Usually I am jetting down South Kaibab Trail and I miss photos like this. Today I was trudging up SK so I paused often and was lucky to catch some great light.
I went on a 4 day 3 night backpacking trip down Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa and Cave of the Domes to Cottonwood Canyon, across the Tonto Trail and out the South Kaibab Trail to Yaki Point. Here is my triplog hikearizona.com/x.php?I=4&ZTN=1449&UID=21152
www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Grandview_Trail.pdf
Impressions of the dazzling topography of Grand Canyon have changed and shifted since that day in the summer of 1540 when Garcia Lopez de Cardenas gazed out from the South Rim. The conquistador saw a worthless desert wasteland, nothing more than a barrier to political expansion. At the opposite extreme, the modern view tends toward the romantic, reveling in what we today perceive as the remarkable spirituality of the gorge. Products of the age in which they lived, American pioneers arriving in the 1890s were more practical and utilitarian: they assumed with so much exposed bedrock inevitably there had to be mineral riches waiting to be claimed by those willing to go below and look. Would-be miners fanned out across the inner canyon, probing everywhere, and at a place called Horseshoe Mesa found what they sought. Rich copper deposits initially averaging 30% pure promised wealth, but only if transported from the depths. Optimism reigned supreme, a route was scratched out, and in February 1893 an endless succession of mule trains began moving raw ore to the rim along a rough canyon track originally known as the Berry Trail, more recently as the Grandview Trail. More than any other canyon trail, the Grandview is steeped in the legacy of the mining days at Grand Canyon. Numerous small artifacts associated with these halcyon days are scattered across the top of Horseshoe Mesa, providing a link across the years. Hikers can inspect the physical remains of this bygone era while enjoying canyon scenery at its finest.
Trail Description
The original Grandview Trail was created to connect the rim with the copper mines on Horseshoe Mesa. The well built trail eventually provided access to more tourists than miners, as the Grandview trail provided one of the best access routes into the canyon for its time. The undamaged segments of the pioneer trail in the upper half of the canyon testify to the engineering prowess of the builders as they devised solution after creative solution to the problems posed by the landscape.Start off the rim from the established Grandview Point overlook. The Kaibab/Toroweap section traverses steep ground and the old trail is eroded so attention to the problems at hand is essential. Vertical steps were surmounted by construction of log "cribs" that were chained or pinned to the cliff face to provide a foundation for the trail where nature provided none. The exposure here impresses some hikers as hazardous. Unfortunately, several of the historic cribs were swept away by landslides during the winter of 2005. Trail crews restored the trail, but not the historical context of the old logs. A series of sloping ledges at the top of the Coconino cliff demands caution especially when icy or wet. Be careful throughout the Kaibab and Toroweap - a fall here could have catastrophic consequences.
Original "cobblestone riprap" trail construction shows throughout most of tthe Coconino. Large slabs of sandstone placed edgewise provided a durable (albeit labor intensive) walking surface. The trail comes to the top of a dramatic east-facing gully at Coconino/Hermit contact (known locally as Coconino Saddle) that offers tantalizing views into the upper valley of Hance Creek. Steep cobblestone switchbacks below Coconino Saddle dispense with most of the Supai Formation before the walking moderates and the trail begins a gradually descending traverse across the slope to Horseshoe Mesa. Horseshoe Mesa offers a myriad of attractions. The campsites are located east of the historic masonry structure. Remnants of mining operations, including rusty cans, nails, tools and structures are protected as archeological resources. Please leave these objects as you found them, where you found them. Backpackers headed deeper into the canyon can choose between three trails that link the rim of Horseshoe Mesa and the Tonto Trail. The northernmost trail that descends the east side of the western arm of the "horseshoe" is the most civilized of these options. Most of the original switchbacks have survived so this route is relatively straightforward, intersecting the Tonto Trail north of Horseshoe Mesa. Hikers can continue along the Tonto about 1.5 miles west to Cottonwood Creek or about 2.2 miles east to Hance Creek. The trail down the west side of the mesa is more demanding, severely washed out in the Tonto Group above the bed of Cottonwood Creek. The path off the east side to Page Spring and Hance Creek is probably the most difficult and exposed. Recent trail work has rendered the hardest place a bit easier, but the potential for a nasty fall exists throughout the Redwall descent. Watch for the spur trail to Page (aka Miners) Spring near the bottom of the Redwall. Modern backpackers use the Tonto Trail to connect the Grandview Trail with points beyond. An established trail follows the bed of Cottonwood Creek to the top of the Tapeats Formation where the Tonto heads west toward the South Kaibab Trail. Hikers walking east from Hance Creek can follow the Tonto Trail toward Mineral Canyon. The Tonto Platform starts breaking down near the west rim of Mineral Canyon causing the trail to drop below the Tapeats Sandstone to descend Supergroup slopes to the bed of Mineral Canyon. Exiting at the mouth of Mineral Canyon on the east side is a bit tricky. The trail splits as it rounds the point before starting down the slope to Hance Rapids. The upper trail is straightforward, but the lower option requires walkers to bend low and traverse a narrow and exposed ledge. There are a couple of ways across the talus to the shoreline at Hance Rapids and the foot of the New Hance Trail.
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Tags: Al_HikesAZ Arizona Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park GC2011 GrandviewYakiPoint2011 South Rim hiking hike camping backpacking backcountry Below the Rim Grandview trail Tonto Trail Horseshoe Mesa Grandview Tonto Horseshoe Trail Mesa UNESCO World Heritage Sites GRCA1919
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We went to the Rodeo in Jackson Wyoming. This is serious Cowboy country. I felt right at home. This cowboy had a full 8 second ride and a pretty good score.
This photo reminds me of one of my favorite songs "Live Like You were dying" by Tim McGraw (because of the 2.7 seconds line)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mHaFMqde6A
He said I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime
and I spent most of the next days
looking at the x-rays
Talking bout the options
and talking bout sweet time
I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end
how's it hit you when you get that kinda news
man what'd you do
and he said
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.
Tags: Jackson Wyoming Rodeo Bullriding Bull Cowboy 8 seconds Jackson Hole Jackson2008 Al_hikesAZ WY set to music Explore action sports
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This lighthouse built in 1854 was one of the first eight lighthouses on the Pacific Coast.
While my wife was attending the Arizona Bar Association CLE by the Sea at Hotel del Coronado, I went on some hikes and visited places I remembered from growing up in San Diego when my father was stationed here in the US Navy. When I was a kid we could climb up and down the stairs and go out into where the lantern was. I never realized how special this was until it was denied me this time.
www.nps.gov/cabr/historyculture/old-point-loma-lighthouse...
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse - Illuminating the Past
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse stood watch over the entrance to San Diego Bay for 36 years. At dusk on November 15, 1855, the light keeper climbed the winding stairs and lit the light for the first time. What seemed to be a good location 422 feet above sea level, however, had a serious flaw. Fog and low clouds often obscured the light. On March 23, 1891, the light was extinguished and the keeper moved to a new lighthouse location closer to the water at the tip of the Point.
Today, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse still stands watch over San Diego, sentinel to a vanished past. The National Park Service has refurbished the interior to its historic 1880s appearance - a reminder of a bygone era. Ranger-led talks, displays, and brochures are available to explain the lighthouse’s interesting past.
Construction - Why is it the "Old Point Loma Lighthouse?"
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse is a reminder of simpler times - of sailing ships and oil lamps and the men and women whom day after day faithfully tended the coastal lights that guided mariners. In 1851, a year after California entered the Union, the U.S. Coastal Survey selected the heights of Point Loma for the location of a navigational aid. The crest seemed like the right location: it stood 422 feet above sea level, overlooking the bay and the ocean, and a lighthouse there could serve as both a harbor light and a coastal beacon.
Construction began three years later. Workers carved sandstone from the hillside for walls and salvaged floor tiles from the ruins of an old Spanish fort. A rolled tin roof, a brick tower, and an iron and brass housing for the light topped the squat, thick-walled building. By late summer 1854, the work was done. More than a year passed before the lighting apparatus - a five foot tall 3rd order Fresnel lens, the best available technology - arrived from France and was installed. At dusk on November 15, 1855, the keeper climbed the winding stairs and lit the oil lamp for the first time. In clear weather its light was visible at sea for 25 miles. For the next 36 years, except on foggy nights, it welcomed sailors to San Diego harbor.
The light had only a short life because the seemingly good location concealed a serious flaw: fog and low clouds often obscured the beam. On March 23, 1891, the keeper extinguished the lamp for the last time. Boarding up the lighthouse, he moved his family and belongings into a new light station at the bottom of the hill. Today you can see the "New" Point Loma Lighthouse from the Whale Overlook, 100 yards south of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.
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Tags: Al_hikesaz San Diego San Diego California San Diego 2013 CA Old Point Loma Lighthouse Old Point Loma Point Loma Light House Light House Cabrillo National Monument Cabrillo National Monument National Park Service Park Service National Register of Historic Places Register Historic building architecture history cloudy day
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Leap Before You Look
The sense of danger must not disappear:
The way is certainly both short and steep,
However gradual it looks from here;
Look if you like, but you will have to leap.
W.H. Auden
The Riverguides stopped here to let anyone so inclined to jump from the cliffs, jump from the rafts, or just slip into the Colorado River rapid for some swimming. I felt obligated to stay dry and film the festivities for posterity. This is Three Springs Rapid at RM 216. A Level 2 Rapid so not too dangerous.
I went on a non-motorized Raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with Arizona Raft Adventures from May 16 through May 31. Four Oar rafts, a Dory, and a paddle raft.
AZRA has perfected Colorado River / Grand Canyon rafting. The guides were great, the food was great. Other than the weather, the experience was great.
I went with the idea that this was not a photo adventure. I was going to enjoy the experience and the ride. So I don't have photos of our put in at Lee's Ferry. But you know that you can't get that photo bug out of your system. I did not take my good cameras. This is a nice little Olympus TG-5. Everything takes a beating on a trip like this. It came out a little worse for wear but held up like a champion. On a trip like this you get sand in places you never knew you had places.
GRCA1919
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Tags: Al_hikesaz AZ Arizona Grand Canyon Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park rafting Colorado River Colorado River raft Arizona Raft Adventures rafts oar AZRA GRCA1919 Arizona Wonders Arizona Passages leap leaping jump jumping swim swimming W.H. Auden Auden literary quote quotation cliff diving cliff diving dive
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Just around the corner from Vasey's Paradise is Redwall Cavern at RM 33.3. We are still in Marble Canyon and not yet into the Grand Canyon. Not very impressive from the distance. But once you get there and climb up the beach and over the rocks it is very impressive.
"Redwall Cavern is carved from the redwall limestone. Likely created during the Colorado River’s high flows of centuries past, its beautiful beach is alluring. John Wesley Powell stated, “The water sweeps rapidly in this elbow of river, and has cut its way under the rock, excavating a vast half-circular chamber, which, if utilized for a theater, would give sitting to 50,000 people. Objection might be raised against it, however, for at high water the floor is covered with a raging flood.” What a beautiful description! Though likely not quite accurate there is no doubt that many people could fit within the caverns walls – and imagine the concert!"
www.hatchriverexpeditions.com/blog/grand-canyon-river-tou...
I did the best I could with this little point and shoot camera. Very hard to get good photos here with the high dynamic contrast. With all the sand, you probably don't want to use a really good camera and your neutral density filter.
GRCA 1919
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Tags: Al_hikesaz AZ Arizona Grand Canyon Grand Canyon rafting Colorado River Colorado River raft Arizona Rafting Adventures AZRA Redwall Cavern Redwall Cavern Arizona Wonders Arizona Passages GRCA1919 Explore
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