- Joined
- Jun 17, 2021
- Messages
- 6
So I came across BCP after running down the online trail of a user Reddirtdawg.
I have a trip planned this Summer that will take me through Utah and I had endeavored to visit the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde on a friend's suggestion. The wrinkle came when I learned that dogs aren't welcome there. I don't go on long backcountry trips without Simo so I cut that out of the plan.
Another friend suggested I could find ruins off the beaten path which sent me down a weeks-long sleuth for any information I could find about southeastern Utah. One of the first things I found was reddirtdawg's blogspot site which contains many pictures and some vague directions to ruins. So I set about trying to figure out how to get in contact. An email went unanswered and the site's activity has been dormant for many years now. I found some of his posts on this forum but none have been added in many years here either.
Further searching led me to a possibly unfortunate end when I found this obituary.
Based on some of the old threads I looked through, it appears this forum was a favorite place for Rick and several users had struck up a rapport with him. I'm sure many were already aware. This hiker's online trail has sparked a flame of curiosity in me that feels like it's going to rage on for years. While this will be my first trip to the Cedar Mesa area, I've come to realize that I'm going to have to come back a lot to get to all the sites and perhaps come to know it well enough to find something few if anyone else has ever visited.
So I raise my glass in memory and in gratitude to Reddirtdawg and will forever strive to contribute as beautifully as he has to the community.
Edit: Obituary linked above is for the wrong Rick Schafer.
I have a trip planned this Summer that will take me through Utah and I had endeavored to visit the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde on a friend's suggestion. The wrinkle came when I learned that dogs aren't welcome there. I don't go on long backcountry trips without Simo so I cut that out of the plan.
Another friend suggested I could find ruins off the beaten path which sent me down a weeks-long sleuth for any information I could find about southeastern Utah. One of the first things I found was reddirtdawg's blogspot site which contains many pictures and some vague directions to ruins. So I set about trying to figure out how to get in contact. An email went unanswered and the site's activity has been dormant for many years now. I found some of his posts on this forum but none have been added in many years here either.
Further searching led me to a possibly unfortunate end when I found this obituary.
Based on some of the old threads I looked through, it appears this forum was a favorite place for Rick and several users had struck up a rapport with him. I'm sure many were already aware. This hiker's online trail has sparked a flame of curiosity in me that feels like it's going to rage on for years. While this will be my first trip to the Cedar Mesa area, I've come to realize that I'm going to have to come back a lot to get to all the sites and perhaps come to know it well enough to find something few if anyone else has ever visited.
So I raise my glass in memory and in gratitude to Reddirtdawg and will forever strive to contribute as beautifully as he has to the community.
Edit: Obituary linked above is for the wrong Rick Schafer.
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