Mug House Kivas

During the 2012 summer season, Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado is offering special hikes to the Mug House ruins site on Wetherill Mesa. These 2 mile round trip hikes are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between May 27 and September 2 and begin at 10:00 AM from the Wetherill Kiosk.

The cost is $25 and reservations are required. Group sizes are limited to 10. This hike was offered during the 2010 season but not in 2011.

It takes about 0:20 minutes of walking to arrive at the Mug House alcove. There are some minor sites to visit along the way. (See the post from 2010 that shows an overview of the hike, use the Mug House labels to find.)  Mug House has about 100 rooms and 8 kivas. The kivas provide some clues to the development of the site. On the left side of the site there are three kivas that can be viewed. 

We were able to climb up and stand between the second and third kiva. The second kiva is thought to represent the first occupation of the Mug House site. The kiva is thought to be associated with the room blocks that are on the ledges above.

Turning around, the third kiva is thought to represent a later construction. This one is notable for all the layers of plaster that are visible.

Both the second and third kivas have a keyhole shape, a recess in one end. The third kiva has three surface shafts visible. The one to the right is for ventilation and the one to the left is an entry. The middle one doesn’t have a apparent use. It looks like a small fire pit is in the corner of the walls.

The right side of Mug House is separate from the left side in that there are no internal passages. One of the right side kivas has an obvious double wall construction style.

Also on the right side is a kiva that seems to have an exaggerated keyhole recess. On a cold night the recess might be a good place to store firewood and other supplies.

There is another rounded square kiva on the right side that is too far back into the site to see. Mug House also has a tower structure at each end of the alcove. The Mug House hike takes 2:00 hours. Most of the overall time is in shade. There were seven hikers on the tour I took along with two Rangers. I carried one liter of water and snacks aren't allowed.

Badger House Trail on Wetherill Mesa

The Badger House Trail is a 0.75 mile one way paved route that visits four sites on Wetherill Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. These sites trace some of the development in architecture and living styles of the Ancestral Pueblo People who lived here until mysteriously vanishing around 1300 AD. There is a trail guide with 13 stops and there are also interpretive signs along the trail.

You can hike through the burned forest to the trail head for the Badger House Trail which is about 0.5 miles from the tram parking area. The Nordenskiold No. 16 Trail is in the same vicinity. The tram also stops at both ends of the trail.

The first stop on the trail is the Pithouse from about 650 AD. This structure marked the change in life style from nomadic hunting to permanent habitation. This example has a large room and an area that is thought to be for storage. These were covered over with a wood frame and plastered with mud. The entrance was through the roof.

The second site to visit is the Pueblo Village. From about 750 AD the storage rooms began expanding into several rooms. These structures were more adobe with the beginnings of rock masonry that developed later. This site has a Great Kiva where the soil layers tell some of its story. The size of this Kiva indicates that is was probably a center for a wider group of people that just this set of room blocks.

The Badger House site, the third of the four on this trail, has the longest kiva and tower tunnel connection yet to be found in the southwest.

The tunnel here extends for 41 feet. The connection of kivas with towers seems to be common but it is not known why. Current day Pueblo people still use kivas but not towers. The stone work here is thought to be from the 1200s.

The confusing arrangement of walls is explained as a site that was built on top of an older site. It is thought that much of the above ground material was moved elsewhere, maybe to Long House.

Two Raven House is the last site on the Badger House Trail. This site is thought to have been occupied from the 900s to the 1100s. It has two unusual features. There is a small circular room that resembles a miniature kiva. Some sites have great kivas but this is a rare mini kiva. There is also evidence for a fence built around the plaza area, maybe as a windbreak, or to fence in or out their domestic turkeys.

Hikers can return to the trailhead on foot or catch the tram at the end of the trail. There are two short overlook trails to Kodak House and Long House that can only be reached by riding the tram. Hiking from the Wetherill Kiosk and returning, without other stops took me 1:10 hours.