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Keet Seel Backpack Trip
September 2007
While the other half of our group camps up on the rim at Navajo National Park, the rest of us hike into the canyon to visit Keet Seel. We are each carrying about 2 gallons of water plus all of our camping gear and food!
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We have to have a permit to hike to Keet Seel, and it will allow us to spend the night at the campground near the cliff dwelling before hiking back out tomorrow.
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Nico and Ian can't wait to get started! |
And we're off - the only time we'll all be hiking together..
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The views down the canyon are gorgeous from up here |
 | Shadow spirits of the Ancient Ones |
Drew and Nico take a break and wait up for the slow adults!
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And then we start down the switchbacks and into the canyon. |
| Once we get to the bottom, the rest of the hike is mostly flat and will cross over the river and through the quicksand many, many times before we get to Keet Seel.
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 | Seven miles to go... |
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Did somebody say quicksand??? Cool!
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| Six miles to go... |
 | Five and a half miles to go... |
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| Five miles to go... |
 | Four and a half miles to go... |
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| Three and a half miles to go... |
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 | Three miles to go... |
| Two and a half miles to go... |
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| Mr. Kittredge standing in front of Tim West Falls |
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 | Two miles to go... |
Nico and Ian hike back from camp to help Mr. West and carry his pack to camp. Our heroes!!
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| One and a half mile to go... |
 | One mile to go... |
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| One half mile to go...!! |
 | And almost there.. |
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After all that work, Ian and Nico eat a hearty meal before we explore the cliff dwelling
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| Ask Ryan what this is and who won the fight.. |
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 | We finally make it to Keet Seel! Our ranger made sure Mr. West was taken care of and then gave us our personal tour of the cliff dwelling. |
We learn that Keet Seel means broken pottery and there are pieces of pottery everywhere.
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We climb up the cliff using a 70-foot ladder, just a little scary! |
We learn all about the history of Keet Seel and the people who lived here and left, planning to return someday.
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Pottery and tools are scattered throughout the dwelling.
Several rooms are filled with corn cobs
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"J Wetherell was here on 7/15/1909"
 | The poles may have been where their pet macaws perched or maybe they hung pennants from them, no one knows for sure.
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Is this how the Anasazi did it?
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Some handmade rope and blue shell heishi beads
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Time to go down the ladder and back to camp for dinner and bed!
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 | Nico and Ryan are the last ones awake.. come on guys, it's 8:30!! Time to go to sleep!!! :) |
Did we mention that Keet Seel has the nicest and cleanest outhouses we've ever seen anywhere?
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We get an early start hiking on Sunday morning and try to beat the sunshine and heat
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 | We stop at Tim West Falls for a breakfast break and photo opportunity |
Between the pollen and the quicksand, our boots will never be the same after this hike
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 | One last break in the shade before we hike up all those sand dunes and switchbacks |
| These sand dunes are not fun to hike up! |
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Ian's super wonderful good deed for the day, he comes down and carries Mrs. Moreash's pack up the switchbacks! My hero!!
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Ian, can you come back and get mine too?? |
Nico definitely earned a ride back to camp!
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It was an awesome trip! Now let's go get some Mexican food in Flagstaff!!
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