Canyon de Chelly National Monument: A Sierra Club Outing

Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pronounced d'SHAY) has been inhabited for over 5000 years, longer than anywhere else on the Colorado Plateau. The first people who left a major mark of their existence here were the Anasazi or Ancient Ones. Hundreds of locations in the canyon have rock art and ruins of the Anasazi or Navajo residents, and photos of some ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs can be found here. The Hopi later spent summers in these canyons until the Navajo, or Dine, became permanent residents. The National Monument was established in 1931 to preserve the wealth of archeological ruins and thus preserve the history.



The Monument is actually comprised of two canyons -- Canyon del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly -- as well as numerous side canyons. Following the Treaty of 1869, these lands were returned to the Navajo and remain their homes to this day, so you can only hike or drive the canyons when accompanied by a licensed Navajo guide. Our guides were Daniel Stoley and his son, Donovan, and our 5 nights of camping in the canyon were on land owned by them and other Navajo families. Experiencing the canyons for an extended stay such as we did is best done with a group like Sierra Club which has the connections to arrange the myriad details of camping, eating, and touring under Navajo guide direction.

We began our six day trip (about 40 total miles) by hiking down Twin Trail into Canyon del Muerto, where for 2 days we hiked to various ruins and rock art locations, including Antelope House Ruins, Standing Cow Ruins, and Ledge Ruins. A special treat was a half-mile walk after supper on night two to Catherine's house, where she showed us how she carded and spun wool from her own sheep using hand spindles, then how she dyed the wool different colors from various plants or rocks, and finally how she created magnificent Navajo rugs on her loom.




The next day we climbed back up to the mesa via the Yei Bi Chei Trail which required hiking up 600 feet in elevation gain on slickrock, sometimes with the aid of foot holds and hand holds chiseled out of the rock, and occasionally with low railings or cables to hold onto. Here are a couple shots of our somewhat treacherous climb up (click to enlarge)...








After a trip across the mesa, we looked down into the awesome Canyon de Chelly seen here...



... into which we then descended 800 feet in elevation via the aptly named Crack in the Wall Trail, a steep climb to the canyon floor on boulders and more slickrock, while avoiding the poison oak and poison ivy growing there.



These climbs were real adventures and were definitely highlights of the trip, but they are certainly not for the acrophobic. Another strenuous climb was up to Window Arch, about 400 feet in elevation gain, but again, the view was well worth the strenuous exercise...





Our final night, we were entertained by National Park Service Ranger William Yazzie, who sang songs of the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache, accompanied by his own playing on drums and flute. He also taught us several dances which we practiced around the fire, and all the while he wove into his presentation the historical and cultural significance of the music.



As with all Sierra Club outings, everyone takes turns preparing meals. A special treat this week was a demonstration by Cheryl, a Canyon de Chelly resident, on how to prepare the dough and make Navajo tacos on fry bread. Here she shows us how to shape the dough for frying...



They were delicious -- another highlight of the trip!


Hikes to White House Ruins and the Spider Rock came the next 2 days, sometimes on the sand road and sometimes on trails up on the hillside to avoid walking through water in the numerous crossings of the de Chelly Wash, usually a dry wash but wet from the rain several days earlier.




It is open range, so small herds of horses and cows occasionally watched us hike past, and a very energetic dog "adopted" our group and put in many miles with us the last 2 days, including our climb up Window Arch and our final 700 feet elevation gain climb out of the canyon on White Sands Trail.

Here's the entire group:


(L to r) Front row: Rich, Barry, Dallas,
Middle row: Daniel (guide), Gayle, Randie, Linda, Ellen, Shannon, Donovan (guide)
Back row: Martha, Mike, Greg, Mary, Mel, TJ (our leader), Janet, Chris, Chuck
Not pictured: Andy (co-leader)

At first I was a bit put-off by the "in-holdings" -- all the privately held land within the national monument -- but after meeting the Navajo people, hearing their stories, seeing their love of the land, and learning of their culture, I am pleased that they were able to negotiate to have these canyons returned to them 140 years ago, and I am equally pleased that we outsiders are permitted to visit their beautiful canyons and learn of their history. They are closely connected to the landscape and it is their tsegi ((SAY-ih) -- their spiritual home as well as their physical home. Maintaining balance with Mother Earth is key to harmonious living, and though the Navajo are now a bi-cultural society living in America, they continue to lean on their traditions. I highly recommend that all come to visit and learn here.

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Slideshow of Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly Ruins and rock art photos

Poem "Spirits of Canyon de Chelly"


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