Black Mountain Wilderness: Entering the Canyon

Get ready to roll!

It is mindblowing to think of people occupying the harsh Mojave Desert, but they have done so for millennia. As we leave Harper Dry Lake, volcanic rock closes in, forming a narrow canyon with many messages scratched into the deep patina.

My man and our chariot

Bighorn sheep are a common motif.

This is the main panel, which someone marred with his own initials.

The dark basalt slabs are a magnet for human beings wanting to leave their mark.

The patina makes this 1874 graffiti believable.

...Whereas, the brightness of this autograph makes one wonder about the veracity of its 1932 claim.

At least this 1961 traveller took the time to carve a glyph, not just tag with his initials.

I am glad some of the older petroglyphs are still intact in this entry canyon.

We have some clues about the meanings of this rock art, because cultural heritage lives on through the Paiute Nation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paiute They are descendants of the people who once hunted antelope from Tehachapi across the Mojave, into these canyons: the Kawaiisu. (Post-genocide, there are just 60 Kawaiisu living today. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaiisu )
However, the older the inscriptions are, the more abstract and mysterious they become.
Were they a form of hieroglyphic writing, not just representational art?

We continued to wind our way up Black Canyon Road between geological wonders.

There's an old stagecoach stop with a well and a trough.

Can you imagine driving a coach and a team of horses or mules into the middle of nowhere?!

This giant outcropping of clean white stone was quarried for blocks a century ago.

Here is a little campsite next to a little hole in the wall.

Brisket checks it out.

Wilderness means PACK IT OUT. Garbage ruins the "hole" experience.

Driving on, we follow the wilderness boundary on our way to Inscription Canyon. Before we arrive, I spied some very beautiful compositions of petroglyphs and colorful lichen.

Truly inspiring, to see the harmony of man and nature. I feel drawn to contemplate these designs to discover their forgotten wisdom.

There is more ahead on this tour of Black Mountain Wilderness. Stay tuned for part 3 if you like petroglyphs, because Inscription Canyon lives up to its name!

Thanks so much for following my birthday journey in the rugged badlands. Check out part 1 here: https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/harper-lake-an-oasis-in-the-mojave-desert

I look forward to upvoting your comments below!

Love,Cat
@creationofcare