Duckhead Man
Duckhead Man
Cedar Mesa, UT
I have been fortunate to travel to many parts of the American Southwest, witnessing wonderful vistas and incredible scenes. Traveling with a great photographer and good friend, Don Metz has introduced me to the fascinating world of petroglyphs.
The Southwest is home to some of the most interesting petroglyphs in America, and Don always takes the time to take me to the best “rock art” in the area. The symbols dotted in the rocks are always intriguing, ranging from human and animal figures to astronomical images or even alien-looking symbols. But I have always been fascinated by this specific work called Duckhead Man, found in Cedar Mesa near Mexican Hat, UT.
When in the American Southwest, do yourself a favor and visit these fascinating works from the ancient past.
Images and location summary by Tim Wier
Trail Difficulty - MODERATE
I would rate this trail's difficulty as 2.5 on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the most difficult). The location of this shot is an easy 50-yard walk from the dirt road, and you will need to do a bit of moderate rock scaling (not really difficult).
WORTH NOTING: The drive to this location is on a well-maintained dirt road. However, there is one place along the road that might require four-wheel drive. The spot that might need four-wheel drive is just past the swinging fence about 7.4 miles from HWY 261. The need for four-wheel drive is only on the return, as you will be going uphill.
If you are not in a high-clearance 4-wheel drive - when you come to the swinging fence, you may want to walk past the fence for about 20 yards or so and decide if you can safely get back up the hill. If not, you can easily just walk the rest of the way.
GPS Coordinates & Elevation
5,353 Ft. Elevation
Download KMZ Trail File
Click Here to download the KMZ file for this location.
Photography Tips
The best way to photograph is beautiful petroglyph is when the sun is not hitting the rock directly - YOU WANT MUTED LIGHTING. The direction of the shot is North and there is a large ridge to the east, so depending on the time of year, you can shoot the petroglyph from sunrise to a few hours after sunrise. You can also photograph here toward sunset (you will have 10-20 after sunset to get this shot under muted lighting).
The Duckhead Man petroglyph is located about 10-12’ above the rock you stand on, so you will need to get your camera up as high as possible to minimize the keystone affect (warped perpective). For me, I put my camera on auto focus, lifted my camera as high as I could above my head and used my rotating LED screen pointing downward to view the shot. I took several shots and kept the best one. If you a drone with a 50mm equivalent lens - this process is much easier.
The image above is part of a larger petroglyph panel which includes some other interesting art. You can choose to include the additional art or not. Also, there are several imperfections (see below) on the rock which I choose to clone out. The cloning of imperfections is obviously a personal choice.
Directions
CLICK HERE to get driving directions to the Duckhead Man.
From Mexican Hat - drive north on US-163 N/Hwy 163 for about 4 miles until you come to UT-261 (directing to Gooseneck State Park & Natural Bridges Park). Take a left and drive for .9 miles and take UT-316 toward Gooseneck State Park. AFTER .5 miles on UT-316 take a right unto a dirt road (244) called Johns Canyon Rd.
Take this road for a little over 9 miles (you will come to a swinging fence at about 7.4 miles in) and you will see a small pullout on the right side (there is also slightly bigger pullout on the left about 50 yard back). From the pullout, you will see a couple of sets of rocks about 30-75 yards up the hill. The panel with the Duckhead Man petroglyph is the second set of rocks (the one with the BLACK facing).
To take the photograph you will need to climb up onto the rock directly below the Duckhead Man panel. It looks like a challenge to get up to the rock, but it is quite easy by simply walking around the left side of the rock and making your way up to a fairly large flat rock where you can stand.
Google Earth
EXIF Data
Focal Length – 96 mm
Exposure – 60th sec @ f 5.6.0
ISO – 200
Date – October 19th
Time – 6:51 am
Best Time of Day to Shoot
As mentioned, you will want to photograph the Duckhead Man petroglyph when the sun is not hitting the rock directly. This can be either in the early morning (sunrise to 1 hour after) or after sunset.
Best Time of Year
Anytime you can drive on this road. Sometimes in winter, the road can receive snow and might be closed to the public.
Lens(es) Needed
I would suggest shooting at around 100mm.
Birds-Eye View From Google Earth Pro
Permits
At this time, there are no permits required in the area.
Direction of the Shot
The direction of the shot is north around 0°.
Equipment Needed
No special equipment is needed.
Number of Other Photographers to Expect
This location is off of the beaten path, so you will most likely be the only person there at sunrise or sunset.
Weather
This area is in an arid part of the Arizona/Utah desert, as has an elevation of 5,300ft. For the most part, the weather is modest with highs in the summers of the upper 90s and lows in winter in the 20s.
Cell Service
Cell phone coverage here is spotty.
Area Guides and Workshops
None