Saturday, September 29, 2012

Hike to Elden Lookout Tower



On 29 September, the last Saturday before the start of the regular Skyliner Hiking season, George Everman and I set out to hike on Sunset Trail to the lookout tower on Mount Elden.

Three weeks previously, the Skyliners had hiked from Buffalo Park in Flagstaff to Elden Lookout Road on Oldham Trail; a week later a few of us had returned to the area to hike on Brookbank Trail from Elden Lookout Road to Sunset Trail and then followed Sunset Trail to the junction with Little Bear before returning to Elden Lookout Road by way of a social trail that leaves Sunset about 100 yards southeast of the junction with Little Bear and leads down the mountain to the road.

We wanted to hike to the lookout tower on Sunset Trail and return by way of Upper Oldham Trail. To do this we would follow the social trail mentioned in the previous paragraph from Elden Lookout Road to Sunset trail, follow Sunset Trail to the tower and then return by way of Elden Lookout Road to the Upper Oldham Trailhead. By following Upper Oldham Trail from there we would emerge onto the lookout road about 0.5 miles (perhaps a bit less if one follows a trail up the wash instead of the road) below where we left it on the social trail.

We followed US 180 W about 3.2 miles from the I-40 (Business)/Humphreys Street Interchange in Flagstaff to Schultz Pass Road. Turning right onto Schultz Pass Road, we followed it for about half a mile before continuing straight ahead to take FR 557 (Eldon Lookout Road). After traveling another 2.7 miles, we passed the Oldham Trailhead and, 0.2 miles farther on, the Brookbank Trailhead. A half-mile beyond Brookbank (3.4 miles from Schultz Pass Road), we came to the Upper Oldham Trailhead on the right. We decided to park here and start our hike by taking the trail that runs up the wash below the road to the beginning of the social trail we intended to take to join Sunset Trail at the Little Bear junction.

Parking was readily available in two separate areas alongside the road just across from the Upper Oldham Trailhead. We started our hike by following a trail running alongside the road on the opposite side from the trailhead. However, the road soon turned sharply left to navigate around a deep wash and we crossed over at that point to remain in the wash that we intended to follow instead of the road. At this point we lost our way by following a biker's trail directly across the road and continuing up the mountain. We should, instead have followed the road a few yards before turning on a less distinct trail … the one we had intended to follow.

It soon became apparent that we had gone wrong; rather than following along the wash as planned, we were headed up the mountain on a well-built biker's trail. However, we knew it would have to intersect with Elden Lookout Road somewhere above where we intended to take the social trail, so we continued on. The trail was, as already noted, well-built. The turns were banked and numerous ramps were constructed along the way. Wherever a log had fallen across the path, it was simply left in place and the uphill side filled in with dirt to form a ramp for speeding bikers. We were exceedingly careful to keep a lookout ahead for any bikers heading downhill, but met only two along the way. After hiking on the biker trail for eight-tenths of a mile we emerged onto the road seven-tenths of a mile above our goal. We had added one mile to what should have been a one-half mile trip between the Upper Oldham Trailhead and the social trail that would take us to Sunset.

We were really not concerned about the extra mile or the additional time on the trail, as we planned to have dinner in Flagstaff on the way home and we had all day for our hike. The dinner in Flagstaff was my idea; if left to my own devices, when hiking above Flagstaff I would always leave home early and eat breakfast on the way through or leave a bit later and have dinner on the way back. Unfortunately, most of the Skyliners prefer eating at home and I am usually outvoted. This time it was only George and me and he agreed to my plan.

The easy seven-tenths of a mile down the road to the beginning of the social trail went fast and we were soon following as it headed up the gentle slope toward Sunset Trail. The section of trail shown in the photograph below well-exemplifies it all the way to Sunset.

Showing the gentle slope of the social trail between Sunset/Little Bear and 
Elden Lookout Road
The distance from Eldon Lookout Road to Sunset at the junction with Little Bear along the very pleasant trail shown above is only one-half mile and we were soon taking a break at the junction in what I consider one of the most beautiful meadows anywhere. The area is covered with grass seemingly designed for stretching out and taking a nap, a gentle breeze is usually blowing, and ponderosa pines are scattered all about.

Following a short rest, we took up our packs and headed southeast on Sunset Trail toward the lookout tower. The trail is at first essentially level, but soon starts up a fairly steep slope with large rocks along the way. We had our first really good look at fall foliage along this section.

Aspen clone showing fall colors along Sunset trail on Mount Elden
Neither George nor I had hiked this way before, so each turn of the trail was a completely new experience for us. I do love to hike old, familiar trails; however, there is something special about hiking a new trail. One never knows just with to expect around the next bend or over the next hill. Although we did, given the location and season, expect to see fall colors during this hike, we did not know in advance when or where that might be.

After a few switchbacks along the western slope of Little Elden Mountain the trail brought us out on top of a north-south running ridge that forms a saddle between Little Elden and Elden Mountains. Just at the foot of Little Elden, Heart Trail leaves the saddle and heads down the mountain in an easterly direction. As an aside, an unmarked bike trail leaves Sunset Trail about 150 yards north of the Heart Trailhead and leads west down the mountain to connect with Elden Lookout Road just over a hundred yards from where we had ended our hike up the bike trail from the lower end of the Upper Oldham Trail.

We stopped for a rest and to take in the view from the heart trail junction. We were on the east slope of the saddle and our view to the west was blocked. However, we had an unobstructed view to the south and the towers clustered on top of Mount Eldon.

Looking south to the lookout tower on top of Mount Eldon
Turning east could see across US Hwy 89 as it wound its way north Cameron to the Indian Reservations beyond.

Looking across US Hwy 89 to the Indian Reservation beyond
On the slopes below us, groves of aspen defiantly strutted their fall colors as the forest continued its slow to recovery from a devastating 1977 fire.

Recovering aspen groves along the mountain slope
We continued on along the ridge, passing on the east side of Sunset Park, crossed the crest of the ridge and hiked along the west slope for a short distance, passing through the beautiful grove seen below.

Aspen grove on the west slope of the ridge between Little Elden and Elden
The trail then crossed the crest again, continued along the east side for a distance and finally came to Elden Lookout Road at the crest about 0.5 miles below the tower and 1.2 miles from the Heart Trail intersection.

One map I referenced indicated that Sunset Trail continues from this point parallel to and along the east side of the road for a short distance and then veers off to pass just north of and below the lookout tower. However, our goal was the tower itself and we really didn't look for the existence of a trail; we just continued along the road toward the tower.

We found the following flowers along the road between the intersection of Sunset Trail and the road to the lookout. One is an aster; the other is an unidentified, five-petaled, yellow beauty that I decided to include even though we were unable to identify it.

Aster
Unidentified flower
I took a number of photographs when we reached the vicinity of the towers (actually towers, because there are a number of communications towers installed around the lookout tower). My favorite photograph is shown below.

Looking east from Elden Lookout
It was now around 1400 and we hadn't eaten yet, so we decided to stop for lunch before heading back. I chose to forego my usual nap in favor of the view.

Before starting back, I photographed the peaks from the top of Elden. We were high enough now that we could actually a bit of Mount Humphreys peeking up on the horizon beyond Mount Agassiz.

The three most prominent peaks shown here are, from left to right, Agassiz, 
Fremont and Doyle. Look closely to see the tip of Mount Humphreys Peak 
on the horizon between Agassiz and Fremont
It is a short 1.3 miles from the lookout tower back down the road to Upper Oldham Trail. It is a very easy hike along the road, all downhill except for a short climb to the Turkey Park turnoff. At Oldham Park where the trail leaves the road, the Sunset Trail is just about 60 yards away. In fact, Upper Oldham Trail actually just crosses the road at this point and ends at Sunset Trail.
Below is my favorite view along the road between the tower and Oldham Park. It shows Mount Doyle in the distance, framed by the sky above, aspens below and pines alongside.

Mount Doyle in the distance
The distance of our hike was 7.1 miles, the maximum elevation was 9314 feet and the total ascent was 2315 feet.

On the included map (below), this hike is shown in red, a previous hike on Brookbank, Sunset and the social trail is shown in green, Oldham Trail from Buffalo Park to Elden Lookout Road is shown in blue, a connector between Oldham and Rocky Ridge Trails is shown in gray, a portion of Rocky Ridge Trail is shown in magenta and a connector between Rocky Ridge and Oldham Trails is shown in yellow. Note that there is an overlap of red and green on the short social trail between Sunset Trail and Elden Lookout Road.



Saturday, September 15, 2012

Brookbank-Sunset-Social Trails Loop


Seven Skyliners (Lila Wright, Dolly Yapp, Kwi Johnson, Donna Davis, Miriam Sterling, Anita Jackson and the author) hiked on Mt. Elden on 15 September 2012. We drove to Flagstaff, took US 180 W and followed it about 3.2 miles before turning right on Schultz Pass Road. We followed Schultz Pass Road for about 0.5 miles before taking FR 557 (Elden Lookout Road) by continuing straight ahead where Schultz Pass Road turns sharply left. The first part of this road is paved; however, the pavement soon ends. The dirt road was in very good condition and we did not really need the high-clearance vehicles we were traveling in. We drove about 2.9 miles on Elden Lookout Road to reach the Brookbank Trailhead, where we found parking for three or four cars. Only one car was there, so we had room to park our two vehicles.

None of the maps I looked at before starting this hike were really up to date. The Arizona topographic map I use in my GPS shows old, no longer existing roads, and calls Brookbank Trail along with a section of Sunset Trail “Oldham to Sunset Trailhead.” The trail map available on the Hiking Section of the Coconino National Forest website doesn't show Little Bear Trail on the page that highlights Brookbank Trail. Finally, Google Earth with the National Geographic Topographic overlay does not show the trails in this area.

Notwithstanding the map confusion, Lila had hiked this way before and we set out up Brookbank Trail with confidence.

Hikers heading up Brookbank Trail just above Eldon Lookout Road
Just one mile from the trailhead (my GPS said 1.2 but was incorrect), we came to a fork in the road. A posted sign (right) indicated that Brookbank turned to the right and that straight ahead was Schultz Loop Trail (not shown on any of the maps I referenced).

We decided to deviate from Brookbank Trail for a walk across an expansive meadow that Lila told us was straight ahead and a snack break at a good viewpoint, so we followed Schultz Loop. We would return later to this intersection and resume our loop hike.

Just one-tenth of a mile from the intersection we came to the edge of the meadow. Schultz Loop Trail continued alongside the meadow, but we turned west on a social trail that headed straight across it. As we were approaching the other side of the meadow, which appeared to be formed from an ancient lake bed, we turned to the southwest on another social trail that followed the course of an old road (still shown on my topo map).

Most of the flowers in the meadow appeared to have already passed their peak; however there were still a few hardy clumps of sunflowers, some Indian Paintbrush and several gorgeous butter and eggs flowers scattered along the way. Additionally, we saw a few salsify or salsifi (Tragopogon) flowers. Salsify, also known as goatsbeard, is a native of Europe and Asia1.

Nine-tenths of a mile from Schultz Loop, we came to the viewpoint that was our goal for a snack break. We found there a nice rocky outcrop with a great view out over Flagstaff and beyond. Lila is shown here (left) climbing up to find a comfortable perch, while Dolly is approaching from below.

I also climbed the rocks and found that we did indeed have a good view. We could see the city of Flagstaff laid out below us, Mormon Mountain directly beyond the city and Flagstaff's Buffalo Park closer in. Meanwhile the slope of Mount Eldon loomed to our left. These are all shown in the photograph below.

The shoulder of Mount Eldon is seen through the tree branches to the left, 
Flagstaff is in the center with Mormon Mountain beyond and Buffalo 
can be seen at center right (the lower treeless area)
From the viewpoint we retraced our way back to the Schultz Tank/Brookbank junction and resumed our loop hike by continuing on Brookbank. The trail lead us around a small peak (8747 feet high) located in the middle of the Dry Lake Hills. As we rounded the north side of this small peak we could look straight across Schultz Pass to Doyle Peak (right) on the horizon.

Shifting our view a bit to the left (northwest) we had a glimpse through the trees of Fremont and, peering over its shoulder, the treeless upper portion of Agassiz.

Fremont (center) with Agassiz peering over its shoulder (behind the trees)
By my GPS it was 2.1 miles from the Junction of Brookbank and Schultz Loop trails to the end of Brookbank at Sunset Trail. If accurate, that would mean that Brookbank is 3.2 miles long as opposed to the 2.5 miles provided by the forest service signs.

When we arrived at the end of Brookbank, we found ourselves in a less than ideal spot for lunch and, although it was now noon, decided to continue on to eat at the start of the social trail that we intended to take back to Eldon Lookout Road. That turned out to be just 0.3 miles ahead and was an ideal lunch spot. We were now in a grassy meadow with a choice of sun or shade and a gentle, refreshing breeze was blowing.

After lunch, we walked about 100 yards east along Sunset Trail beyond the Little Bear turnoff and then turned right (southwest) on a social trail to head down the mountain and reconnect with Eldon Lookout Road 1.2 miles above where we were parked.

A quick calculation indicates that we would have added less than a mile to our hike had we continued on Sunset Trail to Upper Oldham Trail (not shown on any of the maps I am using). We could have returned to our cars this way without hiking on the road at all. I thought the route we took was quite acceptable; however, I would like to do the loop we did today, leaving off the side trip up Schultz Loop Trail and through the meadow to visit the viewpoint and adding the return by way of Upper Oldham. Upper Oldham, by the way, is a name I saw on a trailhead sign where the trail intersected with Eldon Lookout Road.

According to my GPS this hike was his hike was 7.2 miles long, the maximum elevation was 8666 feet and the total ascent was 1795 feet.

The GPS track for this hike is shown on the included map (below).


1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsify

Sunday, September 9, 2012

North Rim Campout


Becky Fowsky, with her husband Frank, had reserved a group campsite at the north rim of the Grand Canyon for 9 to 14 August 2012 and had invited us to join them.

Kwi and Lynn Johnson, Lila Wright, George Everman, Akemi Tomioka and Ellis Price (the author) decided to join them there. Kwi and Lynn planned to spend the entire five days at the campsite. Lila Wright and Ellis Price would camp for only three days, returning on the twelfth, and George and Akemi would not arrive until the eleventh.

I rode with Lila who wanted to take her pickup because it has a camper shell installed and she preferred that to sleeping in a tent. She picked me up at home at 0700 and we took I-17 to Flagstaff, then drove north on US Hwy 89.

When we crossed the Little Colorado River at Cameron I noted that all the saltcedar (tamarix) along the river was dead or dying. That seemed strange as other plants appeared to be unaffected.

Continuing on past Cameron, we came to an area with numerous small conical-shaped formations that looked like giant ant hills. They appeared to be formed of shale. A medium Gray (or lead gray) in color, they appeared at first glance to be piles of gravel, such as might be used in highway construction or repair. However, they were too numerous and randomly dispersed for that.

We passed the turnoff to Tuba City (despite the signs extolling the town's wonders and encouraging us to visit) and continued on to US Hwy 89A where we turned to cross the Colorado River at Marble Canyon, just south of Lees Ferry.

Lees Ferry was established by John D Lee1, a Mormon settler with seventeen wives, in 1871. The ferry served as the only place to cross the river until Navajo Bridge, funded by the Arizona Highway Commission and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, opened in 1929. Having become a part US Hwy 89A, Navajo Bridge was later deemed inadequate for that service, and was replaced in 1995. The old bridge remains, open to pedestrian and equestrian use, as part of the Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

We stopped at the interpretive center to look around and walk across the old bridge. We noted that the saltcedar along the streambed of the Colorado was, like that at the Little Colorado, dead. Lila asked the attendant at the interpretive center whether she knew who had treated the treated the plants and how they had managed to selectively kill only the saltcedar on such a wide basis. She did not.

The Colorado River from Navajo Bridge
We had planned to eat lunch at Cliffhouse Restaurant in Marble Canyon at the base of the the Vermilion Cliffs. However, it was entirely too early when we arrived, and we decided to drive on to Jacob Lake. We arrived there just as they were opening the main dining room for lunch and had our choice of seating. Looking around we found the walls adorned with paintings, photographs, and various objects of art for sale.

Superimposed on all this was Christmas decorations, and then I noticed that Christmas music was playing in the background. On questioning our waiter, we found that one group of college student workers, soon due back at school for classes, was being relieved by another group on a different school schedule, and that they had decided to have three days of Christmas during the shift overlap. They even had a Christmas tree in the main lobby.

The food selection was good, with items for every palate, even vegetarians. The service was pleasant and reasonably fast, and the food quality was excellent. We were soon on our way, pleasantly full and hoping that we might come this way again sometime.

The drive from Jacob Lake Inn Restaurant to our campsite in the Grand Canyon National Park is just over 42 miles along State Highway 67. On the way we noted that the forest was recovering from a fire that must have occurred several years ago. The hills were covered with young aspen trees, and I wondered if they had all sprung up from the extensive root systems of the burned trees; I had been told that the aspen propagated itself this way, and that groups of trees were called clones. However, I have since learned that they also propagate by reseeding in the normal way. I have no idea which method predominated in the burned over area we saw.

We arrived at the North Rim Campground (Transept Trail Campground) at about 1330, checked in with the ranger on duty, and after some driving around looking for our assigned group campsite, were flagged down by Kwi and Lynn who had arrived early and were all set up. We immediately set up our tents. Lila still intended to sleep in her truck, but set up a small tent in case the ranger questioned us. It was, after all, billed as tent camping only. However, we were allowed to have three vehicles at the twenty-tent site, and we saw nothing wrong with her sleeping in one of them.

The author's tent.
We checked out the campsite and found a well-stocked store with a coffee bar and wi-fi. There was also a self-service laundry and pay shower ($1.50 for 5 to 7 minutes). A drinking water spigot was provided at the campsite. You might say that we had all the comforts of home.

Widforss Trail


On Friday morning as we ate breakfast and prepared for our first day at the North Rim, we were greeted by a multitude of ground squirrels just waiting for us to leave camp so that they could scavenge through our belongings. A fat raven perched on a bare tree branch nearby, greeted us with a cheeky “squawk, squawk” and assured us that he would look after things while we went hiking. At least that's what I thought he was saying. Meanwhile, an uppity Kaibab squirrel (photograph by Kwi, above right) flashed his gleaming white tail as he scampered around nearby, nose in the air, muttering to himself, “if that riffraff will ever leave, I'll check and see what tribute they have brought for me.”

Finally, having finished our breakfast, cleaned up and stowed our gear for the day and fastened our tents securely (or so we thought), we left our belongings in the promised care of the noisy raven and departed for the Widforss Trail.

From the campsite, we Drove about 150 yards out to the main road (Hwy 67), turned left (generally north) and followed that paved road for about nine-tenths of a mile before turning left onto an unpaved road that took us along the edge of Harvey Meadow to the Widforss Trailhead, around another seven-tenths of a mile from Road 67. Trailhead parking was ample and toilet facilities were available.

A Trailhead Sign noted that the trail was named after, “Gunnar M. Widforss who painted landscapes in the national parks of the West during the 1920s and 1930s.” The sign goes on to describe the trail as follows:

The Widforss Trail follows the canyon rim as it skirts the Transept, a large tributary gorge of Bright angel Canyon. The trail winds through a mixed spruce-fir forest to a picnic area near Widforss Point overlooking Haunted Canyon.

A pamphlet, available from a trailhead trailhead box. identifies fourteen specific viewpoints marked by numbered posts along the first 2.5 miles of the trail. This is the “guided hike” section of the trail and, I am sure that many hikers turn back at that point. The trail does, after all, turn away from the rim and the great canyon views there.

We left the trailhead heading in a southwest direction. This took us, in a fairly steep climb, up the slope to the Kaibab Plateau. As we climbed we soon came to an area where a forest fire had raged some years ago. Most of the damage had occurred to the right of the trail, that is to our northwest as we moved along the trail. Although, I am sure the canyon rim must have served as a firebreak, even when we were not right on the rim, almost all the was damage was to our right. In the photograph shown below, damage appears to have been relatively light close up, becoming more severe farther away.

Fire damage along the Widforss Trail
A little farther along, at marker 5, we got our first good look down into Transept Canyon and the view across Grand Canyon to the San Francisco Peaks 70 miles beyond.

Looking down Transept Canyon to Bright angel Canyon – On the horizon, 
the San Francisco Peaks, 70 miles away, are faintly visible through the 
haze (see right of center)
We could not see the Colorado River itself from the trail because it was beyond the far wall of Bright Angel Canyon into which Transept feeds, apparently at an angle leading to the name Transept. I had some trouble with that name as applied here because I usually visualize a transept as a structural part of a cathedral running transverse to and across the main structure. By comparison, Transept Canyon would seem to form form only a semi-transept with Bright Angel Canyon.

As we continued along the rim above Transept Canyon we enjoyed ever-differing views of the canyon below.

The outcropping just to left of center is Oza Butte
Some of our group paused long enough for a photograph at the rim.

Lila Wright, Betty Fowsky and Kwi Johnson, along with two unknown hikers
On a section of the trail that jogged away from the rim to cross a wash, we came to a large ponderosa pine growing directly in the middle of the trail. The trail brochure said it was “nearly 13 feet in circumference” and “one of the largest ponderosa pines along the Widforss Trail.”

Large ponderosa in the middle of the trail
As we continued along the trail beyond the “guided trail” portion, we continued to observe fire damaged forest. Also clearly demonstrated was the natural process of recovery. Note the variety of plant life demonstrated in the photograph below. As you can see the aspen are making a strong comeback in this area. I have learned that this tree propagates itself by cloning (or sprouting from an extensive root system) and by reseeding. I have no idea which method predominates here. Whatever the method, fresh-growth aspen trees were even more noticeable in the burned-over forest along Hwy 67 on the way to the park.

Fresh growth in burned-over forest with aspen trees predominating
Along the way we came upon a log showing the artful designs drawn by insects burrowing under the bark of dead trees.

Designs in a log drawn by artistic insects.
After about two and a-half miles the trail veered away from the rim and we were soon in a more open section section of forest. Patches of flowers bordered the trail along the way.

Asters blooming alongside the trail
The last section of the trail sloped gently downhill to Widforss Point where we found a picnic table awaiting us.

Picnic table at the end of Widforss Trail
Deciding not to eat our lunch at the table, we continued to a grass-covered, tree-shaded spot on an open slope about 100 yards ahead.

The actual location of Widforss Point, as shown in the below photograph, was about a quarter of a mile ahead.

Looking ahead at Widforss Point
We had great views all around from our lunch spot and were positioned on a soft mat of grass with a gently wind blowing to keep us cool. No one was in a hurry to leave, so we lingered for a good while before heading back.

For the return trip, we had a choice of returning exactly the way we had come or of taking a short loop that skirts the drainage to the east of the trail we came in on. We split into two groups, some going one way the rest the other. As I returned the way we had hiked in and was carrying the GPS, our track on the map included in this report does not show the loop.

A short way up the trail, I found a large patch of Indian paintbrush along the way that I had somehow missed on the way in.

Indian paintbrush in bloom along the trail
We started to meet other hikers now, all wanting to know how much farther it was to the end of the trail. We stopped and chatted for several minutes with a family from Belgium.

When we arrived back at the rim above Transept Canyon, I found a suitable vantage point for a photograph showing the wash running down the bottom of the canyon all the way to Bright Angel Canyon.

Looking down Transept Canyon to Bright Angel Canyon
The difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points on the trail was (according to my GPS) only just over 500 feet. However, the total ascent, considering all the ups and downs along the way, was closer to 1300 feet. The round trip distance was 10 miles as advertised.

When we got back to the campground, we found that the ground squirrels had invaded the Johnson's tent and made a mess of things. So much for the raven's assurances. Or did I just misunderstand what he was saying that morning?

The red track on the map included in this report (below) shows our GPS track for the hike. The yellow track shows the route we drove from the campground to the trailhead.



Hike Cape Final Trail/Visit Greenland Lake,Vista Encantada, Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook, Cape Royal and Point Imperial

We got up early on Saturday morning and set out to visit Point Imperial, the viewpoints along the rim of Walhalla Plateau, and hike Cape Final Trail to Cape Final.

Our first stop was Greenland Lake, described as shown on the below sign. The bottom photograph shows its present appearance.

How Greenland Lake was formed.
Left to right: Becky Fowsky, Kwi Johnson and Lila Wright in Greenland Lake

Not lingering at the lake, we headed to Vista Encantada, our first real Grand Canyon viewing point, where we would be able to look out over the canyon.

When we arrived at Vista Encantada. rain was threatening at the rim and we could see that it was actually raining at places in the canyon; however, looking on across the canyon, the sun was shining on the far mountains.

Looking across the Grand Canyon to the sun-drenched mountains beyond
Since our plans for the day included a four-mile hike on Cape Final Trail and, with some of the group actually hoping to do the five-mile Uncle Jim Trail before the day was done, we quickly finished our viewing, returned to the car and headed for our next stop, Roosevelt Point.

An informational sign was posted at Roosevelt Point identifying some features of the scene laid out before us.

Section of sign showing Echo Hills, Navajo Mountain and the Navajo 
Reservation
Section of sign showing location of the Little Colorado River Gorge
Wording on the informational sign at Roosevelt Point
The following graphic, from the same informational sign, shows the Hopi Reservation and the part of the Navajo Reservation that can be seen from Roosevelt Point.

Navajo and Hopi Reservation lands visible from Roosevelt Point
The following photograph was taken looking toward Navajo Mountain. However, Navajo Mountain along with Echo Cliffs and other distant topographical features are obscured in the photograph by a series of rain squalls spread across the canyon.

Roosevelt Point - Looking toward Navajo Mountain – rain in the canyon 
is obscuring the mountain
Our next stop was Cape Final Trail. It was now looking very much like rain, but we found such a glorious display of flowers scattered along the trail that we just had to continue the hike.

Skyrocket (or scarlet gilia) at Cape Final Trailhead and along the trail
The trail led us up a gentle slope for 1.3 miles to the rim at Viewpoint 12 and our first good view of the canyon from Cape Final. The most awe-inspiring view for me was looking directly down for several hundred feet from the head of the canyon below us. The presently-dry wash visible running down the canyon in the below photograph dumps into Lava Creek which feeds into the Colorado River through Lava Canyon.

Looking down into a canyon that feeds into Lava Creek
The sky was now beginning to clear and views were improving. The downside of that was, of course, that the intense August sun was now bearing directly down on us, unfiltered by cloud cover. Fortunately, much of Cape Final Trail is sheltered by trees and, being on the rim, we had a good breeze most of the time. All in all it was still very pleasant hiking, as we left Viewpoint 1 and headed for Viewpoint 2, three-tenths of a mile away.

In the photograph shown below, taken at Viewpoint 2, one can see the cliffs (center horizon) in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. It was interesting to reflect that we had driven past and admired these same cliffs just two days previously after crossing the Colorado at Marble Canyon. There was still some rain activity between our viewpoint and the cliffs, so they are not shown as clear as they might have been.

View of the Grand Canyon with the Vermilion Cliffs visible in the distance
Leaving Viewpoint 2, we hiked another four-tenths of a mile to Viewpoint 3. From there, we got a glimpse of the Colorado River deep in the canyon, about a mile below us and eight miles away. Judging from reference to Google Earth, the small section of the river visible slightly to the right of and above center in the following photograph is at Awatubi Canyon, a little over three miles upstream from the Little Colorado River junction.

A glimpse of the Colorado River a mile below us and eight miles away
Juno Temple is also visible in the above photograph; see the circular formation at right, just above center.

Viewpoint 3 is only about 160 yards from the end of the trail at the very tip of the cape (labeled VP4 on the included map). From where we stood we could see two other hikers who had preceded us on the trail and were already there enjoying the view. We continued on to join them there. The final climb up a slight slope to Viewpoint 4 was helpfully marked by a small sign (see right).

The point was marked by several survey markers, the latest (left) having been installed in 1934. I took pictures of them all, but later discarded everything that was dated before 1934.

The two hikers we had seen from our last stop were still at the cape when we arrived and proved to be a very friendly couple. We visited with them for a few minutes before they went on their.

Before leaving one of the friendly hikers offered to take a picture of us standing on the rim with the canyon as a background.

Left to right: Becky Fowsky, Kwi Johnson, Lila Wright and the author
We took two additional photographs (below) from Viewpoint 4.

Looking across the canyon from the tip of Cape Final, Viewpoint 4
Looking down into the canyon from the tip of Cape Final, Viewpoint 4
Leaving our perch on the tip of Cape Final, we returned along the trail the way we had come, marveling anew at the flowers strewn along the trail. The two pictures shown below were taken by Akemi Tomioka on a 13 August hike and forwarded by George Everman.

Skyrocket (or scarlet gilia) alongside Cape Final Trail
Skyrockets, Indian paintbrush and other flowers alongside road to 
Cape Final Trail
Leaving Cape Final Trail behind, we loaded into our car and headed on to Cape Royal. Just before reaching Cape Royal we stopped at Walhalla Overlook to get a look through Angels window.

Looking through Angels Window from Walhalla Overlook
We then continued along the road for a short distance, parked at Cape Royal and walked out on top of Angels window.

From atop Angels Window – the Colorado River is visible below
Leaving Angels window, we walked the short distance the Cape Royal viewpoint where the two below photographs were taken.

Looking down into the canyon from Cape Royal
Looking across the canyon from Cape Royal
Our next stop would be Point Imperial which turned out to be a most pleasant site with expansive parking, toilet facilities, shade and benches. Here we enjoyed what I thought were the best views of the day. See the following three photographs.

Looking into the canyon from Point Imperial
Looking across the canyon from Imperial Point
From Imperial Point
We paused to eat lunch before leaving this excellent spot.

Eating lunch and enjoying the view at Imperial Point are, Left to right: 
Kwi Johnson, Becky Fowsky, Lila Wright, Ellis Price and Lynn Johnson (Lynn 
had joined us at the end of the hike on Cape Final Trail) 
- photograph courtesy of a passerby
After lunch, we returned to the campground where I took a leisurely shower, shaved and made myself comfortable for the rest of the day.

We had gotten up at 0530 to get an early start for today's activities and I was ready for some down time. I have a strong aversion to tight schedules under any circumstances, and this is especially true for vacation and leisure activities. While the rest of the hikers in the group were busy arranging to get up early again the next morning so they could hike the Uncle Jim Trail before Lila and I departed for home, I had already decided that I would sleep in instead. Uncle Jim would have to wait for another day when I was in the mood.

Later that evening George Everman and Akemi Tomioka joined us and we all had a pleasant evening around the campfire.

I will not attempt to identify the campers shown here as I really can't 
make out the faces – photograph by Lynn or Kwi (I am not really sure which)
The included map (below) shows only the trail we hiked, that is Cape Final Trail. The rest of our travels to and between viewpoints was by automobile on paved roads.



Hike Uncle Jim Trail and Return Home


On Sunday, 12 August 2012, George, Becky, Kwi, Lila and Akemi got up early and set out to hike the Uncle Jim Trail before it got hot and in time for Lila to leave before 1000. We wanted to be at the Bison Viewing Area on the way out of the park at 1000 because we had been told that was the most likely time for them to be out.

Below is a photograph of the Sunday morning hikers.

Becky Fowsky, Kwi Johnson, Lila Wright and Akemi Tomioka 
(photograph by George – not shown)
The hikers found a number of fossils on Uncle Jim Trail. A good example is displayed in the photograph shown here (right – Photograph by Akemi Tomioka).

Lila and I headed home immediately after the hike, Kwi and Lynn left later that same day, and George and Akemi stayed on until Tuesday to hike the Cape Final and Widforss Trails and visit some more of the scenic areas. George provided the following photographs taken after Lila and I left.


Monday evening rainbow (13 August 2012) – photo by Akemi Tomioka
Monday Evening Sunset (13 August 2012) – photograph by Akemi Tomioka
Before leaving for home on Tuesday, George and Akemi hiked on the Widforss Trail where they found the horned toad shown here (Left - photograph by Akemi Tomioka). Note how well it blends into the background.

Meanwhile, Lila and I, having gotten to Marble Canyon too early to eat lunch at Cliffhouse Restaurant on the way to the campground, thought that if we were at the Bison Viewing Area at 1000 that would just about enable us to reach the restaurant in time for lunch on the way back home. Our calculations were correct and we were right on time for lunch.

Lunch at the Cliffhouse Restaurant turned out to be every bit as good as our meal at Jacob Lake had been three days before. I had a delicious beanburger with an excellent salad. The portions were such that I was unable to eat it all, so I had them pack up part of my burger to take home. It made a great lunch the next day.

As we had driven along the Vermilion Cliffs, I had been watching for the distinct lead-gray colored shale that we had seen in the “ant hill-like” formations we had noted above Cameron. I had by now decided that they were formed from a layer of shale with a harder rock layer overlying it. It seemed to me that the protective overlying layer had eroded away unevenly leaving small areas (caps) protecting the softer shale layer underneath, while the surrounding unprotected shale rapidly eroded away. Meanwhile, the isolated protective caps steadily eroded becoming smaller and smaller, until they were finally gone, leaving the ant-hill shaped piles of shale, which, now fully exposed to rain and wind, were in turn rapidly eroding away.

While at the Grand Canyon, I had noted a lead-gray layer called Bright Angel Shale, laid down about 515,000,000 years ago, and now centered around the 5000 foot elevation level. The same color of rock is seen in outcroppings at that approximate elevation along the Vermilion Cliffs and in the cliffs just east of the Colorado River crossing at Marble Canyon. Meanwhile, the place where we had seen the ant-hill like formations above Cameron was between 4000 and 5000 feet in elevation. I have also seen the same color of shale in the lower part of Paria Canyon, in the White Mountains near Fossil Creek and in New Mexico between Farmington and Gallup, in this case in the same ant-hill-like formations we saw above Cameron.

Lead-colored shale layer in cliffs east of Colorado River at Marble Canyon 
Crossing
On the way to the campsite, I had noted some of the formations with tiny caps still perched on them; however, I was unable to spot a good spot to stop for a picture of one of those on the way back. The pictures shown below are the best I could do.

Ant-hill shaped piles of shale, possibly created when an overlying layer 
eroded away
The below photograph is a close-up of the shale that composes the formations. You can scoop it up and crumble it with your hands. In fact, I brought a sample home with me in a baggie.

Shale that forms the ant-hill shapes
We made good time and were home for an early dinner.


1At the time he established the ferry, Lee was in exile because of his role in the massacre of 120 emigrants at Mountain Meadows, UT, a crime for which he was later executed.

2Viewpoints for the hike on Cape Final Trail were assigned and numbered by the author (see VP1 through VP4 on the included map)