McCoy Mountains Petroglyphs 
The
last thing we felt like doing on the late afternoon that
we hiked out from the McCoy Spring Petroglyphs was to move
our campsite. We had just hiked over ten miles and
spent four hours scrambling around the McCoy Spring site. However,
we had a plan. When we were researching the McCoy Spring
site we came across some clues that seemed to point to another
petroglyph location in the area. Even though there
was no confirmation of our hunch, we had decided to shift
our campsite tonight, so that Sunday morning we would be
within hiking distance.The
drive back from the Palen-McCoy Wilderness boundary was a
slow one, but at least we were sitting down! Another
old stone cabin, like the one we had seen on the road we
drove in on yesterday, came into view in the lengthening
shadows. Then, just before dusk, we arrived at our
location and set up camp while the setting sun provided a
fantastic light show. Although a cold wind blew most
of the night, morning found us ready to hit the trail again
to prove or disprove our guess.
On
our way in, we came across a mine with two tunnels. After
a bit of exploring we continued on. We came across some
historic graffiti, probably carved into the rocks by miners
who prospected in the area. Then we could discern what
seemed to be several old Indian trails in the area, a good
sign! A cryptic message from Niki on our two way radio
let me know that she had spotted them! Up on the
hillside, on either side of a deep natural cleft in the rock,
was a nice collection of petroglyphs. We hiked around
the area, but with the exception of one petroglyph boulder
that seemed to be used as a trail marker down on the flats,
we could find no more. I was intrigued by a trail that
seemed to be headed for a low pass in the distant hills. We
may have to go back and see where that trail goes to! Click
on the photo link below to check out our discovery.