Fire Temple on Fewkes Canyon Trail

One of the special hikes at Mesa Verde National Park in 2011 visits the Fire Temple and New Fire House in Fewkes Canyon. These side by side sites are visible from Sun Point on the Mesa Top Loop but have not been visited by the public since the 1930s.

The one mile round trip hike begins at the Sun Temple and winds around the point past Oak Tree House and below Mummy House. The hike I was on started hiking at about 8:20 AM and arrived at New Fire House at about 9:45 AM.

New Fire House is a two level structure. The lower level has seven rooms and three kivas. From the trail level, New Fire House is hard to view because the trail is a little below the floor level of the site. From the right side, there is an open area in the back of the alcove with some moisture and plants growing similar to Balcony House and Long House.

One of the possible interpretations of New Fire House is that it was the residence of the persons who were responsible for the ceremonies held at the adjacent Fire Temple. The trail stays along the front and doesn’t enter the site. There weren’t any good views into the kivas.

The upper level has 13 rooms. The overlook interpretive sign says there are foot and toe holds leading to the upper level and that ladders were probably used. There is a good view of the structure to the right of the upper level from below.

The main section of the Fire Temple resembles the floor a great kiva with two rectangular structures and a central circular structure that we usually think is a fire pit. The rectangular structures are often described as foot drums associated with dancing. The large outdoor plaza at Long House on Wetherill Mesa has similar features.

The great kivas at Chaco Canyon have these features as does the great kiva at Aztec Ruins. Early investigator J.W. Fewkes thought that the central fire pit may have been an “eternal flame” due to the large quantity of ashes that were found here. Fewkes saw a connection between this site and current “New Fire” rites practiced by the Hopis that he had spent much time with.

There is a lot of white plaster still intact here. Our group spent some time scanning the plaster for small images. There are two vertical zig zag snake like designs in the plaster but you have to look carefully to see them.

We noticed a large alcove directly across the canyon from the Fire Temple area but couldn’t see any structures. The possible explanation for non use is that this site doesn’t catch as much winter sun, but it is known as a Basketmaker, or early era site.
 

On the left side of the Fire Temple is a room with some pictographs on the wall. The images to the right are unusual and resemble Prickly Pear Cactus with flower buds. There are also some mountain sheep images. An early picture of these images also included some Kokopelli images that are now missing.

We had a discussion of how early visitors to these sites left historic inscriptions, but many of these were later considered to be graffiti and have been removed. It was speculated that the Kokopellis might have been removed for their phallic features.
 

The total hike to Oak Tree House and the Fire Temple took 2:50 hours. The tour is advertised as a two hour hike but the more leisurely 2:50 hour pace was appreciated by our group. In 2011 this hike is being offered May 29 to September 5 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays for a cost of $20.