HIKING HAPPENINGS
May 2007
The
articles written by Rory Tyler as well as articles
written by other Moab Happenings writers can be found
by title and date in the Archive section of moabhappenings.com.
- webmaster |
Wilderness
needs no defense, just more defenders. -- Ed Abbey
by Rory Tyler
The odometer on my ’83 Toyota quit
working at 283,000 and I can no longer calculate the mileage
to trailheads, so this column, my 36th, is my last for the
Moab Happenings. When I started writing these columns I had
two objectives. First, to produce something that might amuse
tourists killing time in hotel rooms, coffee shops, laundromats,
or wherever. Second, to point the way to the unbeaten track.
As a result, most of my columns have some solid information
suspended in a froth of supercilious drivel. As I reviewed
the columns (a sometimes painful experience) I thought it
a pity that so much that might be useful should be obscured
in a fog of blather. That’s when I came up with the
idea of an Index. Now, you can go to the Moab Happenings’ archives
and slog through a minimum of excess verbiage in order to
get information you want.
This is also an opportunity to reveal
my hidden agenda. In my fourteen years in Moab I’ve
been fascinated by the Indian rock art, especially Basketmaker
art, and what it might tell us about those ancient people.
I believe that it’s highly representational and I’ve
developed several hypotheses about what some of it might
mean. Whether or not these hypotheses are plausible is probably
irrelevant, but they are novel and make for good discussion.
The pertinent columns include Here Kitty, Kitty (8/04), The
Staff of Life (6/05), Interactive Rock Art (9/05), The Look
(6/06), The Guard and the Guardian (11/06), and Gimme That
Old Time Religion (3/07). The last column discusses the possibility
of Hidden Valley being a solar calendar and, although the
results aren’t in yet, things look promising. The next
observations will start around June 17. Call me.
Some other columns I liked include two describing a rarely
visited but wonderful area, the Burkholder/Rill Divide at
the top Sand Flats Road (5/04 and 7/05). The Great Sand Sea
(11/05) is about Navajo Sandstone and is also my tribute
to the late Fran Barnes. And last, Have a Nice Hike, Dick
(7/06), an elegy for Dick Webster, one of the nicest people
I ever met.
Thanks to Moab Happenings publisher, Theresa King, for letting
me write basically whatever I wanted to, Lola McElhaney for
hardly editing me at all and for putting some of my photos
on the cover (a real thrill!), and my long time hiking buddy,
Jose Knighton, for sharing with me so much of what I’ve
had the privilege to share with you. Lastly, thanks to all
the readers in Moab and elsewhere who said such nice things
to me and encouraged me to keep on truckin’.
Index of Rory’s articles: December 2003 to
April 2007
Amasa Back, 3/04, 10/05, 10/06
Anasazi, 12/05
Archeoastronomy, 3/07
Arches National Park:
Broken Arch, 2/06;
Courthouse Wash, 1/4, 4/04, 2/06, 5/06;
Entrada Sandstone, Moab Member, 2/04, 3/04;
Freshwater Spring Canyon, 2/04;
Herdina Park, 2/06;
Park Avenue Overlook, 3/04, 2/06;
Seven Mile Canyon, 12/06;
Tapestry Arch, 2/06;
Willow Springs, 2/04;
Windows, 10/05;
Barnes, Fran 11/05;
Barrier Canyon (see Desert Archaic);
Basketmaker Indians, 8/04, 12/05, 11/06;
Burkholder/Rill Divide, 5/04,7/05;
Cane Creek, 12/03, 9/05, 12/05;
Upheaval Dome, 10/05
Corona Arch, 12/03
Culvert Canyon, 12/03, 1/06
Day Canyon, 4/04, 4/06
Dendroglyphs, 7/04
Desert Archaic, 1/04, 6/05, 12/05
Desert Varnish, 4/06
Dinosaur Tracks, 2/04, 5/04, 10/05, 2/07
Dump Wall, 1/04, 10/05
Fisher Mesa, 5/04
Geronimo 10/05
Gold Bar Arch, 1/06
Hellroaring Canyon, 6/05
Hidden Valley, 8/04, 12/05, 11/06, 2/07
Jeep Arch (see Gold Bar Arch)
Johnson’s-Up-On-Top, 8/04, 3/07
Kokopelli Trail, 7/05
La Sal Mountains
Burro Pass, 8//06;
Gold Basin, 8/05, 8/06;
La Sal Pass, 8/06;
Moonlight Meadows, 8/05;
Oowah Lake, 7/04;
Peterson, Charles 8/05;
Rudolph and Ramone, 8/06;
Trans LaSal Trail, 7/04, 8/05;
Warner Lake, 7/04,
8/05
Moab Rim Trail, 1/07
Mill Canyon, 12/05
Mill Creek, Left Hand (North Fork) 12/03, 6/06
Mill Creek, Right Hand (South Fork)
Lower, 4/04, 6/06; Upper, 5/04, 8/04, 3/07
Mill Creek Parkway, 6/04
Moonflower Canyon, 12/03, 3/06
Navajo Sandstone, 10/05
Negro Bill Canyon, 5/05, 5/06
Old Folks’ Home, 1/07
Ottinger’s Triple Arch, 1/06
Pocket Arch, 10/05
Porcupine Rim, 7/05
Potash Road, 1/4
Rice Grass, 6/05
Rock Art
Bartlett (ET) Panel, 6/05;
Cane Creek, 9/05, 12/05;
Eddie McStiff’s, 8/04;
Hidden Valley, 8/04, 12/05, 3/07;
Johnson’s-Up-On-Top, 8/04;
Mill Canyon, 12/05;
Mill Creek, Left Hand, 12/03, 6/06;
Moab Mammoth, 12/03;
Moab Panel, 1/04;
Old Folks’
Home, 1/07;
Owl Panel, 9/05;
Polka Dot Man, 1/04
Sand Flats, 1/04, 11/05, 9/06
Seven Mile Canyon, 12/06
Slickrock Trail, 10/05
Webster, Dick 7/06
Wildflowers, 4/04
Wingate Sandstone, 4/06
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Biological
Soil Crust (aka)
Cryptos (krip’ tose):
The surface of
Moab’s desert is held together by a thin
skin of living organisms known as cryptobiotic
soil or cryptos. It has a lumpy black appearance,
is very fragile, and takes decades to heal when
it has been damaged. This soil is a critical part
of the survival of the desert. The cryptobiotic
organisms help to stabilize the soil, hold moisture,
and provide protection for germination of the seeds
of other plants. Without it the dry areas of the
west would be much different. Although some disturbance
is normal and helps the soil to capture moisture,
excessive disturbance by hooves, bicycle tires
and hiking boots has been shown to destroy the
cryptobiotic organisms and their contribution to
the soil. When you walk around Moab avoid crushing
the cryptos. Stay on trails, walk in washes, hop
from stone to stone. Whatever it takes, don’t
crunch the cryptos unless you absolutely have to! |
Cryptobiotic soil garden
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