Round Trip Distance: 0.5 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5723 - 6794 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: 35.47748, -111.48510
Fee: none
Attractions: pueblo ruin, 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 the one that we have labeled Ruin 4.
To get there, follow the instructions for Ruins 1,2 and 3. After crossing FS 6005, near the 4.2 mile point from US 89 take the first road to the right.
Continue for about 1 more mile on a mostly smooth road and find a place to park. From there you need to aim for the ruins on your GPS and hike cross country for about a quarter mile.
When you get there you will find a rubble pile that is all that remains of the pueblo which was probably made up of 10-12 rooms that may have risen for more than a single story judging from the amount of rubble that is above the current ground level.
There is quite a bit of pottery scatter, of a good variety, suggesting a moderately lengthy occupation of the site.
Here are a couple of the larger pieces.
Off to the side of the ruins is a large circular depression like that at the Ruin 2 site. Being unfamiliar with the local archeology it looks to us something like a ball court or some sort of ceremonial circle. We briefly considered a planting field couldn't think of a reason to make that in a circular pattern.
We were wondering whether Ruin 4 may have had a line of sight view over the top of the trees, from some elevated spot on top of the pueblo, with Ruins 1 & 3. The 3 ruins form a line and each ruin is a little under 1 mile from its nearest neighbor. Anyway, if you would like to see Ruin 4 for yourself all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
