Cabin Fever Chronicles – Getting Outdoors with Rod

Experiencing New Mexico’s historical heritage would not be complete without checking out El Morro! Simply put, El Morro is a gem. It’s not big, yet it’s packed with mind bending history, sweet hiking, views, and to top it off, it’s even got an 800-room Ancient Pueblo great house!

What is El Morro? Well, it’s a bluff with a watering hole. In fact, for over a thousand years, this watering hole was the only known fresh water source for dozens of miles. That made El Morro a camping spot for travelers ranging from Ancient Pueblos to 17th Century Spanish Conquistadors to 19th Century settlers seeking a new life in America’s West.

Each of these peoples left their mark. The El Morro trail leaves the visitor center, leading to a watering hole at the base of the mesa. From there, the trail winds closely along the base of the mesa. This is where my mind began to get a bit blown away.

Starting with the Inscription Trail, all along the base of the 250-ft tall mesa I witnessed people’s autographs spanning a thousand years. The oldest scribblings are petroglyphs. There are over 2,000 of them! Some were by now familiar such as the snake. But there were new images – bighorn sheep, along with mythological creatures.

Then I saw dozens of 19th Century inscriptions by settlers and army officers. But more amazing were Spanish inscriptions – the earliest I saw was 1609. Wow! That beats the founding of Plymouth Massachusetts by 11 years! Most of the names were men. But there was one woman who was in a battle with the Indians, was shot with an arrow, survived, and kept going.

The trail winds around the back of the mesa, connecting to the Headlands Trail, then climbs up to the top – gaining some 250 feet. From there, the view of the valley is unparalleled. Up on top one can see the effects of rain on the geology. There were a few pools of water from recent rain, each one filled with mosquito larvae.

Eventually the summit trail leads to Astinna, an Ancient Pueblo great house with hundreds of rooms. Incredible! Even up here, hundreds lived out there lives. Astinna had 875 rooms and was home to 1,500 people! The town peaked about AD 1300.

In total, the hike is probably no more than three and a half miles, and totally worth it!