SOUTHWEST SAFARI CAMP                                                           

The Other Canyonlands

JUNE 3 - 9 and June 10 - 16, 2012

• 7 days-6 nights starting and ending in Durango, Colorado
• Group Size: Minimum 10 Maximum 20
• Trip Leader Expert Brett LeCompte

Departures

June 3 - 9, 2012

June 10 - 16, 2012

Highlights

Explore the high desert and archaeology of Canyon Country that is just as spectacular as Canyonlands National Park, but less well known or crowded. Learn how ancient people lived their daily lives, explore the wonders of rock art and ruins, and hike to Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) sites. Nestled between the Blue Mountains, whose peaks sore to over 11,300 feet, and the San Juan River, Cedar Mesa is home to Grand Gulch, Natural Bridges National Monument, and a multitude of other canyons chock full of 600- to 1,000 year old ancient ruins and rock art. Each day we will hike into and out of remote canyons, mostly on trails, with some backcountry hiking to see spectacular views of Monument Valley, the Raplee Anticline, Navajo Mountain, and/or Comb Ridge. One day we will float 26 miles on the San Juan River to the very edge of Monument Valley to see even more spectacular ruins and rock art.

Program Features

¶    Participate in a Unique, Unforgettable, Small Group Setting
¶    Learn via hands-on education, exploration, and discovery of places that most people don't know exist
¶    Hikes from 1 - 8 miles per day RT at elevations of 5,000 to 7,600 feet
¶    5 nights in very comfortable camp in the Abajo Mountains near Cedar Mesa
¶    One night in a Hotel in Durango, CO.
¶    Visit Moon House ruins, Processional and Wolf Man Panels, Dark Canyon, Natural Bridges National Monument, day-trip on the San Juan River, and Hovenweep National Monument
¶    All meals cooked by an outstanding camp chef

Day 1 Arrive Durango by 2pm. Drive to Nizhoni campground (3 hours). Dinner and orientation. D

Day 2 Hike to Butler Wash (Wolf Man Panel and Processional Panel--4 miles RT). In Butler Wash we will visit spectacular rock art (Processional Panel) perhaps depicting an exit from the Sipapu (place of emergence) and 2,000 year-old Basketmaker petroglyphs (Wolfman Panel). A highlight of southeast Utah rock art, Wolfman features unusual human and animal figures. As an “artifact of ideas” Wolfman Panel embodies the mystery, artistry, and technical skill of the prehistoric inhabitants. B,L,D 

Day 4 San Juan River - Bluff to Mexican Hat Float the San Juan, one of the most classic and inspirational Southwestern journeys possible, that offers fun, adventure, and an opportunity to learn about archaeology and geology. Enjoy a spectacular day float along the remote 26-mile stretch, with explorations and discussions. Our journey includes 2 day hikes (up to 1 mile RT) to see rock art and ruins, travel through walls of red sandstone and shale, past an extinct volcano, and into a deep limestone canyon, once an ancient inland sea and now complete with fossils and magnificent cliffs rising on both sides of the river. B,L,D

Day 5 Hike to Moon House ruinand in McCloyds Canyon (5 miles RT) to visit an Ancestral Pubeloan site that is actually three ruins in one, with the original timbers in place in several rooms. These have produced tree-ring dates suggesting occupancy about 1260 AD. The middle site contains living quarters, the site to the west is ceremonial, with remains of a kiva, while around the corner lies a storage room that probably once held corn. But it's the unusual construction and pictographs that are best. One site has both an inner and outer section, with two walls that could have been fortifications with peepholes in the outer wall. One room is decorated in white, with a crescent moon uncolored on one wall, and a full moon uncolored on the other. This hike is a very steep decent and ascent of McCloyds Canyon with a bit of scrambling, not for those afraid of heights. B,L,D

Day 6 Depart for Durango via McElmo Canyon. Stop at Hovenweep National Monument to hike (4 miles) to some unique Ancestral Puebloan tower ruins. Visit Square Tower, Holly, and Horseshoe/ Hackberry ruins. The Square Tower Group contains the largest collection of ancestral Puebloan structures at Hovenweep. The remains of nearly thirty kivas (Puebloan ceremonial structures) have been discovered on the slopes of Little Ruin Canyon, and a variety of other structures are perched on the canyon rims, balanced on boulders and tucked under ledges. The Holly Group includes Tilted Tower and Boulder House, located at the head of Keeley Canyon. This multi-story pueblo called Tilted Tower was built atop a large sandstone boulder that shifted sometime after the canyon was abandoned (A.D. 1300). Horseshoe Tower is built on a point that marks the start of the Horseshoe Site. From this tower, inhabitants could see clearly into Horseshoe Canyon. At one time, the tower was walled off from the mesa top, raising questions about the use of such structures for defense. About 500 yards east of the Horseshoe structures is the Hackberry Site. Archeologists speculate that Hackberry canyon may have had one of the largest populations of all the Hovenweep units because of the constant seepage of water in the canyon. As many as 250 to 350 people may have lived here. It is unclear if the residents were related or represented different clans and lineages. Arrive in Durango by 4pm to shop Night at a Hotel with a final celebratory dinner at a Durango restaurant. B,L,D

Day 7 Depart for airport after breakfast. Flights out after 10am.

Cost:  $1,850. Price includes all food from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 7, transportation from/to Durango, CO airport in a 15-passenger van, experts/guides/cook, camp gear, and park fees. Airfare, personal items not included. Single Supplement $300 to $600 for camp and motel.  If you request a roommate, every effort will be made to find you one.  If no roommate is available, you will be charged the single supplement fee.  

Southwest Safari Camps affords the luxury of sharing the wilderness with a small group that will soon become dear friends. It is intentionally simple, yet very comfortable, and the service goes far beyond what you might expect from even the most comfortable lodge. The charm is in the rusticity, and you will find yourself feeling inexplicably pampered in this quiet and secluded high desert camp at 7,600 feet in the Ponderosa Pine forest, with expansive yet intimate views of redrocks, cliffs, and mountains. In the evening, after a delicious meal prepared by our camp chef and served in the dining tent, retire to the campfire to share stories and marvel at the billions of

stars overhead. Fall asleep to the sounds of the night –frogs, crickets, or an owl hoot. Wrap up this ultimate safari in Durango, CO, full of Native American trading posts, and you've got all the best of the high desert Southwest rolled into one trip!

Join us to hike to off the beaten path ruins, canyons, and vistas with people who love to share them. Our camps will be located in out-of-the way places with an excellent camp chef, guides, and expert staff. You will sleep in large tents on platforms in which you can stand, with chairs, airbeds, linens, towels, rugs, lanterns, and pillows. On demand hot water showers will be available daily as well as a clean USFS bathroom, water spigot, two 16x 20-foot canvas dining and cook tents, and other amenities.

Trip Leader Staff

Brett LeCompte, has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and is an author and solo trekker. He has

guided trips in the Grand Canyon for many years, and has guided for a variety of outdoor programs over the last 20 years including Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, Hurricane Island Outward Bound, Deer Hill, and Northern Kenya Expeditions. His book Southwest Circle Quest, describes one of his several 1,000-mile-plus solo expeditions, a circum-navigation of the Colorado Plateau.