Backcountry Survey of Range Creek

Range Creek is rugged country and access to certain areas is very difficult. We have found that student crews carrying packs loaded with necessary equipment, food and water have only a short amount of time to complete their work.  Water is the most limiting factor.  Working in temperatures approaching the 100 degree mark requires that crews consume lots of water to stay hydrated.  For the past several years we have established field camps by using pack horses to hauled gear and water to a predetermined camp site.  By using horses to carry the heaviest part of the load (water) students are able to backpack into these remote campsites.  For 2-3 days supervised student crews operate from these camps and survey the surrounding area.  Students look forward to the adventure and the project benefits because of the savings in time.

Another ongoing project is the documentation of the historic trail system.  Until 1949 the only access into Range was by horseback.  Everything brought into the canyon had to be put on a pack animal.  Even wagons were taken apart and loaded onto pack mules for the long and arduous trip into Range Creek.  There are a number of these old trails and along many of them horse mounted survey crews are finding old campsites, stone markers, inscription panels, fences and other constructed features.  Trail systems are part of the historic fabric of an area and each discovery is documented and linked to the appropriate trail or system of trails.  One important difference between recording prehistoric and historic sites is that there are still folks who remember using these trails and the information (even photos in some cases) they can provide is a tremendous addition to the record.