Thursday, April 30, 2020

Handprints Cave

This has to rate up there in my "top 5" favorite all time desert hikes. What are my favorite hike criteria? 
1. Challenging: One of those hikes that I question whether or not I can do it successfully.
2. Natural beauty: Always more fun to hike in an area with great rock formations, Joshua Tree forests, etc.
3. Significant discovery: Discovering something new (arch, rock art, etc.) really makes a hike memorable.
4. Desert solitude: I love hiking in remote areas.

Handprints Cave checks all the boxes. I had GPS coordinates for the approximate location, but I didn't know how to get there. It's deep in the Wonderland of Rocks, and it requires good navigational skills over a boulder-strewn landscape with no trail to follow. I was using Google Earth to plot a route, and it was highly questionable if the route would be passable. I took you to Garretts Arch last week, and Handprints Cave is twice as far as Garrett's arch through some very challenging terrain. I won't be sharing the location of Handprints Cave.
As I set off, my mindset was I would be very lucky to actually find Handprints Cave. I had recently hiked to Garrett's Arch, so I had recent photos of much of the first half of the hike. It wasn't until I saw the red obelisk (above) that I took my camera out of my backpack.

I stopped only long enough for a quick photo and a swig of water as I passed by Garrett's Arch. From this point on, I would be covering ground I had never hiked before.

Interesting rock formation.

It wasn't long before I reached a dense manzanita "jungle". Getting past the thick growth of manzanita was a challenge, and I remember thinking that, if I ever do this hike again, I need to find a way around this area. The manzanita had these beautiful red-orange berries that were the same color as the branches.

Looking back, I spotted this rock formation that reminded me of an old man taking a snooze!

I came to an area I thought was finally a clearing, but it turned out to be a large dead area. I was surprised to see a huge pile of debris in the middle of the dead manzanita. I'm pretty sure it was a very large pack rat nest: About 8-9' in diameter and approximately 5' tall. I've never seen one even close to this large.

Allow me to take you on a little detour. Surprisingly, pack rat dens are of scientific value. It turns out the nests are divided into various chambers, including one where all the garbage is stored. It's called a midden, and they are of great interest. Middens in desert areas with rock outcroppings are the most highly valued. Funny, I've seen these middens out in east Joshua Tree many, many times, but I just didn't know what they were! Anyway, protected from the elements in a rocky crevice or cavity, large masses of pack rat debris can accumulate. The material is cemented together with highly-concentrated pack rat urine to form a hard, durable amber-like material called amberat. The pack rats refuse pile or midden may remain undisturbed for thousands of years, growing larger with each generation of residents. Amberat is invaluable because it contains a record kept by all pack rates that ever lived in the den. Plant fragments are well preserved in amberat, and can be identified even after many thousands of years. Middens are a major source of evidence for reconstructing past vegetation and environments, from the Pleistocene through the Holocene. Some middens have been found dating to at least 40,000 years before present.

In the photo above, I'm guessing that if you were to dig through that large pile of pack rat debris, you would find a huge amberat. The stories it could tell us would be fascinating!

Detour over, and back to the hike...
Finally out of the manzanita jungle, I came across this interesting flat rock formation. Sometimes it's possible to find bedrock mortars or other signs of habitation in areas like this, but nothing obvious jumped out at me.

As I continued to follow the wash, I came across petroglyphs on this large boulder. The closer I got, the more petroglyphs I saw. What a nice surprise!

Perfect balance!!

Finally, after miles of bushwhacking, boulder climbing, and rock-hopping (with a little bit of hiking sprinkled in), I found Handprints Cave. It's hard to appreciate scale in this photo, so I'll resort to a scientific description: The boulder is humongous!!!!! I only had to stoop slightly when entering the cave. It's one of the largest shelters I've ever seen. But like so many things in Joshua Tree, if you weren't looking for it (or even if you were, but just not paying close attention) you could easily walk right by it and never know it was there. I felt a sense of relief and satisfaction wash over me. I had found the cave and I felt confident that I had the energy and ability to make my way back. Now lets take a look inside...
As my eyes adjusted to the shadows, I was blown away by this huge grinding surface with the mano sitting on top of it. I've come across a few well defined grinding surfaces before, but never the mano that was used in the grinding process. This was a real treat!

Another photo of the grinding slick and mono- this one looking from inside the cave toward the entrance.

Close up of mano and grinding slick. You can clearly see the smooth indentation in the rock surface where the mono has been used for grinding and crushing.

This mano was a big sucker! I'm guessing this guy weighed in the neighborhood of 8-10 lbs. Difficult to pick up with one hand, this site was probably used to grind larger nuts or seeds. Likely this mano was rolled rather than lifted.

As I turned my attention toward the cave walls, I could see some faint petroglyphs.
This photo gives a good feel for the size of Handprints Cave. I'm about half-way in the cave, shooting toward the cave entrance. It turns our there is a large back opening to the cave, which makes it feel even more roomy and comfortable. Plenty of fresh air in this shelter! The pictographs are overhead right. I saw little or no rock art on the left side of the cave.

One of the first pictos I noticed in Handprints Cave was this beautiful crosshatching. I've seen similar to this in other areas of the Park. I'm certain it has meaning, but I have no idea what that meaning might be.

A slightly different angle shows additional pictos below the crosshatching. I should mention I used DStretch on all the picto photos to enhance their visibility.

Next to the crosshatching is a beautiful wagon wheel motif picto. Or maybe that's a sunburst?

Backing away a little, there are clearly two wagon wheels, with something in the center between them. It looks like multiple parallel lines going different directions.

That completes our tour of the front half of Handprints Cave. On my next post, we will look at the back half of the site. It's spectacular. I'll give you a less than subtle hint about what you will be seeing: It has to do with why they call it Handprints Cave!

Until then, stay safe and stay healthy.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

43 comments:

  1. ...what a fascinating part of the world that you have to enjoy. Thanks for taking me along, I hope that we can do it again.

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  2. The desert where you live certainly has a lot of very beautiful rock formations. I'll never get on a hike like you do so it's great to enjoy the view from my chair. Enjoy your weekend ahead.

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  3. It's a great serie of pictures . And you're lucky to live near such An essential place and iwith the powerful beauty of nature

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  4. Oh my! I worry about you this is really heroic photography.

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  5. Wow, that was quite the hike. Fascinating about the pack rat nest.

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  6. What a challenging hike, but it looks well worth it. Very cool! And I had no idea about Amberat. Fascinating!

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  7. Wow ~ Gorgeous photos and I admire your perseverance and what wonderful physical condition you must be in to do this amazing hiking and taking the wonderful photography ~

    Be well ~
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)


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  8. amazing photos as usual - I saw so many faces in the rocks today!

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  9. Since I'm not a hiker, my number one would be: distance: not more than half ah hour! That's why Hubs separate when he hikes and I paint. He likes challenging hike of hours of climbing. I start getting bored after half an hour, because I want to put it down on canvas. But seeing at a blog is much different, because I am right there, lol
    Love that flat rock, and your capture from the inside of the cave, and the big mano, and especially the old man, wow! Have a great adventure, this weekend!

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  10. What an amazing cave to visit! The grinding stone and mano must have been there hundreds, if not thousands, of years left undisturbed. We find manos here at times as the front range was a hunting area for the paleo people, but I've never seen one so large. The cross hatching were interesting. I wonder if they were a record of passing time, maybe months or years?
    I also enjoyed learning the info about pack rats and seeing all the rock formations on your hike, That sleeping man was remarkable!

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  11. What an adventurer you are. Incredible hike through the desert and that manzanita brush. Great find. It takes a lot of persistence to do what you do.

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  12. Amazing place, awesome pics.
    Stay well.

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  13. Oh wow! I am blown away by the beauty of the terrain you are hiking in. The rock formations are mind-boggling. So beautiful. And you have great stamina!!! LOL
    MB

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  14. Fantastic pictures and nice piece of information

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  15. What a great hike again
    For someone living in a largely green world those rock formations in the desert are very fascinating.

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  16. ANother great post-- I am grateful for what you do. And I was glad the rock troll didn't wake up and devour you.

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  17. The Paleo Indian rock paintings kinda make this place a sacred IMHO. Very nice photography, as usual! Keep Safe!

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  18. We can be sure of one thing. None of what's happening in the world right now is going to change that beautiful landscape here.

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  19. Hello, your hike does sound like a challenge. The pack rat nest is creepy. The rock formations are wonderful, I like the old man snoozing. The Handprints Cave and pictographs are cool finds. Take care and stay safe! Enjoy your weekend!

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  20. Such an isolated spot you have visited here - it is incredible to think people actually lived here at one time and called that cave home. That pack rat nest was amazing :)

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  21. So much of history is a mystery to us.

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  22. That was some hike to get there and those rock formations are awesome.Middens are of interest for historians looking at settlements that were around hundreds of years ago in this country, not something I'd want to dig around in though

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  23. Thanks again. This is the only way most of us will get a chance to the the HIDDEN beauties that are part of the desert life. We are always amazed at what you show. It is still so new to us, this beauty.
    We enjoyed the desert of one winter near Yuma, but sorta kick myself for not spreading out over to the Joshua Tree area.
    Take care and be careful...

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  24. I can defnitely see that old man snoozing very clearly! Oh if only I can take some of those desert plants home here for my garden (I'm sure that's not allowed right?)

    Happy Weekend my friend!

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  25. Love seeing all the interesting rock formations.

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  26. The landscape is stunning and so are your photos. Your hiking and photos give us views that we most likely would never see. Thank you, have a great weekend and stay safe.

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  27. Thank YOU for bringing us on another hike. I so enjoyed the detour - I read it to my husband (a geology major, back in the 1970's) and he didn't know anything about this. Those rock formations - I kept seeing faces in them, even in the large horizontal rock. Maybe I've been sheltering at home too long?

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  28. There's still alot going on there isn't there? so who did the paintings in the cave?

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  29. Wow that was an amazing learning read. 1st time have heard of pack rat dens. Thank you very much.

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  30. Unreal - I Tend To Carry Quite A Few Provisions - But Never A Tape Measure - Too Funny Brother Man - Righteous Outing - Dig The Photos - Keep On Keeping On

    Cheers

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  31. Absolutely fascinating information. Each week I learn something. Be safe.

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  32. Wow! You have found this amazing place. Great pics all the way of your hike.

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  33. This is the most interesting blog post I've ever read. Accompanied by gorgeous photos. I've read some books with photos from our deserts, but nothing like this. I'm trying to let you know how much I loved this post, but I'm not sure I can find the words. Loving it, may have to suffice.

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  34. Gosh that was quite a hike SPP! I can just imagine how elated you were to discover and reach Handprints Cave. The ratpack nests are astounding to say the least! Loved the old man sleeping rock, there are some amazing rock formations. Just went back and enjoyed last post also. So where will you take us next I wonder ✨

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  35. How thrilling to see things touched last by human hands so very many years ago! Especially the tools. I’m sure as you touch them you feel an amazing connection with the last people who used them. I love seeing all the rock formations and caves. I also love it that through you I can travel to places I cannot in these times when real travel is not wise. Thank you!

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  36. I love seeing the pictographs. I'm not as sure I'd enjoy looking at rats! Fascinating info in the detour :)

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  37. Oh this was an interesting post...... I had no idea about the pack rat middens . And that wonderful-to-learn info was just the “detour”...what a great cave find with all the parts of the grinding stone intact .... and the pictographs are fabulous. Thanks for sharing this awe!

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  38. These are some lovely rock formations. Thank you for this great journey!

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  39. Wow, you saw some incredible sights!

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  40. Congratulations on finding the cave. I can imagine that some of those rock formations look completely different in reverse or from a different angle, and so it is questionable to use them as markers for your return journey. But you made it, and we are the beneficiaries. Spectacular photos, as always!

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