We hiked to Keet Seel many years ago to visit our friend, Ranger Rob, who was posted in the backcountry by the ruins. The ruins were quite impressive, though there are many, many impressive ruins throughout the Four Corners area.
It was quite a hike. I stepped in what I’d call ‘quickmud’ — it looked solid but was almost liquid. In the public campground, Germans camped nearby argued late in the evening until I yelled “Schweigen!” mjh
ABQjournal: Touch the Past in Anasazi Ruin By David G. Jackson, ABQJournal.com
Keet Seel ruin
LOCATION: In the Navajo National Monument, about 40 miles southwest of Kayenta, Ariz. The ruin is 8-1/2 miles north of monument headquarters at the end of a well-marked trail. The Betatakin ruin, located about 2-1/2 miles from monument headquarters, is also available to hikers.
ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE: 17 miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,200 feet
PRECAUTIONS: The National Park Service recommends two gallons of water be carried for each hiker because there is no drinking water in the area. Summer visits can be very hot. Rain can cause flash flooding, and quicksand often forms around large rocks in the river bed. All hikes to the ruins must be accompanied by a park ranger.
BEST SEASONS: The ruin is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
MAPS: A trail map to the ruins is available at monument headquarters. Current USGS 7.5 quad topographic maps do not show the location of ruin.
CAMPING: Navajo National Monument has a good campground with water, but no other services. However, it is not far from a trading post, and visitors can drive to Kayenta for a good evening meal and other supplies.
RESERVATIONS: The park service recommends calling for reservations no more two months in advance. The number of visitors per day is limited to 20, but no fee is required. Likewise, no fee is required to visit Betatakin, but tours are limited to 25 people. The hike departs at 8:15 every morning, and it’s best to sign up the day before. Call: (928) 672-2700.
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Imagine a small farming village: a few homes, a church, some grain storage areas and several fields within easy walking distance. Beans, squash and corn are intensively cultivated in those fields, each plant receiving individual attention.
The men of the village grow the crops and provide meat through diligent hunting. The women take care of the house, care for the children and prepare the food. You might find them grinding corn on huge rocks, using smaller rocks to do the grinding.
The villagers make their own pottery, their own utensils. And religion is paramount in the community: There’s a special ceremony for every changing season and important activity.
It is a thriving place, this village.
Or at least it was— before its residents abandoned it 700 years ago.
We are hiking to Keet Seel, in the Navajo National Monument, about 40 miles southwest of Kayenta, Ariz. Our trip from Albuquerque has taken us to Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, and on to the south rim of Canyon de Chelly, where we hiked down to the White House Ruins.
After lunch in Chinle, we drive on to the monument in time to attend a required Keet Seel hike briefing the afternoon before the hike.
Navajo National Monument is unusual in several respects. It is small area, established in 1909 to protect three well-preserved Anasazi ruins in three areas separated from each other by several miles. Although there are three ruins, only two— Keet Seel and Betatakin— are accessible to the public. The third ruin, Inscription House, is not even shown on most highway maps.
Hiking is the only way to get to Betatakin and Keet Seel, and all hikers must be accompanied by a Park Service guide. The Betatakin ruin can be seen from a cliff overlook a short walk from the visitor center.
We rise early on the day of our hike, aiming to be on the trail before the heat of the day and reach our destination by lunchtime.
The abandoned village of Keet Seel is located 81/2 miles from its trailhead. The trek can be done in a day, but my hiking group figured a backpacking trip would give us more time to enjoy the area. Besides, we will have a full moon after night falls.
The trail descends about 1,000 feet to the floor of Tsegi Canyon and follows the sandy arroyo for eight miles until it reaches the mouth of Keet Seel Canyon. From here it’s another half-mile to the ruin.
It’s a cool morning, and the going is slow since we are walking in either the running stream or on loose gravel and fine sand. The presence of quicksand is a possibility when the arroyo is running, and we see a cow that died struggling to get out of the wet muck.
The hike through the deep canyons in this part of Arizona is spectacular. The color of the sheer cliffs changes with the angle of the sun’s rays throughout the day. We even spot a few spring flowers.
As we walk up a sandy ridge to the primitive camping area, we can see the ruin nestled under a large sandstone overhang. A young Navajo park ranger explains that only five people are allowed in the ruin at one time, and the use of noncleated shoes are encouraged to minimize the impact on the fragile surroundings. The ruin is reached by climbing a steep ladder from the canyon floor.
According to the ranger, Keet Seel is the best preserved Anasazi ruin in existence, and, indeed, it seems like the village was abandoned only a few years ago. Keet Seel was established about A.D. 950 and rebuilt several times over the next millennium. It was abandoned about A.D. 1300.
Different groups inhabited the area over the years; the last people carefully sealed storage rooms containing corn-filled pottery vessels before moving on. Perhaps they intended to return.
The Hopi tribe, located about 50 miles southwest of Keet Seel, claims kinship to the Kayenta-area people because of a clan symbol, still in use today, that was painted on walls near the Betatakin pueblo. The masonry is Anasazi style, but is not as fine as that of Chaco Canyon.
We spend the rest of the afternoon in the ruin with the park ranger, who answers all our many questions. He later visits our campsite, and we gaze at the ruin in the light of the full moon.