Sandstone Spine

* A cultural pilgrimage as well as an athletic one * Story blends personal adventure, middle-aged angst, the beauty of a landscape, history of exploration, and mysteries of the rise and fall of an ancient culture * By a critically acclaimed travel and adventure writer also famous for his exploits in Alaska's mountains * Includes photos by Greg Child of the landscape, Anasazi and Navajo ruins and rock art On September 1, 2004, three middle-aged buddies set out on one of the last geographic challenges never before attempted in North America: to hike the Comb Ridge in one continuous push. The Comb is an upthrust ridge of sandstone-virtually a mini-mountain range-that stretches almost unbroken for a hundred miles from just east of Kayenta, Arizona, to some ten miles west of Blanding, Utah. To hike the Comb is to run a gauntlet of up-and-down severities, with the precipice lurking on one hand, the fiendishly convoluted bedrock slab on the other-always at a sideways, ankle-wrenching pitch. There is not a single mile of established trail in the Comb's hundred-mile reach. The friends were David Roberts, writer, adventurer, famed mountaineer of decades past, at age 61 the graybeard of the bunch; Greg Child, renowned mountaineer and rock climber, age 47; and Vaughn Hadenfeldt, a wilderness guide intimately acquainted with the canyonlands, age 53. They came to the Comb not only for the physical challenge, but to seek out seldom-visited ruins and rock art of the mysterious Anasazi culture. Each brought his own emotions on the journey; the Comb Ridge would test their friendship in ways they had never before experienced. Searching for the stray arrowhead half-smothered in the sand or for the faint markings on a far sandstone boulder that betokened a little-known rock art panel, becomes a competitive sport for the three friends. Along the way, they ponder the mystery, bringing the accounts of early and modern explorers and archaeologists to bear: Who were the vanished Indians who built these inaccessible cliff dwellings and pueblos, often hidden from view? Of whom were they afraid and why? What caused them to suddenly abandon their settlements around 1300 AD? What meaning can be ascribed to their phantasmagoric rock art? What was their relationship to the Navajo, who were convinced the Anasazi had magical powers and could fly?

ABOUT THE BOOK In this book, I have chosen sometimes to be deliberately vague about the name and location of certain prehistoric ruins and rock art. Such an ethic is by now in long use among writers, photographers, and guides who celebrate the Southwest. A narrative of personal discovery should not serve as a treasure map.” Roberts’ and Child’s book Sandstone Spine is an account of the expedition of three men along Comb Ridge, a sandstone ridge resembling a miniature mountain range and running for nearly an hundred miles across Arizona and Utah. This area is full of archaeological ruins, primarily from various phases of the Anasazi people, as well as more recent Navajo sites. While the basic premise of the book is a recounting of Roberts’, Child’s, and their friend Vaughn Hadenfeldt’s experiences during the arduous expedition along the length of the Ridge, the structure and additional content of Sandstone Spine make it much more than simply an account of an hiking trip. Interspersed between sections recounting the events of the hike are retellings of historical events significant to the area, and information on both the current Navajo inhabitants and the prehistoric Anasazi people. Roberts also includes geological and natural history information, arranging all of this content into a fascinating mosaic of a book. The book narrates how, while searching for a new expedition, author David Roberts and long-time hiking and climbing partner Vaughn Hadenfeldt wondered whether or not anyone had ever hiked Comb Ridge from end-to-end in one trip. As it seemed that no one had ever made a complete traverse of the Ridge, the two friends decided to try it themselves, and they both agreed that photographer and mutual friend Greg Child would be the perfect third party to join them on the expedition. At ages 47, 53 and 61 respectively at the time of their trip, Child, Hadenfeldt, and Roberts had spent their lives making adventurous forays into some of the most inaccessible places on Earth. Both Roberts and Child made good livings writing about their adventures, while Hadenfeldt ran a business guiding hiking trips into the Utah canyonlands. The level of expedition and adventure-writing experience that Roberts and Child have ensures that their book includes interesting and relevant information for readers. Roberts did considerable research after the trip to complement the daily journals he kept. Sandstone Spine was published by The Mountaineers Books, which also published some of Roberts’ other titles. The publisher is a part of The Mountaineers Club, a non-profit dedicated to “the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.” In keeping with its publisher’s philosophy, Sandstone Spine is very much a book about enjoying the outdoors in a respectful and non-destructive way. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Over the years, Greg, Vaughn, and I had found literally hundreds of Anasazi ruins in the backcountry. Yet the thrill of coming upon a new one—especially one so beautiful as this—was undiminished. Chapter One describes the preparations that Roberts, Child, and Hadenfeldt make for their expedition. As the area they wish to traverse has unreliable water supplies, the men decide on a water-caching system, in which they visit key locations along the ridge by driving and day-hiking, and leave plastic bottles of water where they can easily find them again. They also decide to arrange for another friend to meet them at certain dates at points where highways and road access penetrate the ridge, so they won’t have to pack a whole month’s worth of food. This will also allow them to swap out equipment if necessary. Hiking the whole length of Comb Ridge also requires permits... ...buy the book to continue reading!

Hardcover plus CD

Three friends bound by love of the Southwest's canyonlands undertake the first traverse of the Comb Ridge in search of the lost civilization of the Anasazi.