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Canyon Country Field Notes

An empty two-lane road running toward a sunset over dry country

Section

Visiting the canyons with respect

Permits, roads, seasons and the conduct the canyons ask for.

The rules for visiting this country are short and the reasons behind them are long. A day pass, a backpacking permit, a cap on group size and a ban on campfires in the canyons are the visible part. The larger part is conduct: staying off walls and middens, leaving every potsherd and corncob where it lies, keeping hands off rock art and keeping locations off the internet.

The pieces here cover both. Some deal with logistics, from the dirt roads and the vehicle they ask for to the permit system and what to carry. Others deal with the ethic, and with the practical habits that protect sites without anyone watching. For the archaeology itself, the neighboring section is Archaeology and rock art.