ATV Adventures: Hoodoos, pinnacles and water glyphs in Red Rock Country
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- Riding the Red Rock Country in the Hog Canyon Trail System near Kanab.
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- The toadstool by trail on the Hoodoo Trail at the Red Rock Jamboree.
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- One of the water glyphs we saw on the Hoodoo Trail at the Red Rock Jamboree.
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- Lynn Blamires
My OHV calendar year needs at least one ride in Southern Utah and this year, so far, I have had three. I wrote about the Poverty Flats ride last week, and this week is another amazing ride from those trails I rode at the Red Rock OHV Jamboree in Kanab. It was billed as the “Hoodoo Trail.” The name alone was enough reason for me to make that choice.
We trailered north on Johnson Canyon Road to Crocodile Staging Area. It is one of the trailheads for the Hog Canyon Trail System.
I have ridden this area several times and have always wondered where the name Crocodile came from. My friend Tony Wright with the UTAZ ATV Club helped me understand. He told me of some narrows on Kanab Creek just southeast of the pet cemetery. If you stand in just the right place, cock your head just right and close one eye a little, it looks like a crocodile.
Anyway, back to the ride. We headed west into the Hog Canyon Trail System. Our first stop was up against a rock face where a panel of petroglyphs could be reached by a short walk. I was more interested in a large bird’s nest built into the red rock, high up on the cliff. My first thought was that it was an eagle’s nest, but some birders riding with us identified it as a raven’s nest.
I have turn-by-turn directions for this trail from our ride leaders, Terry and Linda Scherer, but didn’t include them because I didn’t want to lose anybody before they finished the article. It is a beautiful trail and if anyone is interested, send an email and I will forward a copy.
We soon came to a large butte, which was topped by the Red Pinnacles. Knowing that views of hoodoos were also on this ride’s agenda, I wanted to know the difference. So I went to the internet. I love the internet because I would be in so much trouble if I tried to make this stuff up. People are way too sharp for that.
Here is what I learned: “Hoodoos have a variable thickness often described as having a ‘totem pole-shaped body.'” Bryce Canyon and Goblin Valley are where you will find hoodoos. Pinnacles, in contrast, “have a smooth profile or uniform thickness that tapers from the ground upward.” The Secret Spire near Moab is an example of a pinnacle.
The Red Pinnacles jutted up from the top of the butte like knuckles on a knurled hand. Riders in our group climbed up a ways on the checkered slick rock for better views.
Continuing the ride, our next stop was the hoodoos. Their jagged shapes helped us better understand the difference between hoodoos and pinnacles.
Our lunch stop was at a spot overlooking Highway 89 on a spur trail. Just below us almost 700 feet was the point that truckers have to weigh in at a station. So we were eating lunch at, you guessed it, Weigh Station Point, yeah. It was a pleasant place to be.
We headed back in a northeasterly direction following the rim of the North Fork of Hog Canyon. It was along this rim that we came to a water glyph with another one nearby. I saw my first water glyph on Lost Springs Mesa in Apple Valley.
These glyphs are prominent in the Arizona Strip, which covers nearly 79,000 square miles of some pretty harsh country. Water is not found in abundance throughout this region. My research has convinced me that early American inhabitants used these signs to find water and suitable places to rest and refresh in their travels through this territory. I know that hundreds of these water glyphs have been located and cataloged in the strip. They fascinate me because I feel like I understand them better than I do petroglyphs.
One of the most enjoyable features of this ride for me was a mushroom-shaped rock that stood about 12 feet high and it was right beside the trail. I called it a hoodoo and there was no one in earshot to disagree so that is my story and I am sticking with it.
We got back to the trucks, finishing a leisurely ride of about 36 miles. When you go, keep the rubber side down and take plenty of water so you don’t have to depend on a water glyph to find some.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.