Llama treks and hikes on Cedar Mesa, Bluff Utah

CEDAR MESA

The approximately 185,000 acre section of Southeastern Utah known as Cedar Mesa offers the inquisitive wilderness hiker a wide variety of experiences and discoveries. The top of the mesa ranges from 6,000 to 6,800 feet in elevation, entirely within the Pinon/Juniper eco-zone. The mesa offers incredible vistas of the surrounding country as well as habitat for deer, elk, black bear, mountain lion, coyote and many other species of smaller varmints, birds, and reptiles. From this perch one can see Navajo Mountain to the west, Monument Valley to the south, the Sleeping Ute, and Comb Ridge to the east, the Blue Mountains, Elk Ridge, and the Bears Ears to the north, and the Henry Mountains to the north west. The mesa surface is cut by nine major canyons with hundreds of smaller side canyon tributaries feeding into them. In contrast to 100 mile vistas on top of the mesa, the hundreds of miles of canyons winding below the surface offer an unending assortment of private, natural galleries formed by magnificent sandstone cliffs rising 50 to 900 feet from the canyon floor. The cliff faces are pocked with alcoves and ledges that harbor ruins and cultural evidence of the ancient Anasazi civilization.

While the mesa surface suggests water is almost non-existent in this land, the canyons contain hidden springs, occasional stretches of stream flow, and seeps with hanging gardens. Against the backdrop of dry desolation surrounding them, these areas truly have the feel of an exclusive oasis/ grotto. Occasionally a water source becomes a deep, cool pool supporting flora and fauna unique from the surrounding country. The longest of these canyons is Grand Gulch, who’s sinuous route cuts 60 plus miles through the sandstone mesa. The other canyons, though less well known, share the geologic, archaeologic and natural attractions of the Gulch.
The archaeological record reveals that the area has been inhabited by humans for the last 15,000 years. From the open mesa top into the sandstone alcoves and caves of the canyons, paleo-Indians (clovis people, archaic hunting and gathering cultures, and the Anasazi) have left the physical remnants of their cultures. Wooly mammoth kill sites, pit home depressions, solitary storage structures high in the cliffs, block structures in the larger caves and alcoves, pictographs, petroglyphs, and pottery shards await repeated discovery in the pristine quiet of the high desert air. Mingled with these remnants of vanished peoples is the pioneer heritage of the area. Over a century of Anglo presence and the associated events, legends, and names has added another aspect to the continuum of human history that is but a footnote in the record of this immense land’s existence. Guided trips across Cedar Mesa and into its canyons, offer the opportunity to experience the atmosphere and gain knowledge of these magic canyons in a personal way.

970-667-7411 ~ buckhorn@llamapack.com