Last February, Roger and I
spent a few days exploring the southern portion of Comb Ridge near highway 163. Weather and work schedules looked good for another spring trip to southern Utah last weekend, so we decided to head back to Comb Ridge and explore the northern section near highway 95. We left work a bit early on Thursday evening and spent the night camping at
Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah. After a quick breakfast on Friday morning at the wonderful
Eklecticafe in Moab, we headed south to a possible camping area on Comb Ridge.
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| Comb Ridge from Posey's Trail |
My coworker had recommended a great spot to camp on Posey's Trail that had great views of the ridge and Comb Wash, but unfortunately the site was occupied when we arrived on Friday morning. We headed down the road a bit more and found another fantastic spot that offered equally amazing views of the ridge and surrounding canyons.
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| Spring in the desert |
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| Camp with a view on Comb Ridge |
We quickly set up camp and headed to our first destination of the day, Tower House Ruin in the Butler Wash area. The unmarked trail descends quickly into the wash and a short while later we arrived at the beautifully preserved ruin.
Archeological resources are fragile and irreplaceable .. please don't
erase the traces of America's past. Any person who, without
authorization, excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or
defaces any historic or prehistoric site, artifact, or object of
antiquity on public lands of the United States is subject to arrest and
penalty of law. -- United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management.
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| Tower House Ruin |
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| Roger at Tower House Ruin |
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| Tower House Ruin |
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| Tower House Ruin |
The hike to Tower House Ruin was quick so we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon checking out some other ruins near highway 95 in Butler Wash. The easy and beautiful hike through Butler Wash led us to several large ruins, including the well known Target Ruin and Ballroom Cave Ruin. Cottonwood trees lined the small stream through Butler Wash; it would have been a lovely place to live for the Ancestral Puebloan people that inhabited the area several hundred years ago.
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| Roger in Butler Wash |
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| Target Ruin |
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| Target Ruin |
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| At Target Ruin |
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| Ballroom Cave Ruin |
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| Ballroom Cave Ruin |
Back at camp, we settled in for the evening as the winds began to pick up and a storm moved in. We walked down Posey's Trail and didn't find anything particularly interesting aside from the views over Comb Ridge. The rain started shortly after I climbed into the tent and continued throughout the night. By morning, the rain had stopped and the sun began to break through the storm clouds. Perfect timing!
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| Dinner with a view |
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| Showy stoneseed along Posey's Trail |
We spent Saturday hiking in the nearby South Fork of Mule Canyon, exploring several of the ruins we encountered along the way. Our first stop was the well known House on Fire Ruin, where we encountered quite a few people looking for the perfect photo opportunity. It was a spectacular sight.
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| House on Fire Ruin |
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| House on Fire Ruin |
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| House on Fire Ruin |
As we traveled up the canyon, we encountered fewer people and more ruins. This was a beautiful canyon to hike and the ruins made it even more spectacular. We had hoped to explore a portion of the North Fork of Mule Canyon, but we ended up hiking nearly 10 miles in the South Fork of Mule Canyon and after all of the side trips to see the ruins, it was late in the day. The most spectacular ruin was nearly 5 miles up the canyon and well worth the trip.
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| Paintbrush in Mule Canyon |
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| Mule Canyon |
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| Kiva in Mule Canyon |
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| Mule Canyon |
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| Mule Canyon |
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| Mule Canyon |
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| Pottery shard in Mule Canyon |
Back at camp, we enjoyed more spectacular views with intermittent light from the setting sun filtering through passing rain showers. The breeze died down after sunset and we enjoyed a fire on the edge of Comb Ridge before calling it a day. After packing up camp on Sunday morning and enjoying one final breakfast at our amazing camp site, we made the long drive back to Salt Lake through Glen Canyon and Hanksville.
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| Rainbow |
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| Sunset on Comb Ridge |
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| A perfect evening for a camp fire |
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| Breakfast |
