Land of the Lost: Native American Artifacts in Utah's Range Creek

I find Wilcox's comment about "hippies" looting his grave commical, considering that most of the prosecuted arc site looters in this region have been good-ol'-boy "rednecks", more akin to Wilcox himself than any "hippie".

Range Creek is no managed by the Utah Museum of Natural History, or the University of Utah. A land transfer took place last fall. There are a few commercial companies that have permits to lead tours to Range Creek. One is Canyonlands Field Institute. www.cfimoab.org. Another is Carbon Rec, www.carbonrec.com.

Anyone interested in this area should notice
Woodside, utah on highway 6 about 30 miles south of Rangecreek. Lots of history there in the 100 years ago neighborhood with Price river running through.

Um -- actually, there ARE archeologists working in the area on a regular basis. And the article does not include a map for looters. Also -- if a looter would be "drawn to the site,'' he or she would be disappointed. Nothing to steal -- unless you know how to scale vertical cliffs unsupported like Spiderman and try to wrench an extremely heavy granary off a cliff. Pretty unlikely -- considering the things haven't been opened ever in a thousand years.

It was a great article about a rare place that may be remote enough the tramping public stay away. I certainly don't see any Indiana Jones mentality or even a hint of one.It looks like the property has many good hikes for those willing to make a more than normal effort. It is a good thing the use is limited so officers can keep items from being damaged or removed.

It was a great article about a rare place that may be remote enough the tramping public stay away. I certainly don't see any Indiana Jones mentality or even a hint of one.It looks like the property has many good hikes for those willing to make a more than normal effort. It is a good thing the use is limited so officers can keep items from being damaged or removed.

Thanks for this article. It's very well written and informative. Thanks for letting me know how to reach a place that should be open and available to the public!

I just returned from hiking Range Creek. If anyone thinks that they can waltz in and see the sites they will be disipointed. They are almost impossilbe to find with the untrained eye. My buddy and I hiked over 12 miles with only fair sucess. Towards the end of our hike Officer Mark Connolly tracked us down. He was aware of us the whole time, yet we never saw him. He was kind enough to show us the granaries high on the cliffs that we walked right past. He is very careful not to disclose any sesitive sites and was responsible for preventing the gps information for the archeological sites being printed. I think it is very important for everyone to experience Range Creek. It is impotant what the archaeologist are learning there. The real danger for the future of Range Creek is going to come not from the public but from Chevron who owns 2 well sites on the property. The BLM is leaning to allowing the to go ahead with their exploitation. If you want to know what impact that will have, go visit Nine Mile Canyon.

I am extremely disappointed in the content of this article as it relates to the "Indiana Jones" mentality exhibited by the writer. You are a better magazine than this...I certainly expect more responsibility from "Backpacker" than this! SHAME ON YOU!

The illegal profits of archeological resource crime rival the international drug trade. While looters and "collectors" exchange billions of dollars, archeological sites around the world suffer unmeasurable and irreparable losses. You have drawn a map for looters to this site. How irresponsible.

You don't "play archaeologist." Why are Wildllife Officers conduting tours of archaeological sites....are there no archaeologists working in this area? This article seems to promote looting and illegal collecting. Very unprofessional.