Since we had two vehicles, we decided to leave one vehicle on the west end of the Grand Gulch drainage (before the confluence with the San Juan River) and start our hike from the Kane Gulch Ranger station on the east side of the drainage. As we picked up our hiking permit the ranger warned us that last night he recorded a low temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit and it was probably colder in the canyon. 12 degrees Fahrenheit in April (2006)! Fortunately, I remembered to bring a tent on this trip!
Grand Gulch is an archaeologist's dream come true -- miles and miles of Puebloan ruins and rock art in amazing condition. Many of the sites are so well preserved you get the impression that the builders are just out hunting and will be back in a few hours. Fortunately, due to the remoteness of the area, and the difficult hike involved to reach the sites, there is minimal vandalism in the canyon. It also helps that many of the sites are located on high ledges and under overhangs that would be difficult to reach, even with modern climbing equipment.
We arrived at our vehicle about noon on the fourth day of the hike, so we decided to add a side trip to The Citadel -- a Puebloan ruin that is located on a rock point completely surrounded by steep canyons, except for one small isthmus.
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