OUT THERE: Solitude in San Luis Valley

UNVISTED COLORADO: This story is part of a series about off-the-beaten-track parts of Colorado that are worth a visit.

LA GARITA• In a remote corner of the San Luis Valley, unseen from most roads, is a quiet, rugged canyon, a sacred place frequented by humans for centuries.

American Indians drew on its walls. Spanish and Indian holy men, known as Los Hermanos Penitentes, lived in seclusion and prayed here. More recently, some of the reverent painted a large mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe high on a cliff wall.

Five seconds into my hike through Penitente Canyon, I, too, was praying — that the rattlesnake I almost stepped on wouldn’t bite. Some of the rock climbers pulling themselves up sheer cliffs also looked like faith was very much on their minds.

This is unvisited Colorado.

“From the road, the country doesn’t look all that interesting,” said Sean Noonan, outdoor recreation planner at the Monte Vista office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. “Once you just start to wander down these canyons a little bit, they’re really fascinating and they’ve just got this little world in themselves.”

The canyon is on the west side of the San Luis Valley, where the mighty San Juan Mountains meet the irrigated potato fields and high desert of the valley. Most visitors to this region go to see the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and marvel at the jagged peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Far fewer explore Penitente Canyon, and the nearby La Garita Mountains are some of the least-visited peaks in Colorado.

But people do come here, for lots of reasons, and they have been doing so for a long time. American Indian pictographs have been traced back 2,000 years, while the Penitentes sought seclusion from the outside world, and a place for their religious practices, including self-flagellation, in the 1700s.

“It’s been an attraction you know, since time immemorial, but to different people for slightly different things,” Noonan said.

Walk a few minutes into the canyon and you will see why. Civilization vanishes as the canyon — actually a network of several narrow canyons — envelopes you with rock walls and boulders that offer limitless opportunities for scrambling and technical climbing, but short enough lengths that an easy bailout is possible.

The painting of the Virgin, done sometime since the 1940s, looms above, high on a wall.

Climbing is the most popular activity in the 7,500-acre recreation area, so much so that the BLM has prohibited new bolting in the rocks. Still, there are some 300 routes, and south-facing climbs can be done in the winter, too.

“It’s great climbing. It’s kind of short but the routes are fun,” said Doug Lintz, on a late-September climbing trip from Nebraska. “It’s kind of secluded, kind of quiet.”

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” said a breathless Caitlin Weaver, from high up a cliff.

But you don’t have to be a climber to appreciate the area’s beauty and challenges. Several miles of trails run through and above the canyons, open to hikers, mountain bikers and horses. Keep hiking up and you’ll be rewarded with a long view of the San Luis Valley and the jagged wall of peaks beyond. Water is scarce — non-existent during my late-September trip — and rattlesnakes were here first, so watch your step.

Ancient American Indian pictographs, the largest concentration in the San Luis Valley, are here, though tough to find, and the BLM does not have a map to them. Noonan acknowledges that there is not much information online about the area. He said the agency is working to correct that.

The BLM is also rebuilding the campground at the canyon’s entrance, where there are restrooms and water. The 26-site campground rarely fills, though you will find company on weekends, Noonan said. Along with better maps, the agency also plans interpretive signs for the ancient pictographs.

I spent several hours wandering through and above the canyons, losing myself among the twisted trees and gardens of rocks. It is easy to understand the lure of the place. Though it lies just a couple miles from a town, disappear into the canyons and the world outside disappears, too. The area doesn’t demand reverence, like a cathedral, but gently invites it.

I returned down the main trail, past the painting of the Virgin. Los Penitentes reportedly hung one of their members from a tire to make the painting. On second look, I noticed the caption the brothers included with it. Translated, it reads “comfort and courage.”

You can find both in Penitente Canyon.

GETTING THERE

• From Colorado Springs, take Colorado Highway 115 south to U.S. Highway 50 and turn west. Past Salida, head south on U.S. Highway 285 and head east on County Road G near the tiny town of La Garita. From La Garita, take County Road 38A and follow signs to the canyon. Although some guide books say you need a high-clearance vehicle, the road has been graded in recent years and any vehicle can make it.