Datura Pottery

The Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado has an unusual spiky ancient pottery piece that resembles the seed pod of the toxic Datura plant. The Aztec Ruins Museum in Aztec, New Mexico also has a spiky pottery piece. I hadn’t noticed these pieces in my previous visits to these museums, but then noticed them both in the same week.

The Datura plant, or Jimson Weed, grows in sandy washes and along roadsides in the Four Corners area. It features a long white tubular flower and every part of the plant is toxic. The flower relies on Sphinx Moths (or Hawkmoths) for pollination. Most parts of the plant contain alkaloid poisons that inhibit the neurotransmitter used by the parasympathetic nervous system. These drugs relax the muscles and glands controlled by the nervous system and find use as anesthetics and anti spasmodics, but if overdosed can cause delusions and paralysis. The http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com web site has several good pictures of this plant that were taken in McElmo Canyon west of Cortez.

Many North American groups steeped the leaves to make a tea or chewed the seeds presumably for the hallucinogenic effects. A pottery image has been found showing a human figure with a Datura seed pod body and Sphinx Moth images have been found. Researcher Paul T. Kay has a web site that explores Datura related images in depth and has examples of Datura related images from across the southwest.

The Chuska Puma

The Chuska Puma is a life size mountain lion sculpture in a life like pose painted with Four Corners black on white pottery and rock art designs.

The Puma is on display in the meeting room of the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores, CO. It is part of Pumas On Parade, a public art for public land awareness project by the San Juan Mountains Association. The designs seem to be based on a particular large pot and three petroglyphs. Mountain sheep designs on the lion’s side are relatively common. The humanoid figure on the back of the neck is similar to the one at the Moab Golf Course panel. The lion figure on the chest seems like a rare one to find. A place to look for it might be the large petroglyph panel at Petrified Forest National Park near the Blue Mesa Trail. The sculpture was donated to the Heritage Center by the Kinder Morgan CO2 gas company. Hikers in the Canyons of the Ancients area will recognize their contributions to road maintenance in the wilder areas.

There is a Mountain Lion exhibit showing at the Center for Southwest Studies on the campus of Ft. Lewis College from fall 2009 to fall 2010. One of the Pumas on Parade is on display near the exhibit. It appears that there are about 17 Pumas as part of the project. I count that 11 of the Pumas are in the Durango area, 3 are in Mancos, 1 in Moab, UT and one, the blue "Sky Prowler" in Cortez at the Colorado Welcome Center.

Escalante Pueblo Trail in Winter

The Escalante Ruins Trail is the paved Interpretive Trail at the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores in southwest Colorado. In winter the1.0 mile round trip trail has been cleared of the heavy snow that makes most of the area trails difficult for normal hiking.

The Escalante Ruins site sits up on a hill overlooking the Big Bend of the Dolores River and the McPhee Reservoir. The Escalante Pueblo is thought to have been built in 1129 and is thought to reflect the building style of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, even though Mesa Verde is clearly in view. The Far View Sites Trail in Mesa Verde has pueblo sites that are similar in appearance to Escalante. The T shaped doorways in the surface rooms are found in both sites. The Escalante site is thought to have been remodeled three times, based on the ages of the wood used in the construction.

In winter conditions, the circular Kiva is of interest as this room would have offered the best shelter from the weeks of below freezing temperatures and several feet of snow such as we observe in mid winter now. At Escalante, the Kiva is surrounded by rectangular room blocks, similar to the arrangement at Far View.

In this region, water pipes are buried about 3.5 feet to prevent freezing, so the depth of the Kiva would offer similar protection. The ventilation system and arrangement for smoke to escape make it appear that warmth could be maintained. The interpretive information here indicates that the pottery found here was of the local Northern San Juan style rather than Chaco Canyon style and there are quite a few examples in the museum at the base of the hill. The smaller Dominguez Ruin near the museum entrance was completely covered with snow following a snowy December.

Dolores River Hikes From End to End

The head waters of the Dolores River are in the Lizard Head Pass area along Highway 145, south of Telluride in southwest Colorado. There are many trails in the area including a main trail head a little south of the Pass. The Groundhog Stock Trail starts at the Cross Mountain Trail Head, about two miles south of the Lizard Head Pass in the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado.

The trail ends at the east end of The Meadows along Forest Road 535, and the south flanks of Mount Wilson come into view. Just west of the Meadows another headwater flows out of Navajo Lake and becomes the West Fork of the Dolores River. There is a network of trails to find in the Lizard Head area and more along the West Fork of the Dolores River

The Bear Creek Trail is just off the 145 highway in the Dolores River Valley, about halfway between Dolores and Telluride, and goes up into the National Forest toward the La Plata Range of the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. The trail alternates between being high on the valley side above the fast running creek or right down along the bank.

The big bend of the Dolores River in southwest Colorado is now flooded under McPhee Reservoir, the second largest lake in the state. On the south bank, on the site of the Anasazi Heritage Center, there is a 0.5 mile Interpretive Lookout Trail that describes some of the plants and natural history of the area. This is a good botany trail with many of the key trees and shrubs identified with comments on their possible uses. In 1776 the first European Explorers, led by two Spanish friars, Escalante and Dominguez, came through this area, searching for a new route to California. They stopped on this hill overlooking the River of Our Lady of Sorrows, the name they just gave it, and examined the ruins, reporting that they looked like the ones they had seen over closer to Sante Fe, NM. There are two excavated ruins sites here named for the two Spanish Explorers.

The McPhee Stock Trail starts at the Mataska Recreation Site just below the McPhee Dolores River Dam and climbs out of the Lone Dome Dolores River Canyon to the north rim. A trail from the south rim, also accesses the dam area coming from the Sage Hen area. The trail is steep for the first 30 minutes and then flattens out for about 15 minutes. With the elevation gain Ponderosa Pines start to dominate and there are a lot of Rocky Mountain Red Juniper, with softer blue green foliage than the similar Utah Juniper. There is another 15 minutes of climbing to the top of the mesa. Near the top the McPhee Dam comes into view. Both the reservoir and the river below are visible. Sleeping Ute Mountain is visible to the south.

The Dolores River Canyon is downstream of the McPhee Reservoir and is close to Dove Creek, CO, the pinto bean capital. Driving there you go past rolling bean fields and then turn on to a gravel road and are suddenly descending hundreds of feet into a deep narrow canyon. There is a rocky road along the river for about 12 miles north and a rougher trail afterwards. The Dolores Canyon is deep and very scenic, a clear stream and tall Ponderosa Pines.

The Paradox Trail is a 105 mile mountain bike trail in western Montrose County, just to the east of the La Sal Mountains. Between Bedrock and Uravan, an alternate section of trail, called the River Road, follows the Dolores River downstream to the confluence with the San Miguel River. The Paradox Trail is named for the odd situation where the Dolores River flows perpendicular across the valley, entering and exiting through steep canyons. The Dolores and San Miguel start in the same area. The water flowing south from Lizard head Pass near Telluride, flows about 50 miles south in the Dolores River before turning back to the north. Water flowing north from the same pass enters the San Miguel system and flows west. After long journeys apart, the waters rejoin in this remote canyon.

Ridge Point Lookout Trail

The Ridge Point Lookout Trail is the road in the McPhee Reservoir Recreation Area that leads to the campground, boat ramp and a lookout point. The McPhee Reservoir is Dolores River water in southwest Colorado, a little downstream of the town of Dolores.

In winter, when the normal trails are muddy or snow covered, the paved road provides a hard surface to hike on. The road may be closed to vehicles or it will have very little traffic. It is a 4.2 mile round trip to the lookout point, with the option to continue down to the lake by the boat ramp.

At the lookout point there is a concrete compass with interpretive signs identifying the geographical features around the 360 degree views. This is one of three easy to get to view points in this area. Nearby, the Anasazi Cultural Center Interpretive Trail ends at a good view point. The best view point in the area is at Park Point, the highest point in Mesa Verde National Park.

The views to the north and east include two of the nearby mountain ranges, the LaPlatas and the San Miguels with the reservoir in the foreground. The LaPlata Mountains had a lot of gold mining activity, mostly in LaPlata Canyon a little west of Durango. Many of the trails in the San Miguels near Telluride still have ruins sites and ghost towns along the way. To the west the Abajo Mountains in Utah are visible. Below the view point is the site of the timber town of McPhee, which prospered in the early 1900s, but is now flooded. McPhee processed the Ponderosa Pines which dominate this part of the San Juan National Forest.

There is the short Can Do Trail running 0.5 miles from the nearby campground to the Lookout Point and then another 0.5 miles down the hillside to the boat ramp area. In winter, the trail will often be snow covered and muddy. The information sign says there is an Anasazi site about half way down. This area had one of the largest archaeology projects in history, associated with the reservoir project. There are two excavated sites at the nearby Anasazi Heritage Center and several more on the same hill. This hike takes about 2:00 hours for 4.2 miles. I hiked it on a 45 F degree mid November day, a few days after an early winter storm.

Smelter Mountain Trail in Durango

Smelter Mountain is the area south west of the intersection of Highways 550 and 160 in Durango in southwest Colorado. It is part of the Bodo State Wildlife Area. Traveling past this relatively dry looking mountain you might notice the many radio antennae on top.

The most popular trail head for hikers is near the junction of Highway 550 and County Road 211. There is a small parking area designated for hikers but no other signs at the trail head. From the trail head the route climbs steeply for about 1 mile with about 1200 feet of elevation gain and provides wide views up and down the Animas River Valley.

I started my hike at a more obscure trailhead about 1 mile south of Road 211 at the west side of the Bodo Park business area. There is a short dirt road that seems to provide service access for the large power line. This southern trail head might be favored by hikers that want to climb the 7844 foot Carbon Mountain.

After the dirt service road ends there is a vague trail that continues up the ridge and swings south toward Carbon Mountain. I didn’t see a clear trail leading to the peak. The Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper terrain gave way to a thicket of Gambel Oak. There may be a peak route that I didn’t see, but at the thicket I turned toward the north and worked my way down to Road 211. The Carbon Mountain climb could be a separate hike from Smelter Mountain, but I did them both as a loop.

County Road 212 makes a nearby junction with 211 and leads to the top of Smelter Mountain and the many radio towers there. The Road 211/212 route is a way to the top for mountain bikers. There is some industrial activity in the Bodo Wildlife Area. Large power lines and gas lines pass through and there is a large stabilized tailings pile that looks like a dam.

In September 2009 there is also construction work for Lake Nighthorse, a new reservoir that is primarily for water supply for several of the Indian Reservations in the Four Corners and also for the cities of Durango and Farmington, NM. A new 280 cfs pump station has been installed on the Animas River near Santa Rita Park. Pumping began May 4, 2009 and as of September 2009 the reservoir is about 20% full. It is estimated that the lake will take 18 months to 3 years to fill. The planned volume is 120,000 acre feet.

Road 212 extends for about 3 miles past numerous towers. There are good views on both sides of the road. The views to the north are of the most interest toward the city center of Durango and the mountains just to the west. After the last radio tower the road transitions into a trail and descends toward the southeast to the Road 211 trail head.

My total hike took 4:45 hours for about 7 miles including my lunch stop in the developed area in the Bodo Park commercial area. Most hikers will probably choose either the Carbon Mountain route or the Smelter Mountain trail and not do both on the same hike. I carried two liters of water on an 80 F day in early September, and drank another two liters at lunch near the finish.

Geyser Springs Trail

The Geyser Springs Trail is a 1.25 mile each way trip to the only true geyser in Colorado. The trail head is about 23 miles north along the West Fork of the Dolores River Road from the junction with Highway 145 12 miles north of the town of Dolores. There is also access coming south from Telluride along the Dunton Road south of Lizard Head Pass

The trail head parking area appears to be newly constructed for 2009. The trail immediately crosses the West Fork of the Dolores using some large placed stones. As these stones might be underwater during the spring runoff, late summer and fall are the best times to visit here. The trail head area is about 2 miles south of the Dunton Hot Springs site.

When driving past Dunton, it appears to be a well preserved privately owned mining ghost town. It has a low key appearance but is actually a somewhat fancy resort. Among the attractions of Dunton are the hot springs from the same underground thermal source as Geyser Springs.

The trail climbs from about 8500 feet to 9100 feet through aspen and spruce forest with a few views across the canyon. About 100 yards before the geyser there is a small sign that advises foot travel only into the sensitive geyser area. Well before arriving at the site there are whiffs of sulfur and maybe small puddle hot springs along the trail.

The geyser itself is a small pool and looks like the back wall has been constructed. When I arrived there was a boiling appearance. Warm water overflowing the pool drips down a slope into the creek flowing on the backside.

Viewing from the creek side, there is an old inscription that says J Luther 1901. I suppose this is old enough to consider historic and has an interesting story. The Forest Service information on the Geyser says the water is 82.4 F degrees. I dipped my hand in and the turbid water was warm but not hot. I was interested to see if unusual plants would be growing in the warm micro-climate here. There were ferns lining the pool, but they also grow along the creek, so I didn’t detect anything unusual.

I watched the geyser for about 45 minutes. There was good boiling activity as I arrived and it gradually slowed down to more of a simmer, but the water was never calm. About 40 minutes after I arrived the intensity increased again. The water level at the maximum intensity during my visit was about 1 or 1.5 feet higher than at low intensity. There wasn’t any spurting or jets shooting high in the air. Not spectacular but certainly interesting.

It took me about 30 minutes to arrive at the site and 30 minutes back and I lingered and chatted with other hikers for another hour for a 2:00 hour total visit. It was about 65 F degrees in mid August. I carried 1 liter of water but didn’t need to drink until the end of the hike.