A Walk Through Piedras Marcadas Canyon 12/29/2017

Thanks to Julianne for stepping up and organizing a hike on the last hiking day in December.  It was a great idea, a very short hike by distance, but a long walk through time.  Piedras Marcadas Canyon which means Canyon of Marked Rocks is a newly opened area of the Petroglyph National Monument -- a section none of us have been, except for Julianne, so it was great for her to share her "find" with us.  This trail offers some of the best petroglyphs in the monument. Carved into volcanic rocks, these petroglyphs include animals, human-like figures, hand and footprints and spirals.  The Native Americans who carved these figures have long worked to maintain harmony in their natural world.  Many of the images left on the rocks may show ancestors and ties between this and their spirit world.

   Petroglyphs are rock carvings (rock paintings are called pictographs) made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammerstone. When the desert varnish (or patina) on the surface of the rock was chipped off, the lighter rock underneath was exposed, creating the petroglyph.  There were many reasons for creating the Petroglyphs, most of which are not well understood by modern society. Petroglyphs are more than just "rock art," picture writing, or an imitation of the natural world. They should not be confused with hieroglyphics, which are symbols used to represent words, nor thought of as ancient Indian graffiti. Petroglyphs are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the complex societies and religions of the surrounding tribes. Petroglyphs are central to the monument's sacred landscape where traditional ceremonies still take place. The context of each image is extremely important and integral to its meaning.  Today's native people have stated that the placement of each petroglyph image was not a casual or random decision. Some petroglyphs have meanings that are only known to the individuals who made them. Others represent tribal, clan, kiva or society markers. Some are religious entities and others show who came to the area and where they went. Petroglyphs still have contemporary meaning, while the meaning of others is no longer known, but are respected for belonging to "those who came before."

A large group of Hoofers: Front row: Annette and Lynda; 2nd/3rd row: Pat, Karen, Julianne:our leader, Mary M, Jan, Barb, Sally and guest Deb, from the Kodiak Hoofers (Lynda's daughter); Last Row: Jean R., Charolette (our newest Hoofer),Carol, Helene, Linda, Betty, Kelly...and

Rose 

Heading out!

A beautiful winter day

We soon had to do a wardrobe adjustment 

There were several areas where the petroglyphs were quite numerous

In other areas they were hard to seek out

We did see this cute little guy on top of the escapement

This one a bit unusual as it overlapped two faces of the boulder

We had a big discussion of whether this was a bird or a deer...I went with bird...I don't care if it has antlers!

I was in love with these petroglyphs, but the roundness of this boulder had me even more impressed (looked like a cylinder)

Our two geologists, Lynda and Julianne, were very impressed with this rock, the waves of molten lava were preserved quite nicely

Betty gives a hand, notice one of the carved hands has 6 fingers!

 

Another 6-fingered hand

We also started noticing crosses on some of the rocks

First one we saw with a date...Spanish Conquistadors add their mark

After the hike some of us went to Jason's Deli for lunch. Kelly, Barb, Jean R. Julianne and Carol

Rose, Karen, Sally

...and Betty, after 4 tries to get us all in one picture I just gave up

This hike wrapped up 2017 for the Hoofers.

 It was a great year of hikes and we added NINE new Happy Hoofers to the group this year!!!

KEEP ON HOOFING!