Glad I took a sandwich!

I announced this on my return to the upper parking area. The very talkative volunteer turned silent and everyone in the assembled tour group turned to stare. It was a chilly vibe. Reading the informational material afterwards I saw it: No food or picnics. The reasoning hinted at aggressive wildlife. It’s not like I took a cooler but it was awkward.

Anyway, the small tahini and honey sandwich crammed in one pocket and the larger water bottle sustained me on the short steep walk up the craggy ridge to the old fire lookout site. So did the hiking shoes and walking stick.  

I was the first visitor up the mountain and up the trail. I got to the main entrance at 9:15. The contrast with Mesa Verde is profound. I was alone except for a few staff and volunteers. It was the end of the season so you could drive yourself up instead of going in vans.

It’s a stunning landform even without knowing its significance to ancient people. They must have felt a similar sense awe. Racing along US 160 West of Pagosa Springs today we come upon it fast and dramatically. The Chimney and Companion rocks poke up from the top of a mountain that towers over the Piedra River between two other river valleys. 

At the height of occupation the ancient pueblo people grew corn, beans and squash in the valleys. They lived in smaller scattered farming villages, most within a mile of the upper pueblo where a 44’ great kiva is located. This is 90 miles from Chaco Canyon and considered the Northeastern most Chaco outlier. Signal fires were used and I expect there was a code language. There is a lumber camp theory that trees were harvested from here for construction elsewhere. Like other Chaco pueblos, it was abandoned after 1135.

There’s another big kiva surrounded by rooms at the very base of the big rocks. I walked up the steep narrow “causeway” to the old fire tower location. The tower was removed in 2010 and beneath it archaeologists found the 1000 year old signal fire pit. Interestedly, the signal fire communication potential wasn’t proven until a Farmington high school student, Kathy Freeman, used mirrors to relay light from here in 1990.

Chimney Rock National Monument, unlike Mesa Verde, is closed in the winter months. So plan accordingly. It’s not too far west of Pagosa Springs and its famous hot springs. Further west is Durango. Visit Four Corners has a good page about all of it and more.

I sat on the edge of the lookout foundation and ate my little sandwich. A huge raven circled overhead several times, eyeing me. He knew the rules.