Round Trip Distance: 0.25 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 3983 - 4003 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Highway 95 MM 34.5
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs
This post is for a petroglyph site that is located in North Wash at the mouth of Marinus Canyon between Hanksville and Hite, Utah. The petroglyphs can be found amongst a group of boulders and include several pairs of paw like images that are somewhat unique in style.
The trailhead is the same as that for Marinus Canyon and is located on Utah Highway 95 at about mile marker 34.5. Since mile marker 0 is at Hanksville that makes it 34.5 miles from there. The boulder with the petroglyphs is just above the wash on the west side of Highway 95.
The best way to get over there is to drop down into the wash at the mouth of Marinus Canyon and hike under the highway.
Once you get into North Wash the easiest route is to cross the stream and scramble up the other side a little upstream where the bank is shorter.
On top of the bank there is a noticeable path heading towards the boulders.
Most of the images are on the south facing side of one of the boulders.
We're not sure what animal tracks these images might represent. Members of the cat family retract their claws when they aren't using them. The one on the right could be a badger or they could simply be abstract images.
There are another pair of images that are more squarely shaped. It's always possible that they are clan symbols.
On the right hand side of the boulder there is an image of a hand with long fingers. The middle fingers is extended at an angle toward the corner of the boulder.
At the corner of the boulder the straight line from the middle finger becomes a wavy line that wraps around the edge of the boulder and transitions into another series of lines. It seems obvious that the images on the boulder had a story to tell or information to relate to the inhabitants of the area at the time they were created.
