Death Valley Deep Dive 2024

[Beardilocks]

In my efforts to visit every petroglyph or pictograph site in DV, I have missed a couple of the more well known ones.  Today was the day to check off one of these and scope a bit of Death Valley history to boot.  Which is to say of course a history like most of the rest of Death Valley: more myth & legend than fact. 

Jayhawker Canyon has both prehistoric petroglyphs and historic signatures, mainly on one large boulder sometimes called Inscription Rock.  The Jayhawkers were part of the group that accidentally wandered into Death Valley in 1849.  The group separated upon entering at Furnace Creek with the Bennett/Arcane families headed South down the hot valley floor and the Jayhawkers heading towards the Mesquite Sand Dunes and eventually out over Towne Pass into Panamint Valley.  It is obvious in hindsight that they took the easier route out of the valley that would later be named Death. Along their escape route here in what would be named Jayhawker Canyon they rested at this spring and it is said that they carved their names on this rock. 

Or so the legend was told.

As lovely as that sounds, it is unlikely that that is how things played out.  Scrambling to survive and probably not carrying any tools to save weight, it is highly unlikely that they took the time here to leave their mark on the rocks.  Only one signature here actually names anyone in the Jayhawker party: the “WBR 1849” signature on the smaller rock for William B Rood (or Rude/Roods/Roode).  It is more likely that the first European through here to leave their mark on this rock were members of the Darwin French prospecting party that came through in 1860 looking for the Lost Gunsight silver/lead mine, leaving at least “J Hichens 1860” on the rock. 

It is more likely that WB Rood added this signature (and a couple of others bearing his name scattered throughout the park) in 1869, when he returned to Death Valley to look for a horde of gold coins that they buried during their hasty escape from the Valley of Death in 1849.  This gold horde has never been recovered.  Or at the very least the find was never reported.

It wasn't until 1936 that this rock was rediscovered and, with everyone who had carved their name into the rock long dead, a history was manufactured on the spot that this must have been the route the Jayhawkers took, owing to the “WBR 1849”.  Thus the name Jayhawker Spring & Canyon were adopted at that time, with the newly formed National Monument staff hungry for stories to tell it's first tourists.  The true story will likely never be known. 


It is quite the rock.  And heavily decorated. 


The most recent signature I could make out seemed to date from around the time of the rocks rediscovery in the late 1930's.





Of course the petroglyphs outshine the more recent history for me. 


But I cannot for the life of me figure out this creature.  With 5 legs (or 4 legs & a phallus) and such a massively long neck & tail.  The anthropmorph with the solid body and open face is unusual in this area. 





Notice the line coming way down out of the worn/obliterated spot to the lower part of the rock and what I think is a glyph for a spring.  Large form map?


Some linked-ball designs and possibly a simple atlatl. 


The heavily worn spots are interesting to me.  It is not the most convenient place for grinding grains.  Perhaps simply erasing older glyphs from a different group?  I can't imagine what would cause wear from usage.








This is the really interesting stuff up here.  The glyphs that can't be seen from ground level.  At the top of what could possibly be a map (with the spring at the bottom and a long line leading up to the obliterated spot) is what appears to be stars or a constellation. 


So freaking cool.  I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it this grouping. 


This is the rock next to the main boulder is also interesting.  Another possible spring glyph (circle with 2 lines coming out of it) this time including creatures you would see at a spring, like a deer with the largest antlers I've seen in DV and what appears to be a heron or a crane of some kind, with water dripping from it's beak.  Amazing.


The side of the spring/heron rock.


Continuing around the big boulder.  Notice the sheep in the lower left


Under the large name is this small petroglyph family completely with sheep. 


The backside of the large boulder. 





A nearby rock with what looks suspiciously like an Anarchy symbol.


A very elaborate set of initials over a smattering of older petroglyphs. 


Here is the “WBR 1849” carving. 


It is a pretty little canyon. 


All that history and I am neglecting the present…  The hike in was not what I expected at all.  Having done my typically deep NO research whatsoever for a more obvious landmark, I randomly pulled over where there was space and started hiking.  Much to my surprise there was a manicured trail for, well, fits and spurts anyway.  Much more than you would usually get with your typical social trail out here in the desert.  So I would assume that the National Monument staff cut a trail out here in the 1940s and it has been casually maintained by cairn-loving hikers ever since.  The trails has those oddly overly-curvy flourishes of designed trails.  It is still very easy to lose the trail (especially if you're enjoying the glorious view) so don't come out here looking for a legit National Parks trail.  It still takes a map and route-finding skills. 

My trip spec-ed out at 5mi roundtrip and a bit more than 1000ft of gain.  Easy unless you find yourself on a rare and unexpectedly hot (80F) and windless day in freaking January. 

A good part of the trail: