Hiking to Keet Seel Ruins in Borrowed Tevas
When we woke up at the campground on the Navajo Reservation to prepare for our hike into the canyon, I realized I had left my hiking shoes at the hotel in Sedona. Crap!
My friend Barb was nice enough to lend me her Tevas, and I wore them with socks for the hike. It wasn't exactly a fashion statement, but between the sandy trails and multiple river crossings, they actually worked surprisingly well.
The hike to Keet Seel Ruins felt special because it's one of those places you can't just wander into. You need a reservation, and the only way to visit the ruins is with a Navajo ranger guide who meets you in the canyon. That helps protect the site, one of the best-preserved ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the Southwest. Built more than 700 years ago beneath a massive sandstone alcove, Keet Seel was once home to dozens of families who farmed the canyon floor and carefully adapted to life in this rugged landscape.
You know what else is cool about this area? Howling grasshopper mice! These adorable little mice are famous for taking on bark scorpions. After killing their prey, they'll stand on their hind legs and let out a tiny, high-pitched howl. It's almost too cute to believe, earnest, dramatic, and completely unlike the howl you'd expect from such a fierce little predator.
Hiking along the riverbed, we encountered a gray stallion and his harem. He was not happy to see us and stood his ground, making it very clear who was in charge of this stretch of canyon.
