Who was after these people?

Devil's Chasm is aptly named. If you make it to the Indian ruin and back the devil will be in your joints, your back, and the soles of your feet. With Ruth and Rodger the Kadizzlites headed up the ravine. The group reassured themselves the hike was not that far and could not be that hard, but when you gain 1,000 feet per mile that changes everything.

As you go farther and farther up the steep sided canyon more and more you begin to wonder why anyone would chose to live here. The only logical conclusion Kadizzle can come up with is someone or something was after these people. There is speculation all the Indians of the southwest were under siege by something and moved into very defensive positions. The Devil's Chasm site certainly lends credence to that idea. Anyone who attempted to attack the Indians that built this site would have a very nasty battle on their hands. One of the first major obstacles is a very large boulder that blocks the entire bottom of the canyon. The only way past the boulder is to go through a hole that just barely accommodates Kadizzle. One Indian on the upper side could defeat an army on the lower side. As each enemy came through the hole it would be a simple matter of bopping him on the head with and Indian bopper.

To get to the Indian bopper hole you must use a rope.  The picture features The Commander climbing up to the Indian booper hole.   About two hundred yards after the first obstacle you encounter another waterfall.  Again you must rope your way up.  The pools in this canyon are among the most spectacular you will see in all the southwest.  The hike would be worth the effort just for the water features.

After some more climbing you can finally see the ruin.  As always the last part of the climb is straight up.  A serious danger in this part of the climb come from rocks above. If the person above dislodges a boulder and it rolls down the trail you may become history.  Last year a boulder came rolling down at Kadizzle and almost required a change of underwear.  The was about the size of a large truck tire and flew through the air about three feet in front of his lordship.

Finally at the ruin site you have to wonder " What in the hell were these people thinking?".   Who would make this insane climb and the build a dwelling on the edge of a cliff?

At the site the view was incredible.  The gang spent some time examining the ruins then headed back.