These pictographs are found along a creek running in a southwesterly direction from its origin point in a meadow. Some creek-hopping and – if you pick the wrong side of the creek – mild scrambling is required to reach the shelter hosting the pictographs.
This wide-angle view shows where all the elements are in relation to each other, though the image is distorted by an exaggeratedly close vanishing point.
The shelter itself is tall but cramped, being about four feet across at the most – albeit with a nice rock shelf for sitting on.
An overview of the main panel. The light-colored line running diagonally top left to bottom right is a natural vein in the rock.
The most striking pictograph elements are found near the roughly twelve feet tall ceiling. They are painted up higher than one can now reach. It is possible that the shelter floor was much higher at the time they were painted, but that seems unlikely. The walls of the shelter bears no evidence of having been buried in soil.
There are no signs of habitation in the immediate surrounds, so the use of this site may well have been ceremonial.
Returning to the centerpiece of the shelter, these elements are all rendered in red and white pigment: both colors for the main elements and red only or white only for a few smaller features.
The leftmost element. The red portion is almost symmetrical, but the white parts is not, though the leftmost white line echoes the squiggly red lines.
The second element may be an anthropomorphic figure similar to others found in the general region.
The leftmost element is an abstract linear form rendered in red and white.
If its top left portion is considered in isolation, it resembles a rake-like element that also occurs at other sites in this region.
While care should be taken to assign interpretations to any of these elements, let alone parts of them, the similarity is nonetheless notable because of the frequency with which this element occurs in other pictographs in the region.
The second large element might be interpreted as a headless anthropomorph in red, outlined in white. If this interpretation is taken, it resembles anthropomorphs that can be found in other areas west, east and south of this site, albeit many miles away – and also in the ancestral territories of different tribes. Still, it is interesting to consider that these pictographs contain elements that also occur elsewhere, suggesting a common theme or common meaning, now lost to time.
The final, semi-circular element bears some resemblance to a sunrise drawn in red and outlined in the upper portion by a white line.
In addition to the possible anthropomorph, this image also shows the stick-like figure and its accompanying dots, as well as a slash of color below the anthropomorph, and the third, semi-circular element.
Apart from these three main elements some less distinct elements are also present: Between the first and second elements from the right there is a white dot, underneath the second element there is a red line, possibly with a shorter companion line to the left of it, and between the second and third elements, there is a grouping of red dots and a figure that could be an anthropomorph, appearing as a modern stick figure with a line slanted top left to bottom right for its arms, a left leg pointing straight down and a right leg lifted at a 45 degree angle. It is very unlikely that this description actually matches the original meaning of this figure, but it is an interpretation a modern viewer is likely to assign.
These smaller elements are dominated by the striking larger elements.
Detail of the fainter panel below the main panel.
The lower panel with a DStretch enhancement applied.
Below and to the right of this panel there is a less vivid panel with two elements in orange and another one done in dark red, as well as some smaller lines.
The leftmost two figures are in the abstract linear style, painted in orange.
The rightmost figure is curvilinear, painted in dark red. It is possible that these figures were done at different times since the styling differ slightly and the pigment color definitely differs, but when viewed, this panel appears very homogenous. There is also a small orange line above these elements.
Two groupings of orange dots.
Down and to the left of this panel there is a grouping of orange dots on the slanted surface at the back of the shelter. These dots are not close to any other elements, but they are carefully and deliberately applied.
Finally, on the wall facing the main panel, there are two figures, possibly anthropomorpic, though they are headless, like the suspected anthropomorph in the main panel. Between them there is a fainter abstract linear element.
These elements can be a bit of a surprise, since they are behind the viewer, who is first drawn to the striking main panel. Only after the main panel is examined the attention may be drawn to the smaller panel below it, and from there the grouping of red dots can be seen and examined. At this point, the viewer may glance around casually for something else to examine, and only then, turning around, these figures watching proceedings from the wall above the viewer’s head is noticed.
The three figures at the top of the opposing wall of the shelters. The center figure is not as distinct as the other two.
DStretch makes the spoked element more visible, including the white lines drawn in between the red.
Also on this wall is a faint spoked figure, reminiscent of a sun. It is very faded now, and hard to see at first since the shelter itself has dark walls and does not receive any sunlight, but it was originally done in red and white. A few traces of white remain in some of the rays.
This panel also has some red dots to the right of the sun element that is barely discernible and does not photograph well.
A faint sun element on the wall opposite the main panel. The element is drawn in red and white and is here seen in its present state.
One final part of this pictograph collection is a a bright orange crescent-shaped element in the lower right, actually almost on the side of the shelter wall as opposed to on the side with the main panel’s elements on it. It can be seen in the lower right corner of the initial wide-angle shot. It also has an accompanying, faint orange dot.
This shelter is not particularly easy to find, and its main panel, 10 feet or so off the ground, is not accessible. Still, some of the elements, such as the spoked element, can be touched. If you come across this site, please leave it as you found it. Do not touch or trace over any of the pictograph elements! While it may be coincidental, the element that is easiest to touch is also the one that is the faintest. Pictographs are fragile and can be easily damaged by the natural oil on your fingertips. Do not touch them!
I’m impressed by the detail of this post. I have been there a few times and I missed one of the faded elements you photographed. The main elements outlined in white tend to capture one’s attention and distract the viewer from the other, less obvious paintings.
I noticed you didn’t document the third site along that stretch of the creek, just upstream from the “Comet Cave” site. Are you aware of that? I have d-stretched that site I was just curious if you had done the same and located anything that I missed.
Hi Brian! Thank you. I’m glad that my post helped highlight a faded element! They can be really hard to spot sometimes. I certainly experienced it myself a few times where I thought I had seen everything at a site but I was too focused on the clearer elements, and then later I found something that talked about elements I didn’t see!
Yes, I still need to document that third site! I am aware of it and I’ve been there. But my pictures turned out very poor for my tastes. As you know that site can be a little tricky to document nicely since there isn’t a whole lot of room up on the ledge so it is hard to get pictures that are not completely zoomed in. I have a nice wide angle lens now that should make that easier.
As it happens I plan to head out to that site very soon to tie up that loose end. There is some additional sites in that general neck of the woods that I’m hoping to visit and it is a good opportunity to return to this site again. So keep an eye out for that post popping up in a few weeks!
On the note of DStretch’s awesome abilities, have you poked around the Cornerstone site with it? There is a whole panel on that rock face even though only a sliver is still easily visible. It is almost completely invisible to the naked eye, and even to some DStretch enhancements.
Yes, there is a lot more to the “Cornerstone” than meets the eye, D-stretch has opened up a whole new world.