missing: one swamp

Back in July, Milton and I had explored the upper main channel of Grandstaff Canyon a bit but H hadn't gone with us.  We managed to convince him to give it a go on Saturday.  We drove up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area, waived our season pass at the booth attendant and parked near the radio tower.  There were a couple of powered paragliders getting their rigs up and flying; as we walked out to Fins 'N Things, they were swooping and buzzing overhead, diving in amongst the sandstone fins.  It looked fun (but seemed noisy).

A natural spring springing forth

As soon as we dropped down on the trail into the wash, it was clear that the canyon had taken a hit in the recent floods - it wasn't just Millcreek.  The trail was quite rough and washed out in several places.  This made it easier to drop down from the trail into the wash bottom itself, however, since we could just pick our way down the run-off channels without leaving destructive footprints.

I see an alligator

When our wash met the main channel, however, I was stunned.  The floods had scoured the confluence of all the tangled vegetation, leaving it wide open.  The thorns and vines were gone; the swamp was gone, leaving lovely little natural springs flowing right out of the rock walls.  It made for much, much, much easier walking than when Milton and I had done it before.

Mud as art #1

The floods had left behind interesting pockets of mud, artfully cracked and in many places, sporting critter footprints.  We saw raccoon and coyote prints that we were sure of, plus Milton, of course, blithely trotting through it all.  Later, on our way out, H found a couple of snake tracks near water sources, although we never saw any snakes.

Mud as art #2

Mud as art #3

Once again, we did not get to the head of the canyon - Grandstaff is a long canyon, y'all.  Instead we just walked up for a while and then turned around and retraced our steps.  I really would like to make it to the head of the canyon some day but it may be an overnight backpack situation: the walking is rough on hips/ankles/feet because of the scrambling and slipping and rock-hopping and it might be easier to go up one day and out the next.  Gotta think about it.

Early enough for shade

As we walked back out along Fins 'N Things, the paragliders were gone but we said hi to a guy (and his very excited kids) in a rental jeep.  We drove back out to the Slickrock trailhead parking lot for beers and snacks: lots of people-watching by then, and we chatted with a guy from Amarillo, Texas, in town for vacation.  That guy could park a trail like nobody's business!  He and his wife were quite taken with Milton, as well, which made the dog happy.  It was a beautiful day - everyone was happy.

Hike stats:  6.87 miles; 2:59 moving time/2.3 m.p.h. moving average (slow); 3:32/1.9 overall (slow!); 840' elevation (which leads me to believe that my hike stats from July were off - oh well)