# Tree carvings



## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

What's the oldest tree carving you've seen?


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

That’s a cool find. I question the authenticity of it, being as that would be 190-200 years old. But it’s still cool to see the interesting things you find out in the woods.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Seeing as aspens don't really live very long it may of been some kids playing around a number of years ago. 

I think that most aspens only live around 70 years and a real old one is only going to be about double that.

I've come across a number of things carved into trees that are quite suspect. I found one about Jim Bridger and the cut was still just drying out.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

When I was a smart alecky kid, I carved "Brigham Young" into an aspen in a remote area while deer hunting. 

The same area held legitimate carvings from 1909-1910, which we thought were cool 70 years later. I have some suspicion that the Jedediah Smith one is doubtful to be authentic.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Both thoughts have crossed my mind. I was researching the dates. Historically speaking I think 1829 is plausible, but I didn't start looking up the lifespan of aspens, though I have wondered. It seems like they only grow so tall, and then they start growing outwards. I have seen some pretty old (IE thick) aspens, but i've no idea of their age, nor how long they live.

Only thing that makes me think it might even be remotely authentic is the surrounding trees have all died. That tree is obviously old, and will probably die soon. I have to admit, it really is hard to believe an aspen would live that long. I am most likely being gullible. If something is too good to be true, it probably is, but it's not a chance i'll take in the remote and unlikely chance it is authetnic.

Reading tree carvings is always interesting. One thing i've noticed though is some recent ones look really old, while some old ones don't look as old. It seems to vary on tree and location. I've seen some early 1900s that were readable and not barked up so much, while some made in the 70s or 80s are barked up and illegible. So i'm not sure what to make of it. After I found that one tree, I think i spent days during that hunt, reading tree carvings trying to discern age by how much they barked up or level of illegibility. I couldn't find any reliable way to tell. It just varies too much.

edit:
Anywho, decided to go ahead and remove that video.
What's the oldest tree carving you've seen? The one I originally posted doesn't count.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

1934, on SE Nebo unit.

-DallanC


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

One thing I have learned from tree carvings is that sheep herders are lonely for female companionship. Long boring days following the herd gives ample opportunity to draw "pictures" on aspens.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

There is on on the hill behind my cabin that is 1907. 
I go check every spring and fall to see if it's still there. I remember older ones as a kid, but those trees are all long gone. 
That's the oldest existing one I have seen.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I used to know where one from Butch Cassidy ~1900 was down on the LaSals. Not sure if I could still find it, it was on a big ponderosa pine.


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

I see a lot from around this timeframe.


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## gander311 (Dec 23, 2008)

NHS said:


> One thing I have learned from tree carvings is that sheep herders are lonely for female companionship. Long boring days following the herd gives ample opportunity to draw "pictures" on aspens.


That's too funny, and so true. I remember being 14 on my first elk hunt with my dad. We were on horseback and kept coming across carvings of, shall we say, "voluptuous" women on quakies seemingly everywhere we looked. There must've been dozens, and many were freshly cut. I also have a vivid memory from that same trip of trying to use my meager 8th grade Spanish skills to ask a sheepherder (in the vicinity of all those carvings...) if he had been seeing any elk. 

What a great memory.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

The funniest tree I ever saw is on north skyline past the fish creek parking lot down an old ditch/terrace cut out on the east side . It lists the date and that so and so made passionate love to one another at this very tree. Down further on a tree a few years later it looked like the female carved that she still loved the male. It's been a few years since I have been there but I thought it was pretty dang funny


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

I've seen lots of carvings in the Uintas up high written in Spanish which indicates most of them where done on horse back by sheep herders most of them with the word "Oro" meaning gold.


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

From my great grandpa a old cowboy and sheep herder. On the Manti, most have died but not all


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

A couple more, we believe this is 1893, A kid who hung around with my Great Grandpa








Here is one 1910, Great Grandpa again








Another 1907 Friend of Great Grandpa








It is quite interesting to see these over 100 years old and the heritage that I feel when walking, hunting and the sheep herd is still in these same areas. Never Met my Great Grandpa, but feel his company when in these areas.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I know of a rock that has Spanish carvings in it. I don't know if its still there or legible anymore, It's been 20+ years since I've been back to find it.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Was wandering around on Tuesday and saw this one. There was a couple of older bigger trees close by, but the carvings weren't readable enough.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I know this picture isn't a tree -- so it kind of doesn't fit with the original topic. But it kind of does too. I know that there are older "carvings" in rock than this. But I think the original topic relates back to white man carvings in trees. I don't know that native americans carved in trees.

Anywho....I have absolutely no doubt to the authenticity of these names and dates carved into the sandstone. These are in a very remote canyon out on the Escalante desert. There are a lot of native american carvings and paintings in this same canyon. 1900 and then again 1904. Allen. There is history of Allen's in Escalante. I'd love to know the story them being in this canyon. I'd guess they were running cattle or sheep -- but don't really know. Maybe they were looking for Dinosaurs?


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## JeremyAK (Apr 23, 2020)

Found this one last week while muzzle loading for spikes. It was in the bottom of a canyon far from any road or trail in the middle of nowhere. It was an old sheep camp and the Quakie was dead and all but ready to fall over. This carving was from 1916.










The funniest carving I’ve seen was underneath a treestand that someone else obviously didn’t want there. Made me laugh preety good.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

This is the most common one on the Zion unit by far......you will find his name anywhere and everywhere there is a Quakie tree in Dixie National Forest or on Cedar mountain.








Don't get me wrong, he is a nice guy and a charter member of Ats Queo, the Cedar City archery club that was started in the mid 50's. 
It just had always amazed me how he had the time to do that many carvings, and still have time to hunt.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

2full said:


> This is the most common one on the Zion unit by far......you will find his name anywhere and everywhere there is a Quakie tree in Dixie National Forest or on Cedar mountain.
> View attachment 150470
> 
> Don't get me wrong, he is a nice guy and a charter member of Ats Queo, the Cedar City archery club that was started in the mid 50's.
> It just had always amazed me how he had the time to do that many carvings, and still have time to hunt.


I have seen that carving more times then I can count in the panguitch unit. Into some of the deepest timber, and he's still there. There is *almost* no place you can go to in that area where he hasn't been. Met an old couple who knew him as I was packing up to leave the area. The wife said he used to live accross the street from them. Said he was a nice guy, tongue in cheek said, the amount of tree carvings he made should have been crime. The way they were talking, I think he passed. Earliest carving I think was in the 70's? Maybe earlier. Latest was late 90's, I forget. I can't recall if i saw any in the 2000's or not. Sooo many of them.

Funny enough, I asked them "I have one question" , they responded with "Who is Paul hunter?"


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Paul is still alive, is in his 80's. 
Is having problems with Alzheimer's.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

2full said:


> Paul is still alive, is in his 80's.
> Is having problems with Alzheimer's.


Glad to hear he's still alive, sorry to hear Alzheimer's.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

2full said:


> Paul is still alive, is in his 80's.
> Is having problems with Alzheimer's.


He is a funny guy, we all called him squeaky. I have know him for over 40 years between work and the archery club. I have quite a few ATS Queo T shirts and the logos all have an aspen tree with Paul Hunter on the tree. He is very well known in Southern Utah.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

bowgy said:


> He is a funny guy, we all called him squeaky. I have know him for over 40 years between work and the archery club. I have quite a few ATS Queo T shirts and the logos all have an aspen tree with Paul Hunter on the tree. He is very well known in Southern Utah.


A shirt with that logo would be apt. I don't think it can be overstated how many tree carvings he's done. I'm surpised he had time to hunt between them all. In one spot he had several years worth of carvings. It figures he'd be well known in southern Utah, how could he not be? His names everywhere.

I think he's ticked a few people off. A few of his carvings, someone started adding an "A" to his first name, to change it to "Paul*a*", i guess to make him sound like a girl. Someone else carved in an " 's no" in between his first and last name so it now reads "Paul*'s no* Hunter".

Yeah, I spent a lot of time on that unit this year. Only found ONE area where I think he hadn't been, but it was waaay up there on a bench and the base of a mountain through some really thick stuff, and the only thing I found in that area was fresh bear scat.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Ya can't make everyone love you.

Another name that is on almost as many trees as Paul's and probably more locations is Cloyd Stratton, he has quite a fancy signature.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Here is a Cloyd Stratton one I found yesterday while wandering around looking for the 07 carving. 
There is hundreds of his in our area from when they logged Quakies in the late 70's.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I did finally find an 07 carving in my travels. It's not the one I remember.....but it's in the same small area. The other tree may have fallen. This one is hard to read. The last name went almost all the way around the tree.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

One last pic. This one is where the old road used to go around Leigh's on the way to Miner's Peak during the 20's and 30's. Used to be tons of em in there when I first started going in there. Most of the old trees are down now. Only a handful left. This has a '27 and a '17 together. 
Guess I'm getting old ??


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

2full said:


> Here is a Cloyd Stratton one I found yesterday while wandering around looking for the 07 carving.
> There is hundreds of his in our area from when they logged Quakies in the late 70's.
> View attachment 150535


Looks like he had 2 of his sons with him, Danny was probably too young.


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

I can’t remember the exact date, but I found one in 2015 that was carved in the early 1890s at 9500’ out in the desert. I have no idea what a dude was doing there at that time, it’s a cliffy steep hole, but it looked legit with the age and size of the tree.

nebo has many from the 20s-40s.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm sure you guys who see all the Paul Hunter carvings have seen at least a few of the ones that have been modified to say "Spanky Hunter". I always chuckle when I see those. I was going to comment about the abundance of Cloyd Stratton carvings I see around as well, but Bowgy was ahead of me. I see a bunch of carvings on the mountain of my grandpa's brother Warren. His name is always carved vertically instead of horizontal. I once asked my grandpa why I always saw Warren's carvings, but I never saw any from him. He told me "fools names and fools faces always appear in public places."


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

I carve my name so when I'm so far back or lost I can remember that I have been there before.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

colorcountrygunner said:


> I'm sure you guys who see all the Paul Hunter carvings have seen at least a few of the ones that have been modified to say "Spanky Hunter". I always chuckle when I see those. I was going to comment about the abundance of Cloyd Stratton carvings I see around as well, but Bowgy was ahead of me. I see a bunch of carvings on the mountain of my grandpa's brother Warren. His name is always carved vertically instead of horizontal. I once asked my grandpa why I always saw Warren's carvings, but I never saw any from him. He told me "fools names and fools faces always appear in public places."


Of the 1400 acres that I used to manage for the family you won't find my name on any tree.

I'm guessing you are related to Evan, I went to school with him from elementary all through high school.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

bowgy said:


> Of the 1400 acres that I used to manage for the family you won't find my name on any tree.
> 
> I'm guessing you are related to Evan, I went to school with him from elementary all through high school.


Yep. Evan is my mother's first cousin. Haven't seen him in years. I know he used to come out from Missouri every year for the deer hunt. I'm not sure if he still does that or not.


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