Round Trip Distance: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5760 - 5810 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: 35.48586, -111.49286
Fee: none
Attractions: pueblo ruins, pottery shards
Deadman Wash is located about 20 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona between Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater National Monument. We have identified 14 ruins along the wash in that area. This post is for those that we have labeled Ruins 1, 2, and 3.
To get there from Flagstaff, drive 22 miles north on US 89 and turn right onto Forest Service Road 150. For turn-by-turn directions you can enter the trailhead coordinates 35.48586, -111.49286 into your driving app. If it tries to route you via Dove Tank and then to FS 150 drag the route down to 150 and everything will work out.
The road is signed well enough at all the junctions to keep you on course. For the most part it is relatively smooth but there are a few places where it practically falls apart and requires a high clearance 4WD. Some of these spots have alternative routes to get you around whatever the obstacle happens to be. Be careful not to get off of the main route into any deep cinders that can be every bit as bad as deep sand. It took us about 33 minutes to get from the highway to the trailhead.
Follow FS 150 for 4.75 miles to where FS 9155T branches off on the right and park. Across the road is a brown mylar marker with 150 on it. Begin hiking in that direction and within an hundred yards or so you will come to Ruin 3.
The main mound of rubble is pretty well covered beneath centuries of dirt that has blown through the area.
Small sections of stacked stones peep out in at least one place from beneath the rubble letting you know that there are indeed walls down there.
A few of the most interesting aspects of the site are, 1. sandstone was brought in from the neighboring canyon to use in the construction along with the lava rocks, 2. the location of the ruin in proximity to others in the area, 3. the large assortment of pottery shards, and 4. the original size and layout of the ruins.
What is labeled as Ruin 2 is another hundred yards or so to the northeast. Found here is a large bowl shaped depression that we suppose may have been a ball court.
Using the map, and preferably a GPS device, you can find Ruin 1 sitting on a rise near the rim of the canyon about 9 tenths of a mile of easy hiking away. This ruin looks like it had about 10 rooms in the main block with several more off to the sides.
Good samples of pottery are also found in the area around Ruin 1. Be sure to leave all pottery where it is found. Archeologist can use it to identify trade with other pueblos that are sometimes many hundreds of miles away. Besides that, it is illegal to remove artifacts of any kind.
