Tsankawi Trail Stop 6

A packrat nest under the rocks at Tsankawi

Photo by Sally King

Stop 6: Under ledges and rocks in this area, you may see piles of twigs, grasses, and dark elongated pellets. These signs reveal the home, or midden, of a pack rat. The White-throated and the Mexican Woodrat are found in Bandelier. Both species are renowned for their habit of collecting plant materials and many shiny objects to hoard in a protected home. Packrats, like many rodent occupants of arid environments, get all their water from succulent plant consumption. These wily herbivores are active year-round and are most active and visible at dawn or dusk.

From here, there is a choice of routes: climb the narrow rock crevasse straight ahead or continue to the right to a ladder that provides access to mesa top.

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