After Pueblo del Arroyo and picking up our backpacks it is time to start on the ten mile round trip hike to Peñasco Blanco. We are happy that the park changed the rules and we have to be back before 9PM and not at sunset, it is quite a good rule change so we don’t have to speed run. And then soon we are at the first attraction Kin Kletso, an attractive ruin right next to the trail.
Unfortunately it is forbidden to enter it so we walk around it to explore from a distance, it looks quite interesting it is a shame that there is no walking path through it to explore the rooms, tunnels and high walls.
Behind the ruin is a steep trail that somehow leads to the Rim of the Canyon. Today we have no time, maybe next time as it might be an interesting view.
As we continue there are many different holes and scratches on the cliff wall that we are not sure if they are Anasazi related or natural. There are no signs so maybe natural but of course they cannot place signs at every location.
Relatively soon we arrive at Casa Chiquito, placed beautifully near some interesting rock formations. It is a smaller ruin but you can walk through it and explore which raises its attractivity to us.
We pass by it and soon we find another small ruin near the cliff wall. We assume it might have been a granary or a guardhouse, who knows.
Next is the Petroglyph trail detour, a small trail that leads us close to the cliffs which for a whole section is full of petroglyphs. Not each panel has petroglyphs but when there are some there are quite a few.
Some panels are really high up, so high that we don’t even look for them there. Luckily some other visitors point them to us, lots of thanks to them as they are quite interesting and well realized.
Another quite special petroglyph is the horse petroglyph. We are not sure how ancient it is, for certain it was done after horses appeared in the area, but it certainly looks quite well realized.
There are also the usual UFO type petroglyphs that we love and enjoy and overall we had a great time exploring the area and the many petroglyphs before continuing on, we are just halfway to our goal.
From the petroglyphs the standard of the trail degrades, from a dirt road it becomes a sandy path but still quite easy to follow. At this point we also notice our goal on a hill to the left for the first time, quite a bit left to hike.
There are quite a few birds in the area, a lot of Rock Wrens and Sagebrush Sparrows especially given that there are rocks and sage.
And then it is time to cross the wash of the river that created the Chaco Canyon. It is a relatively steep descent and ascent for each wash and there are multiple washes as the river here had multiple branches.
On the other side sits one of the more famous pictographs here, the Supernova Pictograph. While it represents likely a supernova or a comet the tail has faded out and even the nucleus is barely visible. You can however clearly see the hand, sun, and the moon (or the sun in eclipse which is our interpretation).
From here the trail starts to go up skirting the cliffs as it goes up and up towards the ruin. There are some nice views but we also have to be alert to not lose the trail or just fall into a ravine, not a big risk but who knows.
To our surprise we find a petroglyph even here, it is quite an interesting one and we wonder how ancient it is given how it looks. Soon we arrive at a first plateau and are quite happy before noticing that the ruins are even higher still.
However slowly and steady the trail takes us up and up and finally we arrive at the gates of Peñasco Blanco, our major goal of this hike and visit which is described in a separate post.
