The Gate O' Doom to the UCD

(Caveat:  Text and photos were arranged by a squirrel.) 

It appears innocuous enough, does the Gate O' Doom.

And our first stop, at the covered area in the near distance, is innocent enough.

      

Eric is the Ranger for whom I was the "sweep."  He's very nice, very knowledgeable, and has very long legs!!!!  This is just past the Gate O' Doom.  We gathered together in final benediction......ooopppsss......  We rendezvoused, awaiting a few late comers, and then Eric provided an overview of the hike and went over safety procedures.  From this comfy little overhang, we could not see our goal, around the hill and up the draw, but here it is:

Majestically named:  The Upper Cliff Dwelling!  And here I have a beef with the nomenclature.  UCD.  LCD.  Sound like diseases.  Or worse, political parties.  And nearby we have Schoolhouse and Point of Pines and Casa Malpais and Besh-Be-Gowa.  And Tonto has.......UCD and LCD.  Pitiful.   However, here we go......up and up and up.

 

Doesn't look so bad, does it?!?!?!?  

 It's a mere 1 1/2 miles up...and up...and up, with a rise of about 600 feet, including switchbacks 

 

 By the time we arrived at the switchbacks, I was so far behind the hikers I was supposed to be looking after, that Eric needed binoculars to see me...... Well, not quite, but it got embarrassing when one of our hikers pretended to take photos so he could hold back and keep an eye on me.  Oh, and he said he had a bad knee.  I have excellent knees, dammit!!  But lungs....apparently not so much.

It was either quit and go back...or die, but, finally, I struggled to the top, where the group was taking a water break before entering the cliff dwelling.

Note the exuberant child.  She was well behaved, though when I saw how much energy she had left, I considered either throwing her off the edge or jumping myself.  However, I had just enough energy to pull out my water bottle and glug glug glug, take a quick glance at the impressive vista --  over which I had not thrown myself...

Then trudge into the cliff dwelling where Eric has gathered the group into an intact room, which is pretty awesome, actually....the room that is, although the people in the group were pretty nice, too.

Eric is an excellent guide.  Visitors respond to his knowledge and easy going nature.  He did have to sit in the room as he's a tad too tall for the ceiling.  We wandered around for a while, reminding ourselves that the source of water for the cliff dwelling was 1 1/2 miles below us--and most likely women hauled it.  Sated with view and knowledge and water, we turned down the hill.....

Because I neither died nor quit, I'm supposed to "sweep" again.  My response.....