El Morro: Pointing Out the Past
By Ronya Younes

SUNDAY, April 30 -- "When will it end?’’ "Do we have to backtrack?" "Wow, look at that view!" These comments were typical of what you will hear from people climbing El Morro.

El Morro is a cuestra – a long rock formation with a gentle upward slope that drops off at one end. The ground of El Morro is mainly sandstone. For years, El Morro was home to 1,000 to 1,500 people. These people lived in pueblos atop the mesa. The ruins of these pueblos still remain. One of them is a kiva, or religious sanctuary. It is square and along the inside edges you can see what appears to be benches and the remains of a hearth in the center. The whole rock formation probably had religious significance. When we were there, two Ravens flew around the summit and perched there and swallows darted in and out of crevices on the cliff.

The inhabitants of El Morro, as well as later travelers, depended on El Morro’s only source of water, a pool of runoff and snow melt that forms a waterhole. While resting in the shade by the waterhole, many people over the centuries carved messages in the rock. The messages ranged from names and dates of early settlers to poems. Many believe the "inspiration for creative endeavors compelled people to write about their lives on that rock," a National Park Service pamphlet says. The ancient Anasazi left handprints and pictures of mountain sheep and bear claws and spirals. These inscriptions, called petroglyphs, still remain undisturbed by the passing centuries. A lot are hard to read because of erosion.

The view from the top of El Morro is well worth the two-mile hike up in the heat. It was sometimes necessary to take short breaks along the trail. "I found it was easier to run than walk up the steep part of the trail,’’ said Rachel Harmony. It took us an hour to climb up and come back. As we got higher, our lungs worked harder because of the altitude.

Regardless of how long it takes to walk the trail, the view at the top will take your breath away. Being 7,460 above sea level gives a generous view of the surrounding area. Get your cameras ready!

Words, however, cannot express the beauty of El Morro. Walking atop the mesa surrounded by huge rock formations in the distance is an experience that will stay with me long after the pictures fade.

Back to the photos page!