Rainbow
Bridge, often described as the world's highest natural bridge, was first publicized to the outside world in 1909. Before then it was known only to the local Indian Tribes, and probably a few white wanderers. It was proclaimed a National Monument by William Howard Taft in 1910. Teddy Roosevelt and Zane Grey were among the first to make the trip to the site from Navajo Mountain.
The
span of Rainbow Bridge was reported in 1974 by the Bureau of
Reclamation to be 275 feet (84 m), but a laser measurement in 2007
showed a span of 234 feet (71 m). At the top it is 42 feet (13 m)
thick and 33 feet (10 m) wide
At
first the best way to visit the bridge was by the long, arduous trip
trip by foot and horseback from Navajo Mountain. With the popularity
of river running after World war II, it was possible to float down
the Colorado for several days and then hike some seven miles
up-canyon to the bridge. Later, jet boats were used to travel
upstream from Lees Ferry. After Glen Canyon Dam was completed in
1963 and the water rose in Lake Powell, access by motorboat became
much easier and is now the main way to access Rainbow Bridge.
A
National Park Service document titled “Rainbow Bridge,
Administrative History” describes how the arch was formed, the
native people who lived nearby, the early European settlers and the
development of the arch as a National Monument
Several
people in our group of hikers had long talked of visiting Rainbow
Bridge by trail and we finally decided that we would hike in on the
South Rainbow Trail (along the southwest side of Navajo Mountain) on
6 and 7 April and return by the North Rainbow Trail (along the north
side of the mountain) on 8 and 9 April.
This
is not just a pick-up-and-go hike, but requires some planning. First
there is the matter of obtaining permits from the Navajo Nation. The
hiking fee is $5 per person per day and the camping fee is an
additional $5 per person per day. You will find that a back country
permit is also required; however, that turns out to be no more than
the receipt issued when you pay for the camping fee. We purchased
our permits at the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department office at
Cameron, a small hogan located at the intersection of US 89 and AZ
64.
Because
we would be returning to the north trailhead and because we did not
wish to leave our vehicles unattended while hiking, we arranged with
a Mr. Julius Holiday to park our vehicles at his house and have him
take us to the south trailhead and then pick us up at the north
trailhead.
When
the day finally arrived, we drove to Cameron and stopped for lunch.
The below photograph was taken in front of the Cameron Post Office.
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Left to right: Frank Lombardo, Mary Gavan (why's she hiding?), Becky
Fowsky and Jim Manning – photograph by the author
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After
lunch we continued north on US 89A, turned east on US 160, drove
through Tuba City, turned north on AZ 98 and then north on Indian
Route 16. We called Julius along the way to let him know we were
coming and he met us at the intersection of Indian route 16 and 161.
From there, it was just a short distance to his house. We then
parked our vehicles, climbed into his 4-wheel drive pickup and were
off to the trailhead.
The
National Park Service publishes a written trail guide giving
distances and trail markers along the way. However, be aware that
this guide starts measuring the distance about half a mile before the
official trailhead. Apparently, this is because the last half-mile
of road leading to the old Rainbow Lodge site where the trail
actually starts is just too rough for even most 4-wheel drivers.
Rainbow
Lodge was built by brothers S.I. and Hubert Richardson in 1923 to
service tourists who wished to travel to Rainbow Bridge. According
to their son, Michael, Barry Goldwater's wife purchased a half
interest in the lodge for her husband while he was overseas during
World War II.
The lodge was largely destroyed by a fire in 1951, leaving only a
recently-constructed stone garage to accommodate guest functions.
Meanwhile, Glen Canyon Dam was completed and the much easier trip to
Rainbow Bridge by way of Lake Powell made land travel to the site an
uncompetitive endeavor. Also, Goldwater's interest had by then
shifted to national politics and The Rainbow Bridge and Hotel company
closed in 1965.”
Depending
on what source we consulted, the hike into Rainbow Bridge would be
between 13 and 16 miles, a long day's hike, so we elected to hike in
a few miles before dark to give ourselves a head start on the next
day. Julius dropped us off at the trailhead located at what remains
of Rainbow Lodge, and we donned our packs and set out on the
well-defined trail. Traveling along the juniper-covered slope of
Navajo Mountain, we climbed into and out of First Canyon and entered
Utah. Continuing on, we crossed Horse Canyon, another steep descent
and ascent. It was now getting late in the day and we wanted to set
up camp before dark, but knowing that we had another canyon to cross
along the slope of the mountain, we pressed on to cross it and camp
on its far rim. We were high on the southwestern slope of Navajo
Mountain at an elevation of about 6200 feet and, after dark, had a
grand view of the lights of Page, 2000 feet below us and some thirty
miles away. I first thought that I was looking at Tuba City;
however, the lights seemed too extensive. In retrospect and after
referring to a map, I determined that we were seeing Page.
The
next morning we ate breakfast and pressed on, wanting to get to Echo
Camp at Rainbow Bridge at a decent hour. From our campsite it was
about another three miles to Yabut Pass, a very narrow pass which
affords a spectacular view down into Cliff Canyon on the other side.
From this point, the trail descends rapidly into the canyon, falling
about 1600 feet in around two miles. It then follows along the
bottom of Cliff Canyon for about three miles to the junction with
Canyon. A small sign is posted showing the way to Redbud Pass.
When
the trail turns from Cliff Canyon into Redbud Canyon toward the pass
it starts a gentle climb, rising about 100 feet in around
three-tenths of a mile and then another 100 feet or so to ascend a
plug in the canyon, apparently caused by an ancient collapse of the
canyon walls. At the top of this plug is Redbud Pass. From the pass
streamflow in the canyon is reversed, flowing back to Cliff Canyon on
one side and down to Bridge canyon on the other. This is the route
created by Charles L. Bernheimer,
guided by John Wetherill
in 1922.
I
was never absolutely sure that I saw exactly where the
Bernheimer/Wetherill party had chiseled and blasted “a path wide
enough to lead a horse through”.
We did find dates inscribed on the cliff wall in a very narrow
section of the canyon below the pass. One of the inscriptions said
7-22 which does correspond with the date they completed their work.
We
encountered one area between Redbud Pass and the intersection with
Redbud Creek where a rockslide has partly blocked the canyon. We
removed our packs and lowered them by rope over this section. This
could actually have been accomplished without the rope as long as one
were not hiking alone; it just required one person to hand the packs
down and one at the bottom to receive them. But the rope was handy.
By
this time, I was lagging far behind the rest of the group, but Jim
and Frank took turns waiting for me. When we reached the
conjunction of Redbud Canyon with Bridge Canyon, a little over two
miles upstream from Rainbow Bridge, I saw a large cairn and knew that
we had reached the juncture with the north trail, the route we
intended to take for the return trip.
From
this junction it is about 1.6 miles downstream to Echo Camp. One
first passes through a gate and then, just when Rainbow Bridge comes
into view, a side trail veers off to the right. This trail leads to
the camp, located in a very pleasant alcove just below Echo Spring.
We took the side trail and proceeded to make camp, leaving our visit
to the bridge for the morrow.
We
filtered water for the next day, ate dinner and settled into our
tents for a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, a very strong wind
began to blow and we were awake most of the night wondering whether
our tents would blow away.
The
next morning was cloudy, but still hopeful that we would not have
rain, we hiked on down to the bridge for a closer look before
starting our return journey.
The
below map shows the the north/south trail junction, Echo Camp and
Rainbow Monument.
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Map showing Rainbow Bridge area
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From
Echo Camp, one just hikes up a small rise and down the other side to
to enter the monument through a gate. The sign shown in the
following photograph (see next page)
identifies the boundary and provides guidance for visitors.
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Sign at upstream entrance to Rainbow Bridge National Monument
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On
the cliff wall are mounted two plaques commemorating the two Paiute
Indians (Jim Mike, AKA Mike's Boy and Nasja Begay) who guided the
Cummings/Douglas party on their exploratory trip to Rainbow Bridge.
I tried to photograph these plaques, but couldn't get a close enough
shot to show the inscriptions. I did manage to make out the name
“Jim Mike “ on one.
Some
of our party followed the trail on under the bridge to look at it
from the other side. As they returned, they encountered a sign
telling them not to walk under the bridge. Apparently the five
tribes involved with the bridge (Navajo, Hopi, San Juan Southern
Paiute, Kaibab Paiute and White Mesa Paiute) find that religiously
offensive without the offering of special prayers.
I
managed to get the photograph I wanted from the upstream side of the
bridge (below) and avoided
offending any Indian gods.
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Rainbow Bridge
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After
examining the bridge, we made our way back up Bridge Canyon to the
junction with the South Rainbow Bridge Trail at Redbud Canyon. From
there we continued up Bridge Canyon, following the North Rainbow
Bridge Trail.
The
day was generally cloudy when we set out, the sun only occasionally
breaking through, and then only for short periods. At first we
climbed at a fairly gentle incline along Bridge Creek, heading
generally southeast. Then we turned to the northeast to climb out of
Bridge Canyon and descend into Oak Canyon around 2.8 miles ahead.
Along the way, it started to rain in earnest and, having come to a
large dry overhang with several dead limbs scattered about, we paused
to take shelter and build a fire to dry out and warm ourselves.
We
lingered in our dry spot by the fire for a considerable time before
the rain stopped, temporarily, and we extinguished our fire and moved
on.
However,
it was soon raining again and we had intermittent bursts of snow,
sleet and hail as we continued on our way. We stopped for the night
a mile and a half short of our intended camping spot at N'asja in
Surprise Valley. Our stop at the dry overhang had delayed us and it
was nearing dark, so we found a relatively flat spot above a flowing
stream and pitched our tents for the night, barely in time to avoid
another cold shower. Not wanting to get wetter than I already was
trying to cook a meal, I settled for the meager cold leftovers I had
and climbed into my warm sleeping bag. Although the patter of rain
on my tent awoke me several times during the night, I did get a good
nights sleep. However, I was a bit late getting up the next morning
and found the others ready to go before I had managed to eat
breakfast. The rain was beginning again and I didn't want to try
preparing breakfast in the rain, so I decided to make do by eating
trail mix along the way.
The
rain continued for most of the morning, occasionally mixed with snow
flurries and, again, a bit of hail. I was falling behind again with
Frank or Jim staying close by. I had trouble swallowing the trail
mix that I had planned on using to sustain me during the day. I
popped it into my mouth and chewed, but simply couldn't swallow it
without taking a drink of water which was in rather short supply at
this point.
We
were now descending into and climbing out of canyons, similar to our
experience on the South Rainbow Bridge Trail along the southwest
slope of Navajo Mountain where we had ascended a total of 1500 feet
to reach Yabut Pass and found ourselves at our starting elevation. I
pushed myself very slowly up the canyon walls along the way. In the
particularly difficult climb out of Bald Rock Canyon, Frank went
ahead with his pack and returned to meet me and carry mine rather
than wait for me to struggle to the top with it.
We
found a clear stream that would not clog Frank's filter somewhere
along the way and he filtered some water for me; this enabled me to
swallow some trail mix which helped some.
Finally,
about a mile from the trailhead, I looked up and saw Mary, followed
by Jim, coming back down the trail to meet me. Having reached the
end of the trail and finding Julius, provider of our trail
head-to-trailhead transportation, waiting there, she and Jim had
decided to return and take turns carrying my pack for the rest of the
way. I did not argue. She and Jim had also scrounged a couple of
power bars for me and I quickly gobbled them down with the rest of my
water.
If
I were ever to do this hike again, I would want to take two full days
in and another two days back out. I would also wish for better
weather.
The
included map (below) shows
the track of our hike. Because I lost satellite reception in many
places, the track is a compilation of the actual GPS track and a
track sketched from Google Earth using a USGS overlay. The green
track shows the South Rainbow Bridge Trail from Rainbow Lodge to Echo
Camp. The blue track shows the North Rainbow Bridge Trail from the
junction of Redbud and Bridge Canyons to the north trailhead at Cha
Canyon. The short yellow section is the trail from Echo Camp to
Rainbow Bridge. Finally the Magenta-colored tracks are part of the
18-mile drive from the north to south trailheads.
From
there, it is just a matter of following Woodchute back to the
trailhead. To get to Martin Canyon Trail from the parking lot just
follow west along Forest Road 106D, through a gate about 0.2 miles
ahead and to a fork in the road after another 0.8 miles. Here FR
106D turns left and the right fork becomes FR 106E (toward Martin
Canyon Trail). About 0.2 miles from the junction of FR 106D/106E, a
road leads off to the left to end about 0.1 miles ahead at the
beginning of Coyote Springs Trail. In 2009 a sign (right)
was posted here that also indicated that the Martin Canyon Trail was
still 0.2 miles ahead along FR 106E.
The
hikers continued straight on FR 106E toward Turkey Tank (2009
Photograph at left). They were still traveling along
an easy-to-hike road, much used by 4-wheelers.
