August 9

Camp Name

No Name

Daylight

13 hours / 51 minutes

Brightness of the Moon

21%

Distance Traveled

4.25 leagues / 11 miles

Weather

"Heavy downpour," rain & cold

Water Resources

Animas River, La Plata River, possibly Basin Creek

Journal Description for August 9th

On the 9th we set out from El Río de las Ánimas and ascended the incline west of the river, which, although it is not too lengthy, is quite difficult, consisting of plenty of rock and being very steep in places. We passed the small forest on its crest,⁵⁵ with which it must measure a little more than a quarter of a league. We entered a narrow valley of abundant pastures,⁵⁶ traveled through it one league to the west, and turned west by northwest; then, after going three leagues through a leafy forest of good pasturage, we reached El Río de San Joaquín — de La Plata⁵⁷ by another name— which is small and similar to the one which passes through El Pueblo de San Geronimo of the Taos Indians.⁵⁸

It rises at the same western point of La Sierra de la Plata and descends through the same canyon in which there are said to be veins and outcroppings of metallic ore. However, although years ago certain individuals from New Mexico came to inspect them by order of the governor, who at the time was Don Tomás Vélez Cachupín, and carried back metal-bearing rocks, it was not ascertained for sure what kind of metal they consisted of. The opinion which some formed previously, from the accounts of various Indians and from some citizens of the kingdom, that they were silver ore, furnished the sierra with this name.

From the aforesaid incline by El Río de las Ánimas to this Río de San Juan [Editor’s Note: This should read Rio de San Joaquin, not Rio de San Juan. See the Spanish translation of Escalante’s journal in Chavez & Warner, page 139.], the terrain is very moist, since it rains very frequently because of its proximity to the sierra; as a result, both in the mountain forest— which consists of very tall and straight pines, scrub oak, and several kinds of wild fruits — and in its narrow valleys there are the prettiest of pastures. The climate here is excessively cold even in the months of July and August. Among the fruits mentioned there grows a small one of black hue, pleasant taste, and looking very much like the medlar⁵⁹ if not that sweet. We did not proceed ahead today because the mounts had not fed enough the night before and were rather weak by now, and also because a thick and prolonged heavy downpour made us halt.⁶⁰ Today four leagues and a quarter,⁶¹ almost all to the west.

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Notable Event

N/A

D&E and Crew Activity

The horses were weak from lack of pasture at their campsite on the Animas River, so expedition members decided not to proceed beyond the La Plata River, both to let the livestock rest and feed, and because a heavy downpour forced them to halt.

Miller Report Summary

August 9 was a relatively short day of travel. Some of the terrain was difficult, but most of the expedition’s route was relatively easy going as they followed Basin Creek through Ridges Basin and over Pine Ridge to the La Plata River valley. The direction was west-northwest to the La Plata River just south of the present site of Hesperus.

Along with Dr. Robert W. Delaney, I was a team member for the Miller report team that did the field work for this section of the trail in the summer of 1975. After taking a fresh look at the available published source material and doing more research in the field, I now believe some of the conclusions we arrived at in 1975 were fundamentally wrong. Following are my current observations along with my reasoning for these changes:

Both Auerbach and Bolton state that upon leaving camp on the west side of the Rio de las Animas, the expedition “climbed the west bank of the river,” which proved difficult because it was rocky and steep. Chavez states that after leaving the Animas, the expedition “ascended the incline west of the river,” a more precise translation of Escalante’s diary. For several reasons, it seems clear to me that both Auerbach and Bolton mis-characterized the expedition’s path in this area. Chavez has it right. I now firmly believe that the expedition camped about a mile downstream from where Dr. Delaney and I believed they did in 1975 (following Bolton’s lead), and it’s clear to me now that the expedition traveled through what is now Animas Air Park on August 9th. It’s obvious, therefore, that when the expedition left its camp on the Animas, they proceeded about one-half mile across a gently sloping flat before reaching the “incline west of the river” that was difficult to ascend. This incline is the east slope of what used to be known as Blue Mesa (a name you won’t find on modern maps) where Animas Air Park and other developments have taken place since 1976, and it is indeed steep and rocky. As I explained in my analysis for August 8th, Blue Mesa was undeveloped private property in 1975 when we did our field work, and there was no road or any other public access to that property. Frankly, it was unknown and unseen by us at the time, and we simply followed Bolton’s suggestion as to where the expedition camped on August 8th. We then incorrectly assumed that the expedition proceeded along the west side of the Animas River upstream for some two miles before turning west to cross some hills to reach Ridges Basin. We had concluded that this route through present-day Bodo Industrial Park would have paralleled La Plata County Road 210 (C.R. 211 in 1975) to the south to reach Ridges Basin.
It was a startling revelation when I finally found the road that accesses the valley of Basin Creek (Chavez’s “narrow valley of abundant pastures”). There before me was a direct and easy path across Blue Mesa and up Basin Creek into Ridges Basin. Today, there is a giant gravel pit complex next to Basin Creek (the afore-mentioned road was constructed in recent years probably to provide access for the construction of the Ridges Basin Reservoir (Lake Nighthorse) dam and, later, to the pit complex). Looming in the near distance is the dam on Basin Creek that impounds the waters of Lake Nighthorse (see photos).
Once in Ridges Basin, the expedition followed Basin Creek for some distance, then began the ascent to Pine Ridge (another place name you won’t find on modern maps). While the expedition could have crossed the north-south trending Pine Ridge almost any place, their general direction of travel would likely have paralleled present-day County Road 125, which crests Pine Ridge about 2.5 miles SSE of Hesperus. All or most of the written sources are in general agreement on the route from Ridges Basin to the Rio San Joaquin, or La Plata River.
While Bolton and the Miller Report team thought the expedition camped near the site of Hesperus, Russon placed the campsite further south. I now agree with Russon for two reasons:
• Since the livestock had not fed well the night before and because the expedition was caught in a heavy downpour at the end of the day’s journey, the group almost certainly stopped to camp as soon as they reached the La Plata River. This would have been about two miles downstream from Hesperus.
• Chavez’s diary translation states that on the following day (August 10th) the expedition initially traveled north about a league before turning northwest, then west. Therefore, the expedition must have camped about two miles south of Hesperus because the point at which they would have turned northwest would be just north of Hesperus. The presence of high hills on both sides of the river valley would dictate this line of travel.

Bright blue sky above a hillside dotted with green bushes and trees and a rocky landscape. — Having left their camp on the Animas River on August 9th, the expedition climbed a “not-too-lengthy” and “quite difficult” slope, which was rocky and very steep in places. This difficult slope, located about a half mile west of the river, was undoubtedly the east escarpment of Blue Mesa, seen in this west-looking photo taken from La Posta Road. Their route then took them a relatively short distance across the level mesa and into the valley of Basin Creek. Photo by Robert L. McDaniel July 9, 2023

A rural landscape featuring a few small buildings set amid vast green fields. A wire fence runs across the foreground. In the background, rolling hills and a clear blue sky complete the peaceful scene. — This photo looks northwest up the lovely valley of Basin Creek, with the southern end of the La Plata Mountains seen in the distance. The gravel road winding up the valley was likely built for the construction of Ridges Basin Reservoir, whose dam is visible in the left center of the photograph. Four Corners Materials operates an extensive gravel pit operation, mostly out of view to the left in the photo. Escalante’s diary describes this valley as “a narrow valley with abundant pastures.” Photo by Robert L. McDaniel October 7, 2022

A serene lake surrounded by a green forest with trees and a bright blue sky. Rocky banks and pebbles line the stream, complementing the natural beauty of the scene. — The expedition continued west-northwest up Basin Creek, eventually ascending Pine Ridge in the far distance. With the construction of Lake Nighthorse (Ridges Basin Reservoir), this portion of Basin Creek was inundated. This view looks west up Lake Nighthorse from near its east end. The south end of the La Plata Mountains is out of view to the right of the photo. Photo by Robert L. McDaniel July 26, 2023

A panoramic view of a rural landscape featuring rolling green hills and a valley with dense vegetation under a clear sky. A few houses and buildings are clustered together near a winding road. — Once atop Pine Ridge, expedition members had a beautiful view of the La Plata River valley and the La Plata Mountains. This photo was taken from the top of old Hesperus Hill on La Plata County Road #125 looking approximately north. Once the expedition descended Pine Ridge, they stopped to camp as soon as they reached the Río San Joaquín (La Plata River) because the livestock had not fed well the night before and because a downpour caused them to halt. They likely camped in a meadow such as that seen in the center of the photograph, approximately two miles south of Hesperus. Photo by Robert L. McDaniel July 8, 2023

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