Petroglyphs at China Lake

Petroglyphs at China Lake
click photo to enlarge	The largest concentration of Petroglyphs in the western hemisphere is located on the China Lake Naval Weapons Center. We have been talking about doing this hike for about 6 years now. Finally, I said lets just pick a date and do it. Since September 11th it has become a bit more difficult. You do have to make your arrangements at least 4 weeks in advance in order to supply your information to the Navy. Then you have to be with an approved guide and your vehicles will be searched upon entering the base. Luckily the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest is happy to take care of this for you for a nominal fee.
click photo to enlarge	The guide we had was an archeologist and provided a wealth of information. Check out his web site. The hike can be pretty rugged. It starts out easy enough in a sand wash. But later into the hike you will find yourself bouldering like this. Most of the Petroglyphs are in the first 2/3'rds of the hike.
click photo to enlarge	This area is where we took a lunch break. You of course have to carry in your own lunch. We met at the museum at 6:30 am. They play a video for you on what you are going to be doing. It is well put together and informative and covers some safety information also. We left the military base at about 4:00 pm so it was a full day. You travel 45 miles onto the base to get to the canyon.
click photo to enlarge	We have seen may Petroglyphs before but nothing like this. The Indians were pretty prolific. They ranged in age from about 300 years old to 3,500 years old. The figures on the rocks here are called Shaman. That was a medicine man.
click photo to enlarge	It was a great day for this weatherwise. It only got up into the 60's. It can get pretty hot here in the summer.