Posted: 8/8/2013 9:16:16 AM EDT
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I'm heading out to Chaco Canyon with my brother and nephew in the morning. It's one place that has always intrigued me and I've wanted to go there for a long time.
Have any of you been there? What are the best areas to visit? Any neat (not often visited) backcountry areas to hike to? I'll be bringing my camera gear of course. I'd like to get some Milky Way shots with some kivas or pueblos in the foreground, but I'm not sure if any areas are open at night. I'll be sure to post my photos here when I get back. |
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Not sure about remote areas to hike to in Chaco, but the majority of the area is accessible by the loop road that runs around the canyon. Hike around the canyon, make it up onto the rim if you get the chance. The rangers give some good talks if you're there at the right time. A few miles to the north is the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, and worth a look at as well (especially if you want somewhere really remote): http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/wilderness/bisti.html
Chaco is fascinating to me because of how much was there, and how much we still don't know. A lot of remains and artifacts have been lost to time and weather, and we only see a fraction of what's left. I couldn't help but wonder how the Chacoans managed to bridge the arroyo that runs through the middle of the canyon, particularly if they transported large logs and materials back and forth. What did the canyon look like a thousand years ago, and how many structures are simply gone by now, lost to erosion? Nothing built in North America could really compare for centuries afterwords. Who were they, and what happened to them? |
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Quoted: I'm heading out to Chaco Canyon with my brother and nephew in the morning. It's one place that has always intrigued me and I've wanted to go there for a long time. Have any of you been there? What are the best areas to visit? Any neat (not often visited) backcountry areas to hike to? I'll be bringing my camera gear of course. I'd like to get some Milky Way shots with some kivas or pueblos in the foreground, but I'm not sure if any areas are open at night. I'll be sure to post my photos here when I get back. I've been, but it's been so long (about 16 years) I don't remember all the details. Years ago, there was camping on site, but had a waiting list when I visited. Didn't do much hiking other than around the sites. Cool site IMHO. I'll be going back one of these years and spending several days to a week. With my camera next time.  They had have a Night Sky program, so people use the area for astronomy and astrophotography. NPS webpage for Chaco |
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Quoted:
I'm heading out to Chaco Canyon with my brother and nephew in the morning. It's one place that has always intrigued me and I've wanted to go there for a long time. Have any of you been there? What are the best areas to visit? Any neat (not often visited) backcountry areas to hike to? I'll be bringing my camera gear of course. I'd like to get some Milky Way shots with some kivas or pueblos in the foreground, but I'm not sure if any areas are open at night. I'll be sure to post my photos here when I get back. Take a look at Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It's fiction, but it's about that area and is a pretty good read. |
| Never made it there but been to many other awesome sites, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and tons of smaller sites. I've also been on a mountain bike/4wd camping trip to the Dollhouse area in Canyonlands and hiked out to the confluence overlook of the Green River and the Colorado. Rented a houseboat on Lake Powell once and spent a week crusing around, hiking up canyons and visiting ruins. I love the desert! |