Circumambulation of Powell Plateau - continued

Around Explorers Monument

Going according to plan, we proceeded along the bank to a Tapeats tower 1.5 miles upriver. At this point is a food cache (Camp 6) and the last possible ascent from the river to the Tapeats rim; a very steep hand-and-foot climb (rainpool at the top). No doubt the higher route from Blacktail to this point would be faster.

[The route along the river edge is rugged and at one place I step on a boulder that pops out of the bank, hits the back of my leg and shreds the skin. Ugly and unpleasant, but not really a serious injury.]

[Another short day and time needed to locate and unload the supply cache at the base of the tower. Camp was at a tamarisk beach near the tower. The original plan was to load up supplies and haul out the containers. This has to be revised. For one thing, there should have been a couple more of us and there is more stuff here than we can really use. In fact, it seems we have no need at all to refill on stove fuel. So we leave the extra stuff in the containers to be recovered on some future raft trip. Rain threatens in the evening and this is the first chance to see if my tarp will cover three. Using my cottonwood stick as a tent pole, it serves us very well. A raft group floats by and inquires, "Where's your boat?"]

The Tapeats formation continues to rise well above river level toward Explorers Monument. The route ascends further to cross the fault here and reach the Tonto bench below the Monument. It is important to locate the track and stay on it as much as possible; it may be a little rugged at times, but not difficult. The opposite riverbank south of the Monument is solid travertine and there is a view down into Elves Chasm. The fault east of Explorers Monument is an obstacle. The track follows a ridge down, around a small hill, straight down, contours the drainage, and goes up the opposite side to the top of the Tapeats again. From the bottom of this fault ravine, where we stopped for lunch in the shade, it is possible to get quite close to the riverbank, but some climbing seems to be required to reach the river for water. After this, the track continues to contour along the rim, sometimes only inches from the drop over the edge. There is one hazardous spot here where the track is washed out and the slope below goes over the cliff; a bypass a little higher might be found.

[Gary stops at a break after lunch to unload and set up his heavy large-format camera. "Doesn't anyone else see this?" he says. The contrasting color of sage growing upslope is indeed attractive, but a lush spring and spot of shade would really get our attention now.]

The first side-canyon is marked by a white square on the Redwall face above and a duck on the upriver side. Here, it is possible to descend to the river for water (not the same as the "emergency" route in GCLH-I). This was our plan, but proved unnecessary due to a large rainpool in the slot of the fall. Water is the key issue in this section. There is no truly convenient and reliable source from the last contact with the river west of Explorers Monument, until Shinumo Creek. The pouroffs along the Tapeats rim commonly form rainpools, but there must be rain to fill them. There is a spring ("Key Spring", Camp 7) noted in GCLH-I, but bad intestinal effects from drinking the water are reported. The camp at the spring was saturated with mosquitoes. (Note: Looking up at sections of the Tapeats rim from the river, it looks like there are places were there is a passage through to the river in the area of Key Spring. Such breaks can be quite difficult to locate from above.)

[The water seems good only for the mosquitoes and I would never wish to camp again at "Key Spring." I remember waking up at night, and looking up at the moon through a cloud of them. I have a sheet as alternate cover for warm nights and so I "tent" inside this through the night, but without getting much sleep. For the next morning at least, an early start is more appealing.]

Through Walthenburg to Hakatai Canyon

At the bed of the canyon downriver from Walthenburg give up the contour and climb the slope to gain the elevation needed to enter Walthenburg by passing over the ridgeline. [I am not as strong a hiker as most of the group and I think I can keep the pace more often by trying a clever line. It doesn't always work, but this time going over the ridge makes quite a difference and I get a good rest waiting for the others.] Faint traces of the track through Walthenburg can be followed angling gradually downward, up to the saddle of a small hill, down to the bed of a small side-canyon, and then following the rim to the bed (trickle of water, rainpool in side-canyon near bed). All the rock layers are on display overhead in the impressive vertical rise to the top of Powell Plateau. On the upriver side is a very large agave pit. The track stays low, then rises to the top of the slope southwest of the next point. Three hours are expended from the downriver side to the exit upriver.

Head for the point of the rim downriver from Hakatai and descend the drainage west of the point to the dark layer below the Tapeats. [The group pauses while George scouts and confirms the route.] Round the point following the ledge below the rim and continue down to the bed of Hakatai near the mineshaft (Camp 8). The drop-off is enormous, but the footing is good. There is normally some water here, but the taste is bad due to mineralization by the red soil. Sheets of asbestos and piles of mining tools remain from the days of W.W. Bass.

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