- Out of Sight
Utah 2013
The small stone hut is a granary built a thousand years ago by the Anasazi or Basketmaker Native Americans. Foodstuffs such as corn and beans were stored here for safekeeping.
You can see how high above the canyon floor the granary is. It was invisible to me until Vaughn Hadenfeldt, an anthropologist and my guide, pointed it out. I wasn’t the only one to whom it was invisible. Almost every backpacker we met hadn’t found the ruins and quizzed Vaughn to find out where they had gone wrong.
We had hiked through the canyon below and gradually climbed until we made our way across the ledge you see in the photo. There was only one rather frightening section. I voiced my fears but quelled them as I didn’t want to be a sissy in front of Vaughn. With Vaughn’s reassurance, I nimbly crossed an 18 inch wide ledge to get to the site. For me it was an achievement; I don’t like heights.
If you want to photograph these fascinating structures or just hike into the wilderness of southwest Utah, contact: tours@FarOutExpeditions.com