The Spirit Rocks LbNA #8006
Contact
Map
Nearby Boxes
Add Note
Add Location| Owner: | Cosmic Holly
 |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Mar 30, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Canebrake |
| County: | Kern |
| State: | California |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Planted by: | PenGwen
 |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Kelsung |
| Last found: | Nov 6, 2024 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFOF |
| Last edited: | Mar 5, 2025 |
Placed 3-30-04
This is a 4-season letterbox, but summer temperatures may exceed 100 degre
Bring water and be careful of the cholla cactus.
Good dirt road, 4-season and 2 WD ok.
The Tubatulabal lived in this area, and many still do. The box was originally called “Tubatulabal” but since that can be googled we felt that the new name might be better. They (Tubatulabal) are linguistically related to the Shoshone and Piute. There is evidence of their habitation around the north fork and south fork of the Kern River. The locations of these two pictograph sites may have been used to determine winter solstice as the sunrise on winter solstice comes up over the nearby Owens peak. The second site, which is better preserved, has an image with a circular design with internal spokes and a horizontal line with “ticks” along it. The “tick” marks are believed to represent either the number of spirit helpers or the number of days spent on a vision quest. The faint elongated stick-figure humans on the left side of the panel may represent the “feeling” of stretching up to the gods.
Please respect these sites. We planted both of the letterboxes away from the sites and wish no disrespect in their placement.
Clues: If you are coming to the area from highway 14, drive west on highway 178 for about 17 miles and turn north on Chimney Peak road. If you pass Cane Break Café on 178 turn around.
If you are heading east from Lake Isabella, turn north on Chimney Peak road 2.3 miles past the Cane Break Café.
Once on the Chimney Peak road, drive 2.5 miles and you will pass over a cattle guard and though a battered barbed wire fence. The road is a little wider here and a good place to park without obstructing traffic.
Head up the dirt road a little ways to a large stand alone boulder near the road. Standing at this boulder looking west will give a view of both pictograph sites. Directly across the wash from where you're standing is site#1, you'll see a faint trail across the wash leading to it. It's a bit tricky to find but you can just see a boulder circle about 100 yards northwest of site #1, this is site #2.
After mapping out the sites, start trekking west to site#1 heading for the faint trail leading to it. Take your time crossing the wash and watch your footing, the sand is very loose and prone to shifting. Upon reaching site#1, you'll notice faint pictographs on the face. After admiring the images, head to the back of the boulder and take a sighting of 240 degrees from the corner of the flat slab behind site #1. Walk 44 steps to a downed digger pine tree. From this tree head south 14 steps to a 1 foot high rounded boulder. The box is on the uphill side of the boulder covered by one rock. A reddish brown inkpad would be best.
2. Spirit Rocks.
After stamping in, head back down to the rear of site#1 and stand north of the juniper tree behind it. Start heading due north and you'll find a faint trail leading you to a large boulder with a black "mole" on it's face and a digger pine just south of it. Head to the backside of this large boulder to a spor under the dripline of a juniper. This box is a recreation of a pictograph found inside the boulder circle of site#2.
If you would like a closer look at site#2 and are having difficulty spotting it, it's located at 35°46'13.03"N, 118°4'54.62"W
This is a 4-season letterbox, but summer temperatures may exceed 100 degre
Bring water and be careful of the cholla cactus.
Good dirt road, 4-season and 2 WD ok.
The Tubatulabal lived in this area, and many still do. The box was originally called “Tubatulabal” but since that can be googled we felt that the new name might be better. They (Tubatulabal) are linguistically related to the Shoshone and Piute. There is evidence of their habitation around the north fork and south fork of the Kern River. The locations of these two pictograph sites may have been used to determine winter solstice as the sunrise on winter solstice comes up over the nearby Owens peak. The second site, which is better preserved, has an image with a circular design with internal spokes and a horizontal line with “ticks” along it. The “tick” marks are believed to represent either the number of spirit helpers or the number of days spent on a vision quest. The faint elongated stick-figure humans on the left side of the panel may represent the “feeling” of stretching up to the gods.
Please respect these sites. We planted both of the letterboxes away from the sites and wish no disrespect in their placement.
Clues: If you are coming to the area from highway 14, drive west on highway 178 for about 17 miles and turn north on Chimney Peak road. If you pass Cane Break Café on 178 turn around.
If you are heading east from Lake Isabella, turn north on Chimney Peak road 2.3 miles past the Cane Break Café.
Once on the Chimney Peak road, drive 2.5 miles and you will pass over a cattle guard and though a battered barbed wire fence. The road is a little wider here and a good place to park without obstructing traffic.
Head up the dirt road a little ways to a large stand alone boulder near the road. Standing at this boulder looking west will give a view of both pictograph sites. Directly across the wash from where you're standing is site#1, you'll see a faint trail across the wash leading to it. It's a bit tricky to find but you can just see a boulder circle about 100 yards northwest of site #1, this is site #2.
After mapping out the sites, start trekking west to site#1 heading for the faint trail leading to it. Take your time crossing the wash and watch your footing, the sand is very loose and prone to shifting. Upon reaching site#1, you'll notice faint pictographs on the face. After admiring the images, head to the back of the boulder and take a sighting of 240 degrees from the corner of the flat slab behind site #1. Walk 44 steps to a downed digger pine tree. From this tree head south 14 steps to a 1 foot high rounded boulder. The box is on the uphill side of the boulder covered by one rock. A reddish brown inkpad would be best.
2. Spirit Rocks.
After stamping in, head back down to the rear of site#1 and stand north of the juniper tree behind it. Start heading due north and you'll find a faint trail leading you to a large boulder with a black "mole" on it's face and a digger pine just south of it. Head to the backside of this large boulder to a spor under the dripline of a juniper. This box is a recreation of a pictograph found inside the boulder circle of site#2.
If you would like a closer look at site#2 and are having difficulty spotting it, it's located at 35°46'13.03"N, 118°4'54.62"W