Pah Rah Petroglyphs - Take Two (Washoe County, Nevada)

A little over a year ago, I explored the Pah Rah Range just a couple of miles northeast of Sparks, NV. I was looking for some petroglyphs I had read about and while I did find a very nice panel, I didn't find the concentrations I was expecting. When my friend Deanna's meetup group put together another 'expedition' into the area, I was excited for a second chance to find some amazing rock art.

The group met in the northern part of Reno and carpooled out to Golden Eagle Regional Park. From there, the group looked to me as a guide as I was the only one to have explored the area. I warned my friends that there weren't any true trails and that the terrain would be rugged, with lots of uphill and a lot of ankle-breaking rock-scrambling. As we started up the first ridge, I think everyone realized that I wasn't kidding. 

Trying our best to follow the game trails through the golden sea of grass and across the dense rock fields, we made our way up the first ridge and then onto the second and finally the third. Our path took us due east from the park and as we reached the third ridge, I suggested everyone start checking the rocks at our feet for any signs of petroglyphs.

As we proceeded on, the group got split up a bit. I was very anxious to find the rock art and perhaps a little overzealous. I got quite a ways ahead of the group. Exploring each small rock outcropping, I finally found the first panel and then a second. I still hadn't made it to the area where I believed the highest concentration would be found, but as I headed in that direction, I heard the group yelling at me from half-a-mile or so away. I was going to continue on my way, but I have become friends with many people in the group and didn't want to worry anyone. I turned and headed back to the area they were calling to me from.

When I arrived, the explained they had found a rich cache of rock art. As I moved from one example to the next, I found myself analyzing the petroglyphs using some of the methods I recently learned at the Rock Art 101 class. While some of the specimens were likely authentic, I couldn't help but question a number of other examples that included things that didn't seem Native American in origin or just had improbably pairings of figures.

In one example, a figure appeared very demon-like with horns and a ghost-like body. Another suspicious petroglyph showed a humanoid figure pointing a bow at something that very much resembled a pre-historic terror bird, which went extinct some 1.8 million years ago. The time lines just don't match-up, but I intend to send the image to one of the Anthropologists from the Rock Art class for his expert opinion.

After spending some more time examining the numerous panels of rock art, we began heading back towards the park and our cars. Much of the area south of where we climbed up the ridge was scarred from a wildfire that scorched the area this last summer. I was aware of the fire, but had no idea of how much of the landscape had been burned. As we continued, we were forced to scramble down several tiers of treacherous rock ledges. It was a bit sketchy, but everyone reached the bottom without incident. Arriving back at the cars, I noted that we had hiked right at 8.5 miles, but without a trail, it was a pretty rough hike.