Intestine Man & Snake In The Mouth
Moab Hiking Tags
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Snake In The Mouth
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Petroglyphs
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Canyonland Rock Art
Everyday thousands of people drive right by one of Moab's best rock art sites and never realize it is there. The intestine man petroglyph rock art panel is right next to UT Hwy 313 on the way to Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park and is just a short distance from Moab, UT. The panel is small but is very interesting and easy to reach as it is just off the road only requires a 50-100 walk to see it, thus making it great for kids or old outdoor enthusiast that can hike as far as they once could.
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To locate the size pull of the side of the road at a small pullout 2.7 mile from Hwy 191 on UT 313. The panel will be on your right. Snake in the mouth is across the street but is more difficult to reach.
There in addition to the Intestine Man there are 2 other interesting figures drawn near him. Use your imagination and try to figure out what the original artist had in mind when they drew this.
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The Intestine Man looks to have a snake in his middle section that looks like intestine. Why did he/she draw this, did they get some bad Chinese takeout? Who knows, your guess is as good as mine.
There are several other drawing near by including this one a goat or sheep. Directly across the road at the fork of South Fork Sevenmile Canyon you can find several small panels also.
If you are a little more adventurous you man want to find the Snake in the Mouth panel across the street. I think this panel is more interesting but it is also more difficult to reach and requires a short but very steep climb to reach. If you are uncomfortable in these types of situations I would either skip this one or just bring a good set of binoculars.
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Notice how steep the climb is up here. This is on the shaded side of the canyon so the rocks will be snow covers during the winter.
Snake in the Mouth is what is known as Barrier Canyon Style pictographs and are believed to be 2,000 to 6,000 years old.
Near the end of this hike and it's confluence with Flat Pass Jeep Trail you will find a large petroglyph panel. Regrettably this panel has been nearly destroyed by contemporary gratify. It is such a sham that someone would deface this rock art.
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Just past this panel you will be in a modern plowed field. There will be a clearly marked road here to follow up and out of the canyon. You will need a shuttle to get back to the Mill Creek parking area. It is possible to extend this hike as far as you like and it will eventually go to La Sal Loop Road.
If you are considering a Moab adventure we would recommend checking out the town homes at Moab Adventure Condo. We stayed with them and it was so nice to have room to relax and not be stuck in a cramped hotel room. Since the cost of the rental was split between two families it actually ended up being cheaper than a hotel room and much nicer. Not to mention the pool and hot tub were just sets from our condo.