I did a little hike in the Eagletail Wilderness west of Phoenix on a cold winter morning. The Sonoran Desert of Arizona is full of tall saguaro cacti, and this is a fantastically scenic country.
After crossing the open desert, I entered a canyon cut into some low-lying volcanic hills. The petroglyphs started immediately, and there were far more of them than I expected. This is an impressive site. As I hiked down the canyon, the walls of both sides were covered in petroglyphs. In one rock shelter, I spotted some pictographs that faded beyond recognition by exposure to the elements. The false color of DStretch imagery brought the symbols out.
False color DStretch images of the pictographs and petroglyphs
I expected to see a spring or some source of water here, but I didn’t. If you venture out into this desolate wilderness, be sure to bring some water with you.
Petroglyphs and historic writing
My photos are from 2013.
