Customer Reviews

Sandstone Spine: First Traverse of the Comb Ridge

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Climber, writer and archaeological explorer David Roberts, climber and writer Greg Child, and wilderness guide Vaughn Hadenfeldt team up to traverse the Comb, a sandstone ridge in the Southwestern wilderness.

Roberts focuses primarily on the Anasazi ruins on the Comb, on their history and that of the region, theories about the Anasazi and their fate, and the echoes of the past in the oral history of the local Navajo people. The information about the Anasazi (Roberts argues well for the continued use of that term) and the apparent civil strife among them is fascinating, as is the way Navajo oral tradition has passed down and transformed the past. When describing his interactions with and feelings about the ruins, Roberts is particularly evocative.

This is also the story of three guys on a fiendishly grueling backpacking trip, and Roberts conveys that element well too, although it would have been nice had Child, an accomplished writer in his own right, contributed some written bits.

Somewhat absent is much description of the surrounding ecosystem or its wildlife, but that wasn't the focus of the book. The photographs are beautiful, although I would have liked more.

Here and there, as when deriding tourists' inane comments in a trail register, Roberts' tone slips into bitchiness, but this is only occasional.

Highly recommended.

The Sandstone Spine of the title is the Comb Ridge, a 125 mile long crescent that crosses the desert of northern Arizona and southern Utah. Dave Roberts and two friends undertake to hike the Comb Ridge end-to-end while exploring the Anasazi ruins that are found there. No one has done the entire length of the ridge before. The youngest among them is 47; the oldest is 61. A local Navajo jokingly tells them "When I see the ravens circling, I'll know it's you guys." Hiking in the desert is not easy. The friends place water caches along the way and arrange for resupply. They carry sixty-pound packs while hiking up and down in ninety-degree heat. They have planned well. The worst that happens is that they occasionally argue about where to set up their camp.

What makes this book special are the descriptions of the ruins and the recounting of the history of the Anasazi and the people who followed them into the region after their departure. The Anasazi, who lived throughout the south-western United States for millennia, suddenly abandoned their cliff dwellings around the end of the thirteenth century. There is still debate about what caused this to happen.

To their credit, the hikers leave in-place or bury the artifacts that they find. Some of the photographs, taken by Greg Child, are absolutely stunning. The petroglyphs are terrific. I would like to have seen more of those included in the color photo section. Altogether, this is an easy and enjoyable book to read.

What promises to be a fascinating exploration of some rarely seen Southwest sites, told firsthand by some of the local experts, only pays off occasionally. It soon devolves into an examination of small group dynamics, where Greg Child's experience with groups stuck together over stretches of time on big mountains probably pays off, keeping him out of the fray for the most part. David Roberts and Vaughn Hadenfeldt start wrestling for control early and passively aggressively snipe at each other for the remainder of the journey. I was exceedingly dismayed to read a particular passage where the author recounts an incident where he throws a temper tantrum at a couple who had taken the time to remind him not to touch any of the ruins. He seemed disdainful of regular everyday visitors who would presume to tell him how to act around the ruins, even though they really had the best interest of the ruins in mind. Even looking back on the incident he doesn't seem to express any remorse, only regretting that the couple had gotten to him and caused him to lose his temper, but nothing more.

Sorry Dave, but if you didn't wear your "I'm David Roberts, B**ch!" t-shirt out that day, there just wasn't any way for common peasant folk to know who you were.

The explorations of the ruins were quite magical, and these were the reasons I had picked up the book. In this respect, the book paid off. Unfortunately, there weren't quite enough descriptions of these explorations, and the traversing of the comb itself was not a spellbinding topic to read about. Perhaps the strife was a factor.

Roberts narrates such a good story that anyone who has seen the desolate splendor of the country he writes about is instantly transported in time and space to hike with him.
This book was a nice blend of history and adventure. Hopefully there are still plenty of secrets untold and undisturbed in Comb Ridge.

Although both my wife and I enjoyed parts of this book, it was not nearly as good as his previous book on this subject "In Search of the Ancient Ones." Too much of the book dealth with conflicts between the participants on this hike. Not enough of it dealt with the ruins they explored and the land that they hiked through. I was disappointed in the book overall.

For anyone who loves to hike in the canyon country of the 4-corners area, this book will be a fun read. As a permit from the Navajo Nation is required to replicate this trip, most of us will never be able to visit many of the places desribed so well in this book by David Roberts. I have personally hiked in this part of Utah and find the descriptions very accurate and the personal parts of the story very intriguing.

Overall, I really enjoyed *Sandstone Spine*; nothing overly ground-breaking here - no new revelations or significant finds in regards to the Anasazi were accomplished on the trip. But, that doesn't necessarily matter. Between the party's discovered and revisited sites there is something to learn about the Anasazi for those not already deeply versed in the history. The most interesting parts of the book in regards to the history are the tangents Roberts takes talking about previous historical understanding and research, and some of the local history surrounding the Comb Ridge. In the beginning, the reader also gets a peak at the Navajo Nation off the beaten path.

As for the trek itself, it is essentially a 100+ mile hike in late summer in a sometimes unforgiving landscape. The party's adventures have the usual desert travel moments of having to find water, a safe place to camp, and how to travel across a varied terrain. But, in the end, it is merely interesting and not too adventurous. This is not the fault of Roberts and his traveling companions; though the Comb Ridge is a fantastic example of the geology of Colorado Plateau that presented some challenges to the traverse, it is not all that daunting to the experienced backcountry travelers on this adventure (this is not to say that it wouldn't kill the unprepared).

At times I found myself frustrated along with David Roberts when he spends moments in this book complaining about how his friends travel in relation to his expectations - mostly about one of the friends. On one hand, I completely agree with him; when a travel companion goes off on one's own and especially doesn't communicate what he or she is doing, this is absolutely annoying! And dangerous in the backcountry - even for experienced hikers. And one of Roberts' co-hikers does this often. But, I don't know that it really adds to the book any; except maybe at the end (I won't give away why or how). Or, maybe I just relate so well to it in regards to someone I used to travel often with that I can't take it any more than Roberts can.

In the end, a good read; but, maybe not quite up to the same level as some of Roberts' other books in regards to history or adventure - essentially, not the fault of the three travelers, just the circumstance of the Comb Ridge and the high skill level of the hikers. I would classify this as essential for anyone interested in backcountry travel in the Comb Ridge area; and a good quick read for everyone else.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

This book was a disappointment, certainly not up to Robert's usual level of writing. The trip they made wasn't particularly adventurous (overhyped) and the constant whining made it tiresome to read. The only thing that kept it interesting was the information about the Anasazi and early white settlers, which was indeed fascinating.

This is a pretty good story about three men who walk the entire ca. 100 miles of the spine of Comb Ridge in SE Utah. All of the pain and interpersonal squabbles and hassles of such an adventure are here. I don't know why this book keeps being associated with Craig Childs. He is, indeed a major figure out here, but the man in the book is Greg Child, a mountain climber and photographer of note who does OK on his own. For anyone interested in adventurous hiking it's a great book, but it comes up short on the important archeology of the area.

I particularly enjoyed this book because I've canoed the San Juan River many times. It took me back to strenuous climbs up San Juan Hill, where the layers of rock are turned up, as one geologist states, "like layers of bedding." "Baseball Man" was also an often seen and photographed site. I hope all of the sites that he explored will remain protected from the collectors of artifacts, so that many generations will be able to see them and think on what life might have been like there, more than a thousand years ago.