This photograph, taken on our Wilderness Leadership program, shows the majestic height and length of the unusual geological formation known as Comb Ridge, Utah. Comb Ridge is a giant sandstone “monocline” that runs 80 miles north-south, in the center of the Colorado Plateau. Incredibly, the San Juan River actually cuts through the ridge, and it is possible to hike from a campsite on the river, up onto the top of the ridge. (If you want to do this, check out our adventure summer camps that raft the Upper San Juan River: Ancient Pathways and River and Mountain Adventure). It can be challenging to navigate the rocky terrain, but the incredible views to the west over Comb Wash and Cedar Mesa are well worth it. It’s a spectacular place for a sunset hike!

In fact, from the top of the ridge, you command a view over most of the Anasazi, or Ancestral Puebloan, world. Comb Ridge is part of an area that was densely inhabited a thousand years ago by these people, who left behind many rock art sites on the ridge, as well as beautiful cliff dwellings hidden away in side canyons, like Monarch Cave ruin (shown below).