Moab Man LbNA #9885

Difficulty: Easy, a 3 to 4 minute stroll, longer if you enjoy the beauty around you!

This letterbox is along the very scenic Potash Road, just north and west of Moab, Utah. There are many, many spots in this area, of petroglyph panels, and this box is hidden past a great panel. These petroglyphs were pecked into the desert varnish (black manganese micro-organism on rock face) during the Formative period of rock art by the Fremont Tribes. This tribe was known to inhabit the area from Moab to north of the Colorado River, overlapping the territory of the ancient puebloans (formerly known as Anasazi). This art dates to about 800 to 1200 years old. Their art was characterized by lots of bighorn sheep, elaborate headdresses with ear bobs, deer, human forms that are trapezoidal in shape body decorations, spirals, etc.
It is a federal law to damage these sites in any way, although you rarely see a site unvandalized. Never touch petroglyphs, as the oil on your skin can damage them. This site is great because it is about 30 off the ground, to high for people to ruin. When this road was put in, they graded this area and now it is a lot lower than in ancient times.

Directions: From downtown Moab, go north on Hwy. 191. Go over the bridge at the Colorado River and drive for about 1 mile, looking for signs and a left turn onto the Potash Road (Utah Scenic Byway 279) and travel this road for about 5 or 6 miles (past wall street, a big rock climbing area). Look for a sign on the left pointing out the "Indian Writing". On the rock face across the street from the sign is a petroglyph panel that is about 125 feet long. All sorts of wonderful figures are represented here. ENJOY! Originally, the box was hidden in a big rock on the river side of the road. In the time since I first hid it here 12 years ago, Moab has changed tremendously, and really not for the better. The Utah travel council did a world wide advertising for "The Mighty Five" national parks in Utah. That has changed Moab forever into a world adventure destination, and the amount of people visiting has increased to way more than the infrastructure of the town can handle. This is a small 1950's uranium mining town that faced it's first big boom in the 1950s. Now it is overwhelmed with motels, tourist shops, and restaurants.

I decided to take this little box down the road a few miles to a beautiful, quiet canyon. As you leave the petroglyphs, drive and look for the green mile marker 6 on the river side of the road. Look for the first parking pullout past the 6, maybe a 1/4 mile farther, on your right. There is a canyon mouth here, with a healthy riparian area of trees and plants. There is a no camping sign near the right side of the canyon, and an opening in the fence just past the sign. This canyon has steep redrock walls and is a box canyon, ending after less than a mile or so. After you go through the fence opening, the trail just hugs the right wall of the canyon. It is cool and shady here, walking under the big trees next to the wall. The trail can change after every flash flood, but just stay by the wall. Walk for about 3 or 4 minutes, (unless you spend more time looking at how beautiful it is here), through sand and over a recent rockfall that crushed a small tree. The trail goes right over the rocks, still with the wall next to you on the right. When the trail starts veering away from the wall, there will be a rock (3ft high-4ft long approx.) right next to you on your left side, wall still on your right. From the end of the rock, walk about 14 steps. Look right, there is a pile of rocks and boulders (part of the wall), walk up to the rocks about 8 ft away. Facing the rocks at their lowest spot, reach in to the left, waist-high and look for the SPOR. Right now it is in a narrow duct-tape bag, but I will get back and put it in a loctite box soon.

This is a favorite hiking spot of mine, always quiet, always beautiful. There is a big pourover at the end, usually a year round water hole. It reflects the steep, tall, redrock walls. If you climb up to the left of the waterhole, you can wander the back country and spot Corona Arch way in the distance. I once found some broken arrowheads up on this mesa. About a 100 yds. before the waterhole, on the right, is an old cattle trail that was built into the wall to get up to the higher flatter grassy areas. It was built in the 1920's, and one day years ago, I met an elderly man in the canyon, who told me how he and his brothers worked on it when he was a little boy. If you wander up and out of this canyon, pay attention to where you are and don't get lost! There are no trails up above, so walk only on rocks, not on the cryptobiotic soil. Please respect the canyon!!!

This letterbox is about 30 minutes from town, very easy to find, and in a very beautiful spot. Farther down the road you can find more petroglyphs and there is a very fun hike at the Corona Arch Trailhead (marked with a sign). It is about a 20 minute hike to an incredible arch (nicknamed Little Rainbow Bridge).
Very hot in summer!!!! Take mucho water and there are lots of picnic spots along the river on this road.


THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR REHIDING THIS REALLY WELL. HAVE FUN!!

Handmade journal & stamp

Hike length: 0.1 miles