Tentative field trips and meeting dates for 2024 are listed below. Updates and changes are in RED.
As more activities and field trips are planned, updated information will be posted here and in the Moki Messenger. Please read General Information About Field Trips and check forthcoming issues of the Moki Messenger and monitor this webpage for updates. Field trip participants must be current, fully-vaccinated SJBAS members. For information about these trips or to sign up, please contact the trip organizers directly.
This trip schedule is a “work in progress.” Although we hope to go on the outings as planned, these dates and destinations are subject to change due to adverse weather or road conditions, unanticipated scheduling conflicts, or changes made by the trip organizers. Click on the hyperlinks for more information about trip destinations or meeting presentations. In addition to the following trips, there are several important conferences scheduled for this year, including the Pecos Conference. Check the Moki Messenger or our website, www.sjbas.org, for details.
Tentative Field Trip and Meeting Schedule – 2024
| January 10 | SJBAS meeting – “Lucy: 3.2-million-year-old fossil hominin” by John Kappelman, retired Anthropology professor from University of Texas at Austin. |
| January 10 | Backroom Tour of Canyon of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum –Limit 12 participants. The tour will take about 1.5-2 hours. Difficulty: Easy. Contact Lorie Hansen at lmhansen39@gmail.com. |
| February 14 | SJBAS meeting – “Finding Solace in the Soil: The Archaeology of Gardens and Gardeners at Amache, Colorado’s Japanese American Incarceration Camp” by Bonnie Clark, Professor of Anthropology at University of Denver. |
| Mid-February – TBA | Ohkay Owingeh Deer Dance – (Cancelled) Fort Marcy, Tsankawi Prehistoric Site and more. Difficulty: Easy-Active. Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. Sign-up begins Jan. 1st |
| March 13 | SJBAS meeting – “Archeoastronomy at Chaco Canyon” by David and Chloe Valentine, of Cloudy Ridge Productions, and GB Cornucopia, long-serving interpretive ranger at Chaco Culture National Historic Park. |
| March 28 | Day trip to Salmon Ruins – “Colors of the past: A Guided tour of Salmon Ruins and Museum,” by Kelsey Hansen, University of Arizona. Difficulty: Easy-Active. Contact Janice Sheftel at janicesheftel@gmail.com. Sign-up begins Jan. 1st. |
| April 5-7 | Bluff, Utah 3-day camping trip – Explore Bluff area via car camping with Andy Gulliford. Difficulty: Moderate. Contact andy@agulliford.com Sign up begins Feb. 1st. |
| April 10 | SJBAS meeting – “Anthropology of Space and Place in the Temples in Northern Thailand” by Piyawit Moonkham, visiting professor of Archaeology at Fort Lewis College. |
| May 8 | SJBAS meeting – “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum (Dating of White Sands footprints)” by Jeff Pigati and Kathleen Springer, research geologists with the U.S. Geological Survey. |
| May 10 – 13 | San Juan River Trip – (Cancelled) Outfitter FLC FLOW. This is a four-day guided trip with all amenities included in the price. Difficulty: Moderate. Limit 16. Contact Tish Varney at tishvarney@att.net for more info. Sign-ups begin Feb 1st. |
| Late May – TBA | Keet Seel backpack and guided tour – Navajo National Monument. Includes day-tour of Betatakin. 3-4 days of camping. Difficulty: Hard. Contact Hunter McCleary at hunter.mccleary@gmail.com. Sign-ups begin February 1st. |
| June 7 | SJBAS special presentation – FLC Concert Hall – “Written on the Landscape” – the latest film from Anna Sofaer and the Solstice Project. |
| June 8 | Sand Canyon and Goodman Point Pueblos – Day trip to two Pueblo III villages in Canyons of the Ancients. Difficulty: Moderate. Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. Sign-up begins April 1st. |
| June 12 | SJBAS annual picnic |
| July 10 | SJBAS meeting – “The Cutting Edge of Conservation: Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology on the BLM’s National Conservation Lands” by Andy Gulliford, professor of History and Environmental Studies at Ft Lewis College. |
| August 1-4 | Pecos Conference – Chino Valley, Arizona. Difficulty: Easy-Active. For information, contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com or https://www.pecosconference.org |
| August 14 | SJBAS meeting – “Great Houses for Whom? Chacoan Monumental Architecture in Cognitive and Cross-Cultural Perspective” by Robert Weiner, Ph.D. |
| August – 28 | Hovenweep National Monument Outlier Towers – One-day trip to Cutthroat Castle and Holly/Hackberry. A chance to speculate together on their function and cultural significance. Difficulty: Moderate. Contact Andy Dennison at andrewdennison86@gmail.com. Sign-up begins June 1st. |
| September 6-7 | Crown Point Rug Auction and More – This weekend trip includes lectures, a trading post visit, and the rug auction. Lodging and food are extra. Difficulty: Easy-active. Contact Bill Postler at postler.bill@gmail.com. Sign-up begins May 1st. |
| September 11 | SJBAS meeting – “The Survival of Diné textile traditions” by Venancio Aragon, Diné textile artist and former NPS interpreter. |
| September 20-22 | Gallina Canyon Ranch – CANCELLED Guided hike to Cerrito Cliff Dwelling. Camping or primitive cabin. Difficulty: Moderate to hard. Limit, 16 trekkers. Contact Tish Varney at tishvarney@att.net. Sign-up begins Aug 1st. |
| September 26-28 | Chaco Culture National Historical Park – 3-day camping or day trip – Tour of Chaco led by legendary Ranger GB Cornucopia. Camp or come for the day on Saturday. Camping reservations can only be made 90 days before. Based on interest, we will reserve a group camp site. Moderate. Contact Rusty Chamberlain chambrke@aol.com Sign up begins June 15th. |
| October 4 | Canyons of the Ancients – Day trip – Hike to Ismay and Mud Springs Pueblo guided by Diane McBride. End the day at Sutcliffe Winery. Trip limit 14. Difficulty: Moderate. Contact Lorraine McCleary at lorrainemccleary@gmail.com. Sign-up begins Aug 1st. |
| October 8-10 | Cedar Mesa Backcountry sites – Pending BLM approval, three-day car-camping trip with day-hikes to a variety of Ancestral Puebloan sites. Difficulty: Hard. Limit of 12. Contact Lyle at lylehancock54@gmail.com. Sign-up begins May 1st. |
| October 9 | SJBAS meeting – “Salmon Ruins: History and Recent Research” by Larry Baker, director Salmon Ruins |
| October 27 | Field Trip Planning meeting – Open to all members interested in our field trip program. We will meet at noon at Rusty Chamberlain’s house. Contact Rusty for more information and to RSVP at chambrke@aol.com. If you have ideas for field trips, but cannot attend, please email them to Rusty. |
| October 28 | Chimney Rock National Monument – (Cancelled) Guided hike to the most important lunar observatory in the Chacoan world. Difficulty: Hard. Contact Hunter McCleary at hunter.mccleary@gmail.com. Sign-up begins Aug 1st. |
| November 13 | SJBAS meeting – “Rediscovering the Fremont Through Data-Driven Examination of Rock Imagery” by Elizabeth Hora, Public Archaeologist with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office. |
| December 7 | SJBAS annual meeting and holiday brunch |
SJBAS Field Trips – Safety and Responsibility
Participants in SJBAS field trips and activities are solely responsible for their own safety. SJBAS field trip organizers are untrained volunteers who plan, organize, and lead the trips, but have no special training or expertise in outdoor safety or hazards and are not responsible or liable for the personal welfare and safety of participants. Each participant is the only expert regarding his or her own abilities. Participants are solely responsible for choosing trips appropriate for their own physical and medical ability; for taking proper clothing, equipment, and provisions; for making appropriate decisions in response to terrain, elevation, and weather; and for understanding the inherent hazards of traveling in the outdoors (such as falls, lightning, hypothermia, heat stroke, dehydration, and injuries caused by others).
Field Trip Difficulty Ratings
Easygoing: Trip is suitable for members in reasonable health who have no problem walking on mostly smooth, relatively flat surfaces up to 1 mile. For example, touring a museum or pueblo, or participating in a walking tour in downtown Durango. Trips generally take place close to roads and support services.
Easy Active: Trip is suitable for active people in good health. Hikes are usually less than 3 miles on well-defined trails, with elevation gains and losses up to 250 feet. Trips generally take place within a few miles of roads, but not necessarily other support services.
Moderate: Trip is suitable for energetic, experienced hikers.Hikes may be up to 5 miles, mostly on established trails that can be rocky and steep in places, with elevation gains and losses up to 800 feet. Trips may take place in remote locations.
Hard: Trip is suitable only for physically fit, strong hikers. Hikes are generally strenuous, may be longer than 5 miles, may be on poorly defined trails or off-trail, with elevation gains and losses greater than 800 feet. Trips often take place in remote locations. Backpacking trips, by their very nature, would be considered “Hard.”
Length: Approximate total length of trip, whether out and back, loop, or through hike
Elevation: Approximate total elevation gain (in most cases there would be a corresponding elevation loss)