Cliff Palace Trail

Cliff Palace is the largest and most famous of the Mesa Verde National Park cliff dweller ruins in southwest Colorado. The trail head is on the Cliff Palace Loop Road in the Chapin Mesa area of the Park. The Cliff Palace opens for the season in early April. It is one of the three major sites that require a $3 ticket for a ranger guided  tour.

The ranger lead tour takes about 1 hour. After an introduction at the overlook there are two stops, one to the left at the ruin level and one along the front of the site at a kiva. The trail down has a lot of rough steps and slides through some narrow openings and has ladders to climb up and down. If you have bad knees or hips, stay on top, the ranger advises.

One of the questions about the 600 or more cliff dwellings that are found in the canyons of Mesa Verde is why did they build here. The Ancestral Pueblo people who lived here are thought to have arrived as hunters and gatherers around 500 AD and lived on the mesa tops for several hundred years, until a burst alcove building that began around 1200 AD.

The ranger offered a possible explanation. In this period, resources began to become scarce. The cliff structures provided more security. They were difficult to enter and more easily defended. But in the end, this strategy didn’t work.  There is some evidence that the amount of domesticated turkey consumed declined in this era. There wasn’t enough corn anymore to feed the turkeys.

Another possible explanation is that they used the cliff dwellings more for storage than to live in, mostly still living on the mesa tops. Sheltered under the stone roof, the cliff dwellings were cooler in summer and warmer in winter if they faced the south.

The Cliff Palace contains 217 rooms and 23 circular kivas and is thought to have supported a population of about 200. As large as it is, this site was used for only 75-100 years. The whole Four Corners area was abandoned by 1300 AD and these sites lay vacant for centuries.

Looking closely at the stone work, a variety of styles of masonry are seen. It looks like there was no central direction to the work here, each family adding and remodeling in their own style. This contrasts with the more uniform building styles in the large structures in Chaco Canyon, in northwest New Mexico.

Looking back up toward the trail head area, the forest resources here are Pinon Pines and Utah Juniper trees. The canyons where the cliff dwellings occur are porous sandstone. Water seeping down through the rock loosens the grains and the cave like alcoves form. Only a few alcoves are large enough for a very large structure like Cliff Palace.

On the second stop on the tour, the group gathers around one of the kivas. The traditional interpretation of these circular underground rooms is that they are used for ceremonies. The Kivas seem to usually have a ventilation shaft, unlike most of the rectangular rooms. Around the circle, the columns supported the roof structure which included the entryway. Most kivas seem to have been entered from the top but a few have side entrances. We usually see the kivas without the roofs.

My thought has been that they would be more practical as shelters from the hard winters in this high elevation area. Winters are cold, there can be several feet of snow, and the earth contact insulation would moderate the cold. There are often tunnels connecting the fire warmed and well ventilated rooms with the storage rooms. Most of the alcoves used as living space face the south, taking advantage of the winter sun. There was an experiment going on in one of the kivas. Samples of the mud that could have been used as mortar were being tested.

At the far end of the Cliff Palace, the second level structures are visible. The fine stone work that was used here is also visible. Some of the structures at this end were reconstructed and stabilized by the Park Service.

The four story tower at the far end of the site has some artwork visible on the inside. At the very end of the tour there is an opportunity to lean in the small doorway and glance up. The interior and exterior walls of these structures were often covered with plaster which could be decorated. At most sites, the plaster is the first feature to wear away and we don’t see any decorative work. The climb back to the canyon rim includes two convenient ladders to climb. To the right on the way up are the seemingly treacherous toe and hand holds that the residents used.

Prater Canyon Winter Trail

The Prater Canyon Winter Trail is a new winter sports trail in 2012 at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. The trail is designed as a 4.7 mile lasso loop with trailhead parking at the Montezuma Lookout Point at the 6.2 miles mark on the main park road.

During the 2012 winter season Mesa Verde has groomed the snow is several areas to promote winter sports. The park entrance fee is being waived in January and February to promote more winter visitation.

The Prater Canyon area has not been open for hiking before the 2012 winter season. The two way segment of trail descends gradually and extends for about 1.2 miles before reaching the loop segment near the tunnel. The groomed surface was covered with a couple of inches of fresh snow during my hike.

It took me about 0:35 minutes to arrive at the loop segment on snowshoes. On the late February day that I hiked, it appeared that the groomed part of the loop had been shortened, not extending as far up Prater Canyon as designed. This may have been due to the relatively modest levels of snow in 2012. I hiked two days after 3 inches of snow and there had been 6 inches the previous week. There was plenty of snow when I hiked but the base wasn’t deep.

The terrain along most of the Prater Canyon area has been burned by the Bircher Fire of July 2000. Some of the Douglas Firs survived. I didn't see many animal tracks along this trail. There were a couple of track trails that appeared to be mouse sized and another that was coyote sized.

There is a good view of this trail area from a pullover point on the main park road past the trail head. This view shows the two way segment of trail. The trail makes a turn to the right at the far end of this view.

At the parking area of the Montezuma View Point there are good views toward Sleeping Ute Mountain and west toward the Abajo Mountains. My total hike took 1:50 hours for about 3 miles on a 32 F degree morning.

Knife Edge Trail Winter Views

In the 2012 winter season, the Morefield Campground at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado, is being managed for winter hiking on snowshoes and cross country skiing. The campground is located only a few miles past the main entrance. In the summer season, there are three hiking trails that begin in the vicinity of the campground.

The campground loops and the new Meadow Bliss Trail are being machine groomed. My hike was two days after several inches of new snow in mid February. The parking area and trailhead for winter activities is the Morefield Village area near the gas station.

From the trailhead it is about 1 mile along the campground roads to the relatively level 2 mile round trip Knife Edge Trail. The Knife Edge Trail is part of the old entrance road to the park and provides good views to the north above the Montezuma Valley and the nearby mountain ranges. It took me about 0:30 minutes of snowshoe hiking to arrive at the Knife Edge Trailhead. The trail isn’t groomed.

The snow depth was moderate along the first segment of trail. Hiking past Point Lookout, the wide views open up. Most of the regional mountains are visible. To the north is the San Miguel range, featuring Lone Cone to the west and Dolores Peak to the east. At the No. 8 trail marker the snow on the trail got much deeper and I was sinking in up to my knees.

I was surprised to see some tracks coming from the other direction near trail marker 10. These deep tracks appear to have been made by a deer that was struggling as much as I was. The deer appears to have made its way by lunging along the trail and then returned the way it came.

On the recent ranger led Winter Ecology Hike in this area we didn’t see any deer tracks, and the explanation was that the deer mostly retreat to the lower snow free areas. I turned around at trail marker 12, turned back by the deep snow.

I continued further along the campground road to the Amphitheater parking area and saw a few more deer tracks on the groomed surface. The Amphitheater area provides an elevated view of the campground area.

In the winter season of 2011, I had made it to trail marker 23, which discusses the geology of the area, including the Point Lookout sandstone and the underlying Mancos shale. Most of the trail markers on the Knife Edge Trail discuss the botany of the area.

The trees easy to see in winter are the Pinon Pines and Utah Junipers, the leafless Gambel Oaks and the tall Douglas Firs. My snowshoe hike was on a 32 F degree mid February day and I hiked about 2.5 miles in 1:50 hours.

Meadow Bliss Winter Trail on Snowshoes

The Meadow Bliss Trail is a new winter sports loop trail in the Morefield Campground area of Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

The trailhead for winter sports is the parking area for the Morefield Campground stores. The beginning of the Meadow Bliss Loop is near the trailhead for the Prater Ridge Trail. It is a 10 or 15 minute walk on the Campground Loop trails to get to the Meadow Bliss Loop.

During the 2012 winter season, Mesa Verde is trying to promote winter visiting by grooming the snow in several road areas for winter sports. In early February, the 2012 season hasn’t so far been a heavy snow year but in the Morefield area the depth is up to the bench level of the picnic tables. The day I hiked was one day after about 3 inches of new snow covered the existing groomed surface.
 

The Meadow Bliss Loop is listed as 2.7 miles and heads south from the Prater Ridge Trailhead along the east facing flank of Prater Ridge. It is a lasso type loop with something of a figure eight formation. I stayed to the right at the loop junction. There was new snow on the trail and the route was easier to see staying to the right.

The Meadow Bliss Loop is actually a trail rather than a road like the Campground loops. It passes though groves of Gamble Oak with views of the cliffs of Prater Ridge. I saw many tracks of what I thought were coyotes.

The far end of the western part of the loop passes close to the main road tunnel. In this area there are a few tall Ponderosa Pines. There aren’t many of these pines visible in Mesa Verde. Mostly we see the Pinon Pines and Douglas Firs.

There is a short segment of trail very close to the main park road, and then the route turns north back toward the trailhead. There is a point where the figure eight comes close together and I cut across, leaving off the more eastern part of the figure eight.

This east segment turns south again and makes another pass close to the main park road. It was difficult to see the east part of the trail in this area and I was ready to return to the trailhead. When I hiked, I think the snow depth was relatively thin in the east segment that I skipped.
 

My total hike took 1:50 hours. I didn’t hike the complete 2.7 mile loop, but probably made up the difference by starting at the main trailhead. It was 24 F degrees at my 9:30 AM start and about 34 F at 11:20 AM.

Mesa Verde Winter Ecology Hike

In 2011 and 2012, Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado is encouraging winter visitors by grooming the snow in some areas for snowshoe hiking and cross country skiing. A new guided hike was offered on January 28, 2012 on Winter Ecology at Mesa Verde.

This hike was offered in the Morefield Campground area where the campground loops are part of the groomed area. The groomed campground loops also provide access to the three Morefield campground trails. Another groomed section is named the Meadow Bliss Trail. The Meadow Bliss Trail is a new route that hasn’t been identified on the park maps before now.

There was no charge for this guided hike and during January and February 2012 admission to the park is free to encourage more public use. The trailhead for winter hiking is near the Morefield Campground stores and gas station.

The first hour of the three hour program was an introduction to tracks and tracking. Tracks by themselves can be difficult to identify but the stride and straddle, or length and width, can give a clue to the size of the animal. A process of elimination led the group to conclude that these tracks might be a coyote. This hike was led by two Mesa Verde Wildlife Management rangers and one of the Interpretive Rangers, so there was a wealth of expertise.

Further on, another similar looking set of tracks was thought to be Bobcat. Bobcat tracks tend to be circular while Coyote are more oval shaped.  Bobcats and Mountain Lions are both at Mesa Verde but aren’t sighted very often. Tracks might be the typical hikers best opportunity to see a sign of them.
 

Part of winter ecology includes the effect of subtle differences in solar radiation. In the Morefield campground area, the differences in the geology and vegetation of north and south facing slopes are visible. The south facing slopes have Pinon Pine and Juniper forest while the cooler north facing slopes have some Douglas Firs. The south facing slopes are also more jumbled in appearance due to the daily effects of freeze and thaw.

Another factor in track identification is the Gait Pattern. Common gaits include walk, trot, gallop, and jump. Gait patterns include diagonal walking like the coyote and bobcat, and bounders like rabbits and squirrels. Mice are an example of gallopers.

The bounder tracks usually have the rear feet tracks in front of the front feet, as the animal moves its rear feet forward for the next leap. Tree dwellers will show both pair of feet parallel while ground dwellers will have one foot more forward.

Toward the end of the hike, there was a demonstration of the use of motion activated cameras to monitor wildlife in a non-invasive way. This unit was capable of day and night images. There was a discussion of how this type of camera shed some light on the interaction of the elk and the feral horses at Mesa Verde. Images were captured that showed how the horses were aggressive toward the elk and drove them away from one of the water sources.

Part of the hike introduction included a demonstration of how casts of tracks are made. At the end of the hike we looked at a sample cast of a deer track. I had noticed that we didn’t see any deer tracks during the hike even though deer are common in Mesa Verde during the warmer parts of the year. The explanation is that the deer prefer the less snowy lower elevation areas and can easily move down during the winter.

The last demonstration was how plants protect themselves. Samples of Rabbitbrush, Sagebrush, Pinon Pine and Douglas Fir were placed in a zip lock bag and made available for the group to sample the scents. The strong scents indicated the presence of compounds that deter animals from browsing on them.

The total program lasted 3:00 hours. It was about 25 F degrees at the 9:00 AM start and about 35 F degrees at the 12:00 PM finish. This hike was advertised as limited to 20 hikers. Snowshoes were available to borrow for those who didn’t have their own.