Petroglyphs in the southern Santa Rosas

[halhiker]

Went on a little hike to some petroglyphs in the southern Santa Rosas. I posted some pictures of my little adventures and wrote a small piece about it on my blog. Just don't ask for directions on how to get these. I couldn't tell you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80552050@N00/sets/

[nobohobo]

very nice.
i was out west last year and noticed some petroglyphs on the map (usgs)
but didn't go over to them, it was way down hill and my agenda was northward ho. that's the curse of a thru-hiker. one of these days i'm coming out there for good!

[bluerail]

Very cool Hal ! You were down below 81st ?

[halhiker]

I was actually down below 84th. There's a section down there where there are a few roads carved out in the desert and if you look real close on Google Earth you can see both trails although the first trail I was on is VERY faint.

[bluerail]

Isn't google earth great in the desert ?

[KathyW]

Those are great Hal.

Are they the same petroglyphs as described in the Coachella Valley Hiking Club's hike called "Salton Sea Petroglyphs" on this list:

http://cvhikingclub.net/trails.html

[halhiker]

I believe these are the same. I took Dennis Godfrey there about fifteen years ago as part of a group I led. I had no idea they'd put out some info on these. The second trail I was on is the one they refer to in this write-up.

I don't know if I agree with Dennis' assessment of the trail being used for movement to higher elevations. If they were merely getting to higher elevations, they would have used other trails up Martinez Canyon or near the landslide. I think it was very likely a trade route. The Cahuilla in the desert were a different tribal group than those in Coyote Canyon or in Rockhouse Canyon near Santa Rosa.

It's an interesting area for petroglyphs and one day I hope to continue following the trail to see where it ends up.

[msugarpants]

Count me in on this. There are countless trails going through that area. Google Earth and I have spent over 50 hours together scouring the desert for ancient trails in the Martinez region.