Indian Creek Crack Gets You High.

Awhile ago I wrote several blog posts about Route 211, one being about Bridger Jack Mesa and the Six Shooters. Not only are these popular for hiking and exploring, but very popular with the climbing crowd. Now it's time to introduce you to the area that truly gets climbers high on crack...Indian Creek, the premier area for crack climbing. What!?! What did you think I was referring to when I mentioned "crack"?

Let me get a couple of maps posted here, so you can see where and what I'm writing about; that way I don't have to reprint location instructions that I've already done on those previous blog posts.

Indian Creek is the most sought after crack climbing destination in the world; the long parallel splitters and corners in Wingate sandstone; just the sight of them gets a climber's adrenaline pumping hard. Personally, my experience with crack climbing is simply...none; I prefer ledge climbing (is that a technical climbing term, I don't know) due to the abundance of hand and foot holds.  Looking straight up a sheer rock face, frankly, gives me vertigo and scares the bejesus out of me. 

Here is a little information I found out about this sport: Crack climbers use a technique called jamming to ascend natural weaknesses in cliffs, or naturally occurring fissures in the rock surface. Cracks vary in width from thin cracks that are the thickness or size of fingers, to wide chimneys that are climbed using feet and hands pasted onto opposing walls. Some climbers go "free hand" without using any rope or equipment; others using standard climbing equipment.


Some standard rules for the Indian Creek area are: Bring all your own water, pack out all of your trash (including bodily waste); bring in and take out all climbing gear.  There is a 14-day limit for camping on BLM Land; public toilets are located at Newspaper Rock, Needles Outpost and within the Canyonlands National Park.   Do not harass the cattle, ranchers or wildlife; stay on designated trails to keep from walking on, and destroying, the cryptobiotic soil.






How about I shut up for a little bit and give you photos of the area; traveling down Route 211 is wonderful, but it's when you turn one of those corners and see the vista coming up before you...




Bridger Jack Mesa and the Six Shooters are to the distant left.

Now for you climbers, get an eyeful of these walls that will call to you like the Sirens of Greek mythology.  You know you won't be able to resist.

 

Now see all that broken up rock and sand at the bottom of the walls; don't be fooled into thinking there isn't that much there, or it's a piece of cake to climb.  Personally I have gotten as far up as where the broken rock meets the sheer rock faces; looked straight upwards and said a big, "oh hell no" and scurried back down to level ground.

Now here's the funny story part; a couple of years ago I went out there with someone who had just moved to the area.  He (in his 20s) kind of snickered when I told him of my rock climbing exploits, me being "old" (in my 50s mind you) and overweight.  Took him to my favorite area (BLM constructed a parking area there) in Indian Creek and he got all excited about climbing those walls; so off he went.  Well it took him a long time to get to the base of the walls and he was pretty winded; and there I was a little ways nearby, sitting on a boulder and I asked him, "what took you so long?"  The shock on his face....priceless!  Though I've only been out here a few years, I bothered to get to know the area better than most locals.  I also have become acclimated to the higher altitude.  So, don't be snickering at anyone until you truly know what they can accomplish.



Bottom center of photo; there is someone standing on a boulder to give you perspective of the size.

Whether you're just visiting and want to see incredible sights; or a climber itching to get high; make sure to get down Route 211 to the Indian Creek area.

Mary Cokenour

Rock Art at Both Ends of the Steel Bender Trail.

Rock Art, Pictographs, Petroglyphs, Cave Art, Stone Carvings; so many names referring to the amazing drawings left behind by the ancient Native Americans in the Southwest. Many of the symbols and drawings are self-explanatory, the meaning of many is still debated; the utmost important fact is that they must be preserved.

I'm going to continue from where I left off in my previous post about Ken's Lake, Flat Pass and Steel Bender with the amazing artwork found there. The area has a wooden fence around a good portion of the wall, but climbing up and walking the very narrow, sandy ledge gave us the opportunity to view more than what was just in front of our faces. This wall also contains a bit of Moab history; carvings from visitors or settlers of the Moab area with names and dates. Then there is the graffiti and obvious vandalism of modern day visitors...those people are simply, for lack of a better term, "assholes"; alright, I'll be more polite, "careless and rude". Still like the term "asshole" better though.

Getting Vertigo looking straight up the sheer rock walls.



View from up on the Rock Art ledge.

In many of the photos, I had to darken them up a little to make the artwork or carvings stand out.  Once I post the photos of the other end of Steel Bender which is Westwater Drive in Moab, you'll be able to see how much of the artwork is similar.  With the carvings, I'm going to caption what I can read on them.

Rock Art and Carvings of Steel Bender - from the Flat Pass Trail.



W.P. Dunston & Harry Purdy from Palisade, CO; 1909



XX, 7 X 7 HH, Dec 4, 1921





E.J. V (?)IMG, April 5, 1926



Harris Rash (R. Ash ?)

Harry Goodman, Wade & Bob Moore, V.H. Campbell from San Francisco, CA; August 13, 1915

W.A.S. 1901; Delbert Taylor July 25, 1921



Mary Robertson, Anna Shafer; June 9, 1901

Dee Higgins, Sept 15, 1910; "A Moabite by God".
Also a Mule with name "Francis" above it.

 

 

The other end of Steel Bender Trail has its origin on Westwater Drive, Moab; near the Moab Golf Course.  It has become a built up area of the rich with half million dollar and up homes; many with private driveways and obvious security and surveillance.  The easiest access to the wall of rock art is making a turn from Route 191 onto Spanish Trail Road (Shell station on the corner); follow the road straight upwards until you come to a round-about; follow the round-about to the second exit which is Westwater Drive (the first exit is the Moab Golf Course). 



Spnaish Trail Road Round-about



Westwater Drive

 

 

 

Continue on this road as it twists and turns into the sandstone hills; the wall of rock art is behind a wooden fence area. 

Westwater Drive Rock Art Wall

If you continue on the road to your right, the entrance to Steel Bender will become visible.  Refer to white map on previous Ken's Lake/Flat Pass write up.

 

 

The rock art on this wall has not been preserved well; much of it destroyed due to natural erosion or the carelessness of human kind.  In one section of the wall, a mineral ore can still be seen, so the destruction can, more than likely, be attributed to the ore being mined.  Graffiti is extremely obvious and many of the original Native American artwork is obscured by it.  The largest image is the famous "Moab Man"; again, many of the photos had to be darkened for the images to be seen more clearly.  This area of rock art has been written about in books, but not so the other end near Ken's Lake; yet it is similar in imagery. The petroglyphs have been dated as far back as 3500 BC; created by Paleo-Indian, Ancestral Puebloan and the Ute.

 

Rock Art Wall on Westwater Drive, Moab.

 

 



Moab Man

 

So while much has been made about the rock art in Moab; take the short drive to the Ken's Lake area and see the other side of this amazing historical artwork.

Mary Cokenour