Nine Mile Canyon V

On January 3rd Alan and I went, once again, to Nine Mile Canyon, this time to find some very remarkable pictographs. We’d each separately learned of the pictographs fairly recently, and though we knew roughly where they were, we didn’t have an exact location. I’d tried unsuccessfully to locate them from the paved road using binoculars the previous weekend, but snow and fog made visibility poor. This time when we parked in the same spot, I was able to locate the pictographs before we even began hiking. We crossed a frozen Nine Mile Creek and, after a short hike, arrived at the site. It consists of four well-preserved red and white pictographs, along with a few unremarkable petroglyphs.

Looking for a place to cross Nine Mile Creek
Looking for a place to cross Nine Mile Creek


Within sight of our goal for the day
Within sight of our goal for the day


Some really great pictographs
Some really great pictographs


Pictograph detail
Pictograph detail


Pictograph detail
Pictograph detail


Petroglyphs below the pictographs
Petroglyphs below the pictographs


Outlined BCS figure petroglyph near the pictographs
Outlined BCS figure petroglyph near the pictographs


White pictographs
White pictographs


We continued along the same cliff face beyond the pictographs and found more rock art and historic graffiti. There were some petroglyphs depicting bighorn sheep that I thought were very interesting and well-made. Just beyond the bighorn petroglyphs, Alan’s yellow lab, Daisy, got caught in a leg-hold trap! It was the second weekend in a row that I’d been with somebody in Nine Mile whose dog got caught in a trap. Luckily Daisy was unharmed, but Alan’s hand was bleeding after freeing her, and the trap was baited with a nasty scent that we all got on us.

Great bighorn sheep petroglyphs and historic inscription
Great bighorn sheep petroglyphs and historic inscription


F.R. 1918 (later modified to read 1818)
F.R. 1918 (later modified to read 1818)


Goliath and David
Goliath and David


Bighorn sheep with very interesting horns
Bighorn sheep with very interesting horns


Another leg-hold trap, the second week in a row a dog got caught in one
Another leg-hold trap, the second week in a row a dog got caught in one


Ute petroglyph
Ute petroglyph


Petroglyph
Petroglyph


Cowboy drawing
Cowboy drawing


Fuck 1884
Fuck 1884


We returned to Alan’s truck and drove down the road a bit and stopped when we saw some interesting rock art above the road. It was a slightly sketchy climb up in the snow. After climbing up through several cliff bands, Alan spotted a very cool structure a short distance below us. It appears to have been a lookout of some sort–positioned for spotting wildlife rather than for living in. It’s perhaps one of the most interesting things I’ve seen in Nine Mile Canyon, as it’s not visible from the road and appears not to be visited often. Just a little farther down the road were a few more historic inscriptions.

Climbing high above the road
Climbing high above the road


Alan spotted this sweet lookout from above
Alan spotted this sweet lookout from above


Lookout high above the canyon floor
Lookout high above the canyon floor


Lookout
Lookout


Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs


Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs


Rob Powell 1887
Rob Powell 1887


William Pace 6-6-1895
William Pace 6-6-1895


Summers July 28th 1888
Summers July 28th 1888


We stopped at two more sites yet farther down the road. The first was easily visible from the road and was badly shot up. The second was spread out and required climbing up a couple of cliff bands to see it all, and it contained a variety of inscriptions, petroglyphs, and pictographs. We finished up there close enough to sunset that we ended our exploration there for the day.

Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs


Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs


P.B.
P.B.


Snake and sheep
Snake and sheep


Jazz hands alien
Jazz hands alien


Bullethole petroglyphs
Bullethole petroglyphs


Cool animal/shield design
Cool animal/shield design


Uhh
Uhh


Very cool sheep design
Very cool sheep design


Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs


L. Wilkison and J.E.H.
L. Wilkison and J.E.H.


White pictographs
White pictographs


White and yellow pictographs
White and yellow pictographs


Fremont pictographs and historic graffiti
Fremont pictographs and historic graffiti


Lots of dots
Lots of dots


Corn stalk
Corn stalk


Petroglyphs, including tethered sheep
Petroglyphs, including tethered sheep


Four guys plus one
Four guys plus one


One, two, three arms
One, two, three arms


Different styles of sheep
Different styles of sheep


Photo Gallery: Nine Mile Canyon V

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.