Friday, March 05, 2021

More four-wheeling explorations and a hike to Council Rocks

Very nice and warm day today, very little wind and sunny skies....and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.  Finally some warm weather.

After breakfast it was time to do what I thought would be light four-wheeling up a road I'd spotted on google maps using the satellite view.  It would prove the narrow ledge road I can see from the camp that goes up the side of a nearby mountain.  Needless to say, I didn't get very far even with 4 Low, it's the first time I'd managed to stall Mariko while using 4 Low!  

Still, got her turned around on the narrow ledge road, which was very rocky and strewn with large stones.  Went back down perhaps 1/4 mile to this spot for a picture:


Got back onto the main trail and then back onto FR 687 and back towards the campsite.  I turned towards the Dragoon Mountains as I neared the campsite and posed Mariko thus:


Then, we checked out the rest of the camping areas, determining there's still some open spots left for the campers I would see coming in throughout the rest of the day.

Some nice boulders near one of the campsites

Mariko and I continued on FR687, taking it basically to the end of the road where it butts up with the southern end of the Dragoon Mountains Ranch housing development.

Shortly before you run out of public land, there's a turnoff for a historical/petroglyph site called Council Rocks.

Council Rocks Trailhead
Mariko and I were the only ones there....

As usual, I picked the wrong trail and ended up in some rough terrain and headed in the wrong direction for the actual Council Rocks....I thought the rocks were the neat looking pile pictured below on the right.



Wrong.  Doubling back, I found the actual trail while nearing some interesting looking rocks and found this sign by the actual Council Rocks:


The petroglyphs are hard to see, I tried to boost the contrast accordingly so you can see some of them:



A cracked rock among the sheltering boulders of Council Rock reminded me of a shark's mouth:


Here's one of the grinding mortars rock mentioned in the sign:


Council Rocks


A last look at Council Rocks from the right path

Headed back to the trailhead, can you spot Mariko?

After Council Rocks, I retraced my way on FR 687 and got more pictures of the interesting rock pile from the road:



We got back to camp around 1:30 PM so a snack was in order.  Didn't do much of anything else the rest of the afternoon but enjoy the warm sunshine and very light breeze.  

I did reposition both Yagi and Mariko to present a more "full campsite" picture to the frequent RVs, campers and vans that keep filtering into the area.

Hopefully, it'll keep anyone from thinking of parking right next to me for the weekend!



6 comments:

RichardM said...

It must’ve been a really steep trail to stall in 4-low! And, nice sunset pictures even without clouds. The color is nice.

redlegsrides said...

Steepness and large boulders half sticking out from the trail surface, RichardM And I could see it getting worse up ahead..... thanks for commenting.

SonjaM said...

Awesome rock formations, but the petroglyphs are most interesting. While you seem to get warmer weather we are back to freezing temps in Germany.

redlegsrides said...

SonjaM, you and Roland should come this way..

CCjon said...

Those areas where people used to gather centuries ago are fascinating. Especially out in the middle of nowhere. Makes you wonder why here and not there... What was it about this spot that drew people here.

redlegsrides said...

CCjon, I think the rocks provided shelter from the sun and the elements, making it attractive to those people of the past. Perhaps there was some religious significance who knows?