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Trip Number: 12304A
Price: $625
Deposit: $100
Capacity: 16
Staff: Karen Greif
Highlights:
- Work in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, possibly seeing areas
not usually open to visitors
- Help conserve the irreplaceable remnants of a vanished society
- Learn about Native American culture and prehistory
Includes:
- Project instruction by the Park Service
- Volunteer campsite and group cooking gear
- Camaraderie of like-minded people
The Trip
Chaco Canyon lies about four hours northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and 3-4 hours south of Durango, Colorado. With its distinctive Pueblo architecture and remote location, Chaco Canyon retains an air of mystery more than 1,000 years after its construction. For hundreds of years, it served as a trade, ceremonial, and administrative center for the ancestral Pueblo peoples. Its grand, ghostly ruins are unmatched across the Southwest. Now, here in New Mexico's high desert country, you can work to help preserve this fragile reminder of ancient Native American culture.
The Project
Photo: Karen Greif
Last year, crews installed new entrance signs and highway signs for the Park,
replaced signs and trail markers in Chaco sites, cleared brush as part of a
flood control project, installed a rope barrier to protect fragile terrain in
the visitor campsite, continued re-vegetation work begun in 2010, and carried
out woodshop projects. We are often asked to carry out tasks that allow participants
to see parts of the Park not open to tourists (covered with potsherds and other
artifacts), and to enjoy the Park's wide-open spaces with spectacular 100-mile
vistas. In all cases, participants can experience the great satisfaction of
seeing one's handiwork serving to protect the fragile legacy that is Chaco Canyon.
Other tasks in past years have included shade shelter construction and collection
of seeds from native grasses. Since we are prepared to assist the Park Service
in whatever work it deems high priority, it is likely that another broad range
of activities will take place this year.
Itinerary
Every effort will be made to assign everyone to at least two activities, and to balance more mundane tasks with interesting ones. We will also try to balance the physical demands of each task and individual interests. You will find that even if you have been assigned a rather boring task, the supervisor will be happy to answer your questions, give you an informal lecture on pictographs and petroglyphs, or give you a personal tour of the site at which you are working. We will work Monday through Friday, leaving late-afternoon hours to explore each day. Weekend days are free for you to explore the canyon on your own. We also try to arrange special evening events in addition to the rich offerings already offered in the Park.
Getting There
Photo: Russ Bodnar
The last 20 miles into the Park are on dirt roads, which are passable for two-wheel drive vehicles except immediately after a rainfall, when the roads turn into seas of mud. The main route into the Park is from the Northeast off of Highway 550 (formerly NM 44) south of Nageezi. There is also a southern entrance from Crownpoint; the trip update will include more information. Transportation to and from the Park is not included in the cost of the trip and is your responsibility. You are strongly encouraged to share transportation (carpooling, car rentals) with other participants; please return transportation information forms to your leaders. We will collate all information and send it to all participants. Parking is very limited near our campsite.
Accommodations and Food
We will be camping in a volunteer campsite complete with shade shelter, cook
trailer and bathrooms. Consider bringing a sun-shower -- we will set up a site
in camp. You will not have to carry your gear more than a few feet to the campsite.
We will meet at our campsite no later than 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. We
will have a light lunch available for early arrivals. The last meal will be
a bag lunch on Saturday, June 16. If you plan to arrive early or stay after
the trip, be aware that there are no services in the Park. Bring your own food
and gear. You will need to camp in the public campground, which fills early
during the spring and summer season.
Cooking will
be a communal activity, supervised by the leaders. Menus include both vegetarian
and non-vegetarian dishes. Please notify the leaders of your specific needs.
Stoves, pots, and cooking utensils will be provided. You must bring your own
cups and dishes (unbreakable), cutlery, and plastic storage ware (to pack your
lunch).
Trip Difficulty
Photo: Russ Bodnar
The keys to making this trip a happy and memorable experience are an awareness
of the need to adjust to the 6,000- to 6,500-foot altitude, extremes of temperature,
and most importantly, the lack of shade. If you know your personal limits, there
are no special skill requirements for this moderately strenuous trip. Temperatures
can range from hot days in the high 90s or low 100s to chilly nights and mornings
(to 40 degrees or below). Strong winds with blowing sand are a common occurrence
in late afternoon, and thunderstorms with flash-flooding occur with some regularity.
Many trip participants find, even when it is not very hot, that the relentless
desert sun is the greatest challenge.
Equipment and Clothing
As we will be car camping, no special gear is needed beyond that noted below.
Since extreme weather conditions are possible, be sure to bring layered clothing
and raingear. Work tools and commissary gear will be provided. If in doubt,
bring it, since there are no stores of any kind in or near Chaco. Please consult
with friends or camping stores for advice on purchasing new camping equipment.
Big items, such as tents, often can be rented. Invest in some extra-heavy
tent pegs for your tent; we promise you will be glad you did.
You must bring personal water containers and carry at least three
quarts (or liters) of water with you at all times. Heat exhaustion is a real
danger, but is easily preventable! Please bring: sturdy work/hiking boots, leather
work gloves (two pairs if possible. Remember that your hands will swell in the
heat, so buy big), a broad brimmed hat (with a chinstrap, or it's gone with
the wind), sunglasses, sunscreen (SPF-15 or higher), and skin moisturizer. Although
your leaders are medically trained, bring a personal "ouch kit" for
minor injuries, whatever medications you normally take (see
the Medical Form), a day pack, a sealable container for lunches, and at least
three water bottles (one-quart size). Please make sure your immunization
against Tetanus (a genuine risk in barbed wire country) is
current.
References
Books:
The following are classic background reading on Southwestern Prehistory, the Ancestral Pueblos, and the Navajo Nation. Consult your local library for other titles.
- Frazier, Kendrick, People of Chaco Canyon: A Canyon and its Culture.
- Lister, Robert H., Those Who Came Before: Southwestern Archaeology in
the National Park System.
- Lister, R. and Lister, F., Chaco Canyon.
- Kluckhorn, Clyde, and Dorothea Leighton, The Navajo.
- Hillerman, Tony, A Thief of Time. (For lighter reading.)
Websites:
For those of you who can take the time, there is a lot to see elsewhere in
New Mexico. The Tourist Information Bureaus in Albuquerque and Santa Fe have
excellent brochures that they can send you, and of course there's always the
AAA guide. Don't miss the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of
New Mexico in Albuquerque; their exhibit on Native American prehistory is superlative!
Conservation
Photo: Karen Greif
Our work in Chaco Canyon is directed toward protecting and preserving the
irreplaceable remnants of a lost civilization. Despite Chaco's immense historical
significance, the Park Service is seriously understaffed, and relies on the
Sierra Club and other volunteers to help maintain the Park. The work we do would
probably not get done without us! Everything we do, whether mundane or inspired,
is intended to improve the Park: by protecting it, reclaiming it, or improving
the educational experience of its visitors.
Trip Price
See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details
about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy.
The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner.
Staff
Leader:
This will be Karen F. Greif's 21st consecutive year in Chaco, her twentieth in a leadership position. After extensive backpacking experience in the past, she fell in love with the Southwest after a number of trips in the area. Chaco has become her Mecca, for its exceptional beauty, its sense of history, and for the opportunity to work with the Park Service. She is a Professor of Biology, and can provide information on desert ecology and wildlife to interested trip participants. She is also an experienced camp cook, and promises memorable and savory meals to be enjoyed by all. She will be the principal contact person for the trip. Please feel free to get in touch with her for further information.
E-mail: kgreif@brynmawr.edu
Co-Leader:
Al Webster came to Chaco 16 years ago as a participant, and now co-leads the trip. Al is active in NM Search and Rescue, NM archaeological SiteWatch and has led trips to Pecos NHP and to Sevilleta NWR -- both in New Mexico. He is skilled with nearly all tools and is a wonderful instructor for those who are less experienced.
Assistant Leader:
Kate Lowerre, will join us again as Assistant Leader this year. Kate's organizational ability and droll humor are assets to us all. She is both a musicologist and researcher in public health!
General Notes About Sierra Club Trips