Salt Creek, yet again

Salt Creek Canyon in the Needles of Canyonlands National Park is one of those places that can be explored for days. Over Thanksgiving break, I returned for 4 days to visit the part I hadn’t been to between Angel Arch and Kirk’s Cabin. This area is designated an "archeological district" because there are more ruins and petroglyphs/ pictographs per square mile than anywhere else in Canyonlands.

Year-round, reliable springs allowed the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont people to thrive here around 1200 BCE.

I was eager to see All American Man, an unusual red, white and blue shield-like figure. It’s 8 miles from the southern trailhead, so could technically be seen in a long dayhike if one had a vehicle that they wanted to take on the bumpy road to that TH (which I do not).

But more time is required to get a sense of the amazingly redrock scenery, diverse plants in this riparian area, plus the solitude, quiet, and wildness of this place. To find and appreciate all the hidden archeological sites might take a lifetime.

"All American Man" is the most well known pictograph in this area (and the only one I will post a photo of). It is so unusual that people questioned if it is authentic. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that it dates to the 14th century.

I set out early from the northern trailhead near Cave Spring. Bitingly cold air causes me to put on my puffy down jacket by 3 PM even while hiking. A clear, moonless night makes for more stars than I've ever remember seeing. It is so cold that my nose hurts from breathing (even through my buff) and I get frozen condensation inside my tent but I stay warm and sleep well, considering that I'm sharing my sleeping bag with all my water and electronics.

I wake up early and hike over to catch the sunrise at Angel Arch.

I use my hiking pole to break a hole in the thick ice that formed on this water source during the night so I can collect some more water.

The Salt Creek Canyon Archeological District contains graineries, dwellings, pictographs and petroglyphs, and lithic scatters left by the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont people. It's quite fascinating seeing the mix of these two cultures. The sites are not marked but some can be spotted from the trail.

Looking up to see an ancient site.

On my second day, I just hike 7 miles of designed trail and spent the rest of the time exploring washes and slickrock.

There are countless arches too.

Climbing up and down the slickrock. Much backtracking is required to figure out routes that avoid pouroffs, crypobiotic soil crust, and thickets.

In this section of trail there are many archeological sites. You must camp in the designated campsites. 

Climbing up the slickrock above camp in the evening.

The trail mainly stays at the bottom of the wash, but here it takes a climb up to avoid a steep drop-off in the aroyo.

After three days of seeing no other people, I finally meet two backpackers near the turnoff to this site. They are doing a one-way hike and are on a time-constraint so they don't make the side trip. I'm glad I allowed enough time for such things.

Down a side canyon, under some low-hanging branches, I find a sherd laying in a wash. Its the biggest I've ever found. I lay it back down carefully, right where I found it. The fact that is hasn't been moved or put up on a ledge makes me wonder who the last person who touched it was. I show this photo to a friend who works at a nearby national monument who knows how to identify pottery types. He says it is probably McElmo black on white, likely made between 1150-1250.

Near some pictographs, I entered a crack between the boulders and found a junction of two cracks that formed this star-shaped pool of light. An incredible, wonderous place.

After a cloudy start to the day, finally the sun come out and I sit on sandstone slab in sun in the warm embrace of the sheer orange walls and eat ramen and tuna which are the best ever. While my condensation-dampened sleeping bag drys, I put on fresh socks and think this is probably as peaceful and content as I’ve ever been my whole life.

A plateau side-bloched lizard is also sunning itself on the rocks. They have a fascinating mating system that may have helped give rise to the many regional varities and species (read more here and here). There haven't been many fellow creatures out here, only those two other backpackers and a few ravens. So these feel like a special treat and make me wonder about (and feel my connection to) the diversity of living things.

 Even though I've been to Salt Canyon and nearby Horse Canyon, this place still surprised me with its unparalled history and the amazing sense of solitude it provided. I was so glad to have planned an out-and-back hike since there were many things I missed on the way out that I spotted from a different perspective and in different light on the way back. I hope that this place is preserved and protected so that future generations can have opportunities for wonder and wildness too.

More information

Backcountry permits are requred for camping in Salt Creek. You will also need to carry and store your food in a bear canister in Salt Creek. See the Canyonlands National Park website for more rules and regulations.


I have not posted photos of the countless pictographs, petroglyphs, and sites in an effort to protect them and your experience. Please go out and discover all the other ones for yourself. In a world with too many hashtags and gps coordinates, I believe in preserving the experience of discovering things for yourself. It makes for more wonder in the moment. Something I am grateful to find.

It feels like you can reach out and touch history here. But keep your fingers off the sites so the fingerprints left in the past can be preserved!

Do your part to preserve the amazing archeology you can find here for future generations. Don't touch pictographs or stone walls. Stay outside of graineries and dwellings. Be careful about leaving anything including footprints. Leave everything like you found it.