Dennis

September 14, 2024

I’ve been to Secret Mesa a couple of times and seen some remarkable things, so I decided to hike a part of the mesa I haven’t yet seen. Spoiler: it was a total bust. I planned a route that followed the sandstone cliffs and domes that protrude from the mesa, where in the satellite imagery it appeared somewhat promising for alcoves or at least flat cliff faces, but in reality the Navajo Sandstone forms rounded surfaces that aren’t good for shelter or rock art/inscriptions. I got an early start, just as the sun was rising, and headed for a break in the low cliffs that is one of only a couple places to get onto this part of the mesa. I was surprised to see some fresh footprints once I got above the cliff band but they were contained to a small area and I never saw any more on the rest of the hike.

Parking spot

Low cliffs ahead

Field of cactus

Brown layer in lighter sandstone

Footprints

There was kind of a trail that faded in and out along much of my route, but since I was basically following the easiest path it’s not surprising that other people or animals would have walked the same route. I reached spot with a really nice view over the South Fork of Coal Wash toward the Blocks. From there I hiked to the top of a hill where I could see my intended route better and realized that the cliffs I had planned to follow weren’t worth it. Instead I cut across the mesa to the next segment of cliffs that I couldn’t see well from there. Along the way I spotted a lone ponderosa pine tree, the only one I would see on the entire hike.

Big wall panorama

Following a kind-of trail

Sandstone buttes

View over the South Fork of Coal Wash toward the Blocks

More sandstone knolls

A lone ponderosa pine

Secret Mesa panorama

Point 7,087′

San Rafael Knob (left) and some other buttes

The mesa sloped down toward Eagle Canyon, following a wash at the base of some cliffs. I checked out one spot that I was very curious about, where in the sat imagery I could see a large deciduous tree next to a pool at the bottom of a pour-off. The pool was dry and the tree was dead. There were no leaves on the tree, nor any on the ground, so it’s been dead for a while. The last time foilage could be seen on the tree in Google Earth was 2019.

Checking out some cliff walls

Following a sandstone wash

Large deciduous tree near a pour-off

Dead tree

I got to within a quarter of a mile of the bottom of Eagle Canyon and could see that there wasn’t anything else worth exploring so I reversed course and stopped for lunch in the first shady spot I could find. After a nice rest I hiked straight across the mesa toward the head of a canyon that I’d skirted around in the morning before making a 90 degree turn back toward the truck. The last couple of miles were pretty hot–almost 80 degrees–and I was relieved to reach the truck but bummed that I’d struck out so badly.

A tall pine tree above Eagle Canyon