding stone used to process corn was also found nearby.

Crescent Mesa corn cob

Crescent corn cob, originally uploaded by grynstar.

A 500 or so year old corn cob found at the Crescent Mesa cavates. Unlike today's corn, this specimen measured only about 3 inches long.

Erosion at its best

hoodoo_forms, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Paliza Ponderosa

paliza_ponderosa, originally uploaded by grynstar.

A cursed pot, or is it?

Puebloan pot, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Last Monday, I met up with our Forest archeologist, district archeologist, and a coworker who also belongs to the nearby pueblo to go search out a reported pot that was sighted on a very secluded mesa top. We left early in the morning and drove together to ____ mesa in the hopes of finding this rumored pot and to survey a couple of other sites in the area. None of us really thought we'd find the thing, but alas by midday it was sitting there right in front of us.

Before I divulge the details of this scavenger hunt, let me tell you the history. When I was first hired my District Ranger (the boss) and I were spending a day in the field to discuss a project and he wanted to show me a few other sites. We stopped for lunch, and as we casually ate in the dappled sunshine under a towering ponderosa pine forest he told me this story...

Several years ago he decided to accompany some of his employees on some of the annual Mexican spotted owl surveys. Since he's a recovering biologist he was qualified to do this stuff, and since the District was short on biological staff he thought he'd lend a hand. He'd brought his son along, and they arrived with some others to one of the more isolated parts of the district at 2 a.m. in the morning to call for owls. They worked for several hours and as the sun begin to break the darkness of night it found him and his son walking up a boulder-strewn drainage near the top of the mesa.

He was telling his son about how some owls like to nest in small holes or caves in the soft volcanic rock instead of trees. His son pointed up at a large cave in the cliff about 60 feet above them and to the right and said, "like that one?" As he looked at the are where his sone pointed, he noticed a rather large cave with a smoke-blackened ceiling. He explained to his son that this cave was more likely a home for a mountain lion or other big animal, but that he should go take a look.

His son got halfway up, and in the dissapating darkness of night he felt frightened and called for his dad to come with. Together, they scrambled their way up the side of the drainage toward the cave. As they were nearing the mouth of the cave, his son stopped suddenly and held up a hand with one finger pointing shakily at something in a crevice near the mouth of the cave.

The crevice held a seemingly perfectly preserved pot with orange and black markings. They both realized the scope and weight of such a find. His son reached out to grab it, but he stopped him from dislodging it and after debating what to do for a while, they eventually went home potless.

Shortly after this pre-dawn discovery his son began having troubles and was eventually diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. It is often said that disturbing indian artifacts carries a curse, and the similar timing of the pot discovery and his son's change was something not lost upon him.

It was more than four years after their pot find that we sat eating lunch as the Ranger told me this story. We had planned a prescribed burn for the area and it was also to begin seeing some use from a local rancher. The Ranger also told of his discovery of this pot to the district archeologist. As a result we went to see if it was in fact there to see if there was a chance it would be damaged by the planned activities there.

The archeologist and I went to look for it in November, but after looking all day we came up empty. I was fairly convinced that it wasn't there. Such a pot would be extremely valuable and most likely taken illegaly if someone saw it.

Yet on this sunny February morning we were headed back armed with some better information. We climbed the mesa all morning and by 11:30 a.m. our small party of four had dropped down into a tree and boulder-choked drainage where we were told the pot was seen. As the district archeologist later said, "it was like the pot drew us toward it."

We split up into two sets of two. The district archeologist and I headed downstream while the others headed upstream. We agreed that the hoot of an owl would be the sign for the others to come quick. We literally walked right toward the thing and in one minute we saw a smoke-blackened cave. In another minute I was scrambling toward the top and in sight was an almost un-blemished pot. I began hooting like an owl gone crazy.

The pot we peered upon was a 500-year old glazed pot in almost perfect condition. It was nested in a crevice that protected it from rain and most elements. Upon further inspection we noticed that most of the latter half of it was missing, but the archologists still made it clear that this was a once-in-a-lifetime find.

The mesa

The mesa, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Just hold on

Just hold on, originally uploaded by craptastica.

El Cabezon

El Cabezon, originally uploaded by craptastica.

This giant ridiculous mountain beat me. I ventured out last Sunday (yes, Superbowl Sunday... I am an official loser) to climb this mountain and I couldn't do it.

I left early before the sun had kissed the horizon and drove to the Ojitos wilderness to visit the remnant volcano they call Cabezon. Cabezon is a known landmark in New Mexico. It was used as a monument by travelling pioneers in the old days and is considered a sacred site by many of the nearby pueblos.

I arrived shortly after the sun rose above the Sandias. I had no map and really no clue how to get there. I drove around for a while before I decided to give up, ditch my car and start walking. Like my last experience in the Ojitos Wilderness the wind was brutal. Within a few minutes I felt battered, and before the day was out I'd be windburned, sunburned, and freezing cold.

I ended up walking about 2.5 miles to the mountain over the soft sandy sediments in the Rio Puerco basin and the rough unforgiving igneous rocks that remain of what was once lava flows. When I got to the 'head' of the mountain it looked like it was a sheer vertical cliff of over 100 feet from me to the top. I walked around the base until I found a trail and began climbing.

It was the most sketchy, avalanche-prone, non-trail I had ever walked. Eventually I got to a point where I'd have to do some bouldering. I went a little ways up, but my time was running low (had to pick Sara up from the airport) and I was afraid of falling and being miserably alone and injured.

So I gave up. I hate to say it, but it's true. I put my tail between my legs and went home.

Ojitos volcanoes

Ojitos volcanoes, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Ojito Wilderness

Juniper arms, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Sunday began as a rough day. I ran in the morning and seemed to have injured my lower back. Yet, I'm a ridiculous and stubborn person. Injury to me breeds restlessness and I was damned to be sitting at home all day.

Just to spite myself, I decided to check out New Mexico's new wilderness: the Ojito Wilderness. The Ojito wilderness is 11,000 acres of mesas, badlands, hoodoos, arroyos, and flats with zero year-round water sources and zero known oil, gas, or other mineral reserves. It is for this reason alone that Congress recently designated this economic nothingness New Mexico's first wilderness area in 18 years.

The wilderness lies between Albuquerque and the small town of San Ysidrio (just south of the Jemez Mountains). It's only about 30 minutes from the city, which is amazing considering its emptiness. In my opinion it is a perfect fit for a wilderness designation. The Wilderness Act is a mandate for lonely spaces, and the Ojito badlands are exactly that.

I packed a lunch, grabbed some gear, and brought along a special rice crispy treat (thanks zach!) that would keep a small rhino from walking straight. I got to the wilderness boundary in no time and picked a trail I had heard housed a small collection of hoodoos and Ponderosa pines.

The day was sunny with a small scattering of clouds on the south and east horizons. The only hint that it was the middle of winter was the biting wind, which flapped the loose parts of my clothing wildly and kept me sniffling occasionally, but regularly.

I had walked no more than a mile in when I began to see the hoodoo remnants of a sandstone mesa. I felt somewhat rewarded, but awful. I was considering raising the white flag and going home to nurse my lower back when I realized that my legs were beginning to feel all rubbery and I couldn't really think straight. The rice krispy treat was starting its psychedelic dance on my brain and I realized I was going to stick around and explore for the next 5 or 6 hours.

Which is exactly what I did.

I walked and walked and walked. Over the mesa and down into the arroyo below. Across a deeply eroded hill made from stream deposits and onto a great grassy plain that seemed to have no end.

I examined the strange polished black rocks that seemed to be randomly sprinkled amongst the rough brown masses and laid on my stomach to peer at an area of thousands of minature spires which had been carved by water's chisel from a once uniform grade.

As the sun began to fall, I sat on a mesa top and stared dreamily at the tawny and rust colored land forms that stretched from horizon to horizon. I felt normal again and decided to start the long walk back so I could get some hot eats and something for my back.

Cloud Mesa

Cloud Mesa, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Hoodoo and Pine

Hoodoo and pine, originally uploaded by craptastica.