OUTLAW TRIPS

WESTERN GRAND CANYON   -   John Vitz Early April is a perfect time to go into the Grand Canyon. But getting there from the North Rim is not easy. The main road is still closed at Jacob Lake, so entry must be made via a logging road which runs southeast from Fredonia along the base of the Kaibab Plateau. Our group of seven and a half (counting the dog) gathered in Fredonia at 9:00 a.m. We followed the road toward Big Saddle until such time that the snow became so deep that it was impassable even to the four wheel drive vehicles. Backtracking and taking a poorer road led us to the Indian Hollow Campground, trail-head for Thunder River, about noon. Our plan was to make a loop route to the Colorado by going down Indian Hollow Canyon, Jumpup Canyon, Kanab Canyon to the river, then upstream to Tapeats Creek, Thunder River and out. We knew that once we reached Kanab Creek that we would be able to find a route, However, no where in my reading had I encountered anyone who had descended Indian Hollow to Kanab. I had advised Tom to leave the dog at home as I didn't know what kind of terrain might be encountered in the descent. In typical fashion, he chose to disregard my advice. The dog would soon regret it. We left the roadhead and walked down Indian Hollow Canyon through the Kaibab limestone where the canyon was flat and choked with sage. But we knew that the Coconino was somewhere not too far ahead, and that it might prove to be impassable. We were planning to descend to the first water far down the canyon so that we wouldn't have to dry camp. With incredible suddenness the Coconino appeared. This is a hard, buff-colored sandstone-limestone layer which varies in thickness from 300 to 500 feet. The canyon bottom fell away from us in a series of fifty foot dry falls. At first glance it appeared that we had reached the end of the trip the first day. I scouted a ridge with the hopes of finding another way down. But there were only 400 foot cliffs in both directions. While I was panicking, Jerry and Larry were finding a route down the canyon bottom. It involved four serious pitches of rock and tree climbing but was passable. The dog went over all four on the end of a rope and enjoying every minute of it. There were marks on the trees that indicated that someone else had been down the canyon. But the best news was that there was a seep spring at the base of the Coconino, as it was much too late to continue on down the canyon. We sat around the campfire thinking about the Redwall and drinking wine. Day Two. From the base of the Coconino the canyon opens up as it descends through the Supai sandstone. Near the bottom of the Supai, it becomes hard and the canyon narrows and becomes full of springs and pools surrounded by cottonwood and juniper. We entered the Redwall without even noticing and encountered only slight difficulty for a distance. Then we hit a dry waterfall of about 15 feet. Once again the leader panicked and followed a ledge a significant distance only to discover that the ledge went level as the canyon dropped away. Upon returning to my flock I found that Super Haven had found a series of handholds down the face and had down-climbed it. Red face and all, I followed him. The dog got tossed off a cliff for the final time. From here Indian Hollow narrows to about six feet just before it joins Jumpup, an impressive canyon in itself. Two miles later on we hit Kanab - which luckily was not quite dry. The water was warm and full of creepy-crawlies and delicious. We established camp about an hour later, just short of a beautiful spring. Figures. Day Three. The trip to the river involves 12 miles of boulder hopping, stream wading and mud slogging through incredible Kanab Canyon. Indian Hollow and Jumpup are the last canyons entering Kanab which are passable without technical climbing or jumping.

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