Unusual Petroglyphs found in Imperial County

Strange Petroglyphs in Imperial County 12-9-2018

The Ship Petroglyph Many Stories about this a Treasure lost in the nearby Desert, First contact with Early Explorers or something totally different.

A recent hike into a remote part of the Desert of Imperial
County involving a lot of rock climbing, boulder hopping and bushwhacking.
We encountered many unusual sites along the way including some unusual rock art in the form of petroglyphs. there was also Palm Oasis's and signs of early inhabitants and a beautiful countrysides everywhere one looked, everything one wants in a great hike.
Some of the rock art is very hard to find and takes a sharp eye to spot it, other petroglyphs are fading slowly away and may soon be gone.

Native American Grinding Site on The Way to The Area

The next four images are of Mortero's a form of mortars found in rocks. This group was situated within a pile of rocks on the long hike just to get to the area where we wanted to hike into. The mortero is a grinding feature for processing food with the use of a pestle stone.The food is place within the mortero and the pestle stone is hammered up and down to grind the food.This could be nut, seeds,roots or other tough foodstuff.

Pestle Stone (not from this hike)

The Pestle stone was used in Mortero's to grind food notice that the one end has been roughened up by the hammering of the stone into the mortero. This was seen on a later hike, but is used for an example.

Another Mortero Site

Needless to say there was a lot of Mortero's. This area which seems sparse and barren to us does support a varied amount of plant life. The amount of Grinding Feature seen, points to the people who were here took advantage of this.

A Good Omen

Some Times Wildlife can be right in front of you,but in nature it pays to be inconspicuous. This young Big Horn knows how to blend in.

Here it is The Big horn was actually a lot closer when first seen. I was actually checking out some rocks when it bolted out. Needless to say we all headed for our cameras but the Big Horn is not only surefooted but swift.

Entering The Canyons

The Hike to this point the opening to the canyon was an arduous hike to get here, then to enter you hit this which goes on for a good ways. Then a long hike ahead of you. When you finish you get to turn around and come back.
There are also branches within so don't mistake these on the way back. The area is remote and not where you want to get into trouble. I did exploratory hikes into both ends and the surrounding area before I decided to do it with friends.
The Area is known to be frequented by Human traffickers and Smugglers.

A Palm Tree within the Canyon, There are some very rough sections to get into the Canyon areas from the end we came in.

The Petroglyphs are both a bit strange and unusual they are spread out for miles and some are very hard to find.

Fading Panels Anthropomophics and More Enigmatic Symbols

Panel 1 Symbols on a set of fading panels Anthropomorphic's which means having human characteristics and some more enigmatic symbols.

Panel 2

Panel2 enhanced

There is quite a bit of evidence of previous Inhabitants to be seen

The canyons are loaded with grinding features, if I would post them all there would be pages.

The Ship Petroglyph Rock Shelter

So This Site is a controversial, The trouble maker is the one that looks like a ship with a furled sail on it,though when you get down to it there are two that look like ships.There are multiple stories for this and the supporters of them can get passionate in their support. One Story with different variations is about Lake Cahuilla of which the Salton Sea is now filling a small area of what use to be the far larger lake. The lake was supposed to be in the story connected to the sea by an inlet and a Spanish Ship laden with treasure and pearls sailed up this connection. The ship was there a short time when a mighty earthquake jarred the land, the water receded when the land lifted up and stranded the ship many miles from the sea.
There a variation with Vikings and Gold, many people have claimed to have found the ships in isolated areas
There also the story that the artist may have observed one of the early explorers sailing along the coast, possibly Rodriquez Cortez himself in 1542. Then again there could be another meaning lost with the passing of time.

The Shrine

A Group of Petroglyphs

Some rocks over time due to Weathering and or chemical reactions develope a coating sometimes called a desert varnish. Petroglyphs are symbols etched through the darker coating to reveal the lighter rock below.
Pictographs are symbols applied to a surface with a pigment, all rock art spotted on this hike is petroglyhs

Lone Anthropomorhic

A last Discovery on The way Back

A Few other Findings

I apologize for not give out directions to most of my trips, trails change and I do not have the time to keep the site updated. My hikes also span from the easy to the extreme, a lot of places do not even have trails, as well as extreme conditions. Some sites need to be protected as they are fragile and historically sensitive. So if you decide to hike some of these areas, do your research and know your limits, have the proper provisions .Every year many hikers die from not understanding these Simple Rules. San Diego County and surrounding areas are diverse in climate and terrain. Remember if you do decide to Hike do your research, carry the essentials and do so at your own risk. An alternative is to join one of the many hiking groups such as meetup or on facebook ,as well as other social sites. Not only is there safety in numbers but a pooling of knowledge.