Leader: Dave Scudder (with Bill
Priedhorsky as primary trip planner)
Trip Participants: Los Alamos
Mountaineers
Author: Jan Studebaker
Photo Gallerys: Jan
Studebaker, Click
HERE
to view our Citadel Ruins Gallery. Click
HERE to view our Road Canyon Gallery.
We accessed the
Citadel, an almost perfect Anasazi ruin, by establishing a camp in
Road Canyon near Bluff, Utah. Dave Scudder was our able leader
and route finder for this great adventure. Llamas were used as
pack animals, and I was the head Llama tender. From the camp
we day hiked to several nearby areas including "The Citadel".
See our "Road Canyon Gallery" above for other photos from the trip.
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Stubborn
but much appreciated! |
Our
"bridge" to Cedar Mesa from the Citadel. |
The Citadel is at the top of what appears to be a tower from the
bottom of Road Canyon. It is actually connected to the nearby
mesa top via a "bridge" of rock. The Anasazi residents used
the bridge for defense from enemies who tried to access their food
stores and other valuables. Access from the bottom is all but
impossible; however, we did eventually find a convoluted 4th
class route to the ruins.
We were careful not to touch or disturb the potsherds and chipped
rock that we found lying about. This is a place the Rangers
will not tell you about, and it is not in any book that I know
about. Most visitors access the ruins from Cedar Mesa via dirt
road and a 1.5 mile cross country hike.
