Hiking Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto

In October, I joined a hiking and camping trip into Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto. These two canyons are in Arizona and are part of the Navajo Nation as well as a National Monument. This area is one of the longest inhabited regions within North America (or at least that we know so far). It was magical to be able to spend several nights in the canyon with the sense of being the only people in the world . . minus the jets flying overhead at night. A bit symbolic of how hard it is get away from modern life. It was a once in a lifetime experience to have the privilege of two Navajo guides, both women, who shared their life stories and the stories of their families from growing up in the canyons. The canyons continue to be inhabited by the Navajo people.

We started our journey with watching the sunset at the famous Spider Rock which is named for Spider Woman, a key person in Navajo legends.
The Sunset was Glorious
Something I said?
I have been “horse crazy” my entire life so while these were not wild horses they were roaming freely in the canyon and I loved seeing them. It did mean that I had to race to catch up to the other hikers as I enjoyed a moment of silent communication.
We hiked into the canyon to what is called the “White House” which is representative of many of the ruins of canyon dwellings from the ancestral Puebloans (also known as the Anasazi). This ruin is one of the grandest and was a place for ceremonies and celebration.
Throughout the canyons, as we hiked we would come across these drawings on the canyon walls. We learned more about which culture was responsible for what drawings thanks to the history shared by our Navajo guides
Our camp site in the middle of Canyon del Muerto

This is our last day as we hiked out and truly does not do justice to the uphill climb out of the canyon on all fours as we climbed up the canyon walls . . .

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