The hiking proved to be much easier than expected, requiring only one wade over mid-thigh. The biggest problem was the areas of slippery mud. The sounds of air first bubbling around a boot as it was placed down and then sucking back in as it was withdrawn were delightfully obscene. There were several places where it was necessary to jump down, but there were no real problems. A large rock blockage two miles from the Paria formed the most serious obstacle, but there was a rope leading down behind the largest rock to a passage beneath it. After passing that, we were back in the portion of the canyon that we had seen the year before and the changes surprised us. In one place, we had to duck under wedged logs that had been ten feet overhead a year before, All the tanks were filled with silt. Apparently such changes are common. We met a man who had been down the Dive a year and a half earlier and had been in water up to his armpits much of the way. We camped a quarter mile from the Paria in a magnificent wide turn in the Dive, noting that a large vegetation covered sand bar had completely disappeared since the last time we were there. The Buckskin had a tiny, relatively clear trickle which surfaced about a mile from the Paria, saving us the trouble of trying to use the muddy water in the Paria. We had planned to spend a day on the Paria and then hike out to the cars but changed our minds and left the next day. Somehow the trip had not come to life. Partly it was the threatening weather at the start, which partially buried the wonder of the canyon in worry. Partly it was the later time of the year, which caused the sun to shine more directly into the canyon, making it appear less deep. Partly it was the dirty water in place of the clear stream of the previous year. And partly it was our unreasonably high expectations. Still, the Buckskin and the Paria are superb canyons and, when the opportunity arises, I will be eager to return to them.

GRAND CANYON - April, 1973              by Girard Haven Our first plan after we were mudded out of the Paria (see article above) was to spend three days on Nankoweap Creek in the eastern part of the Grand Canyon and then three at Toroweap. To reach Nankoweap, we drove south along the dirt road that parallels the Kaibab Plateau on the east, heading for the hunting camp near Saddle Mountain. Although the snow was heavy on the plateau, we were below it until we reached the 6,500 foot level a mile from the camp. We left the cars and headed toward the saddle just vest of Saddle Mountain. It was a gorgeous day and the going was good until we dropped into the canyon that leads to the saddle where it became a snow wallow. Having the good sense to realize that wallowing is no fun, we decided that we were still too high and too far north, so we returned to the cars and after an overnight beer break at Lee's Ferry, reached the South Rim at 10 am. As our alternate alternative plan we chose a trip down the Hance Trail to the Colorado, along the Tonto Trail to the Bright Angel Trail and then up the Bright Angel Trail to the Village. After obtaining hiking permits and setting up a car shuttle, it was 1 pm before we started down, The first 800 feet of the Hance Trail are quite steep and were covered with snow so we took over an hour to pick our way down. However, once we were below the snow line, the trail was in reasonable shape, easy to follow and only washed out in one or two places which were easy to cross. A ranger had attempted to dissuade us from using the Hance Trail saying it was dangerous, but fortunately we did not

Page Index	Prev	Page 6	Next	Issue Index