further explorations into grandstaff canyon

Grandstaff Canyon is an impressive canyon.  Most (and many, many) people know it as the route to Morning Glory Arch but that isn't even on the main fork of the canyon.  There is very little access to the main fork and, as such, we've had a great time exploring ways to get into it since little access means fewer people.  We've gone at it from the main fork and from a couple forays along the Porcupine Rim Trail and Porcupine Rim 4x4 trail.  But back in December, we found a less-traveled trail from the Grandstaff overlook off Fins 'N Things and we've had it on our minds since then.  Sunday, we checked it out.

 Heading down in

We drove into the Sand Flats Recreation Area and parked by the radio tower, then went in the cutoff to the intersection of Fins 'N Things/Porcupine Rim 4x4/overlook spur.  We saw just a few older tracks in the sand but nothing recent; this hike would once again be one we had all to ourselves.  From the overlook, we went through the gap in the fence, marked by a WSA (Wilderness Study Area) flap pole, and began our descent into a fork of Grandstaff Canyon.

Trees at the bottom of the canyon = water in the creek

The trail (mostly dirt and sand with a few ledge sections) was narrow, for foot traffic only, and at first descended fairly steeply to get from the canyon rim to the creek.  As we continued down the branch towards the main canyon, however, the creek dropped more quickly than the trail did and we soon found ourselves high up the canyon wall.  It got a little edge-y in a couple of spots - although nothing as terrifying as the Portal Trail - and we did end up putting Milton on his leash for a while.  He seems to have pretty good instincts along cliff edges but we think that if he saw a squirrel scurry by, he would pounce first and think later.  No sense taking chances.

At the lunch rocks

After about 1.5 hours, we got back down to the creek.  The trail faded away at this point and, given the nice, flat rocks along the creek, I figure the few people who hike this trail come down for lunch/beers on those rocks before heading back up.  We did note a side canyon across the way which might merit some exploring at a later date.

You can see where we joined the main fork

Although it was cooler than Saturday had been, the sun was peeking in and out from the clouds, so we took a pause to apply sunscreen before retracing our steps.  We had thought the return trip might be a bit of a grind, given that we had done nothing but descend for an hour and a half.  But it was never particularly steep, just a steady climb, and we made good time with the good footing.

Hike stats:  6.34 miles; moving 2:22 / 2.7 m.p.h.; overall 2:41 / 2.4 m.p.h.; 1,010' elevation (strangely the same as the day before)