Cathedral Wash to the Colorado River, Arizona

--> From Glen Canyon Dam the Colorado River cuts its swath through the Vermillion Cliffs. Several miles upriver from the head of Marble Canyon and 14 miles downstream from the Dam is Lee's Ferry. In 1872 John D. Lee established a ferry at the confluence of the Colorado and Paria rivers, the only safe crossing of the Colorado River in 700 miles. Several miles southwest of Lee's Ferry is Cathedral Wash. A wash is a watercourse that only flows during rain. This one runs from the plateau on the north side of the Colorado river down to the river. The hike is only about a mile and a quarter to the river, but it's a dry sandy was with frequent scrambles on the sandstone to get around pour offs (drop offs where the waterflows over a waterfall – difficult to hike). The infrequent flow through the wash has still managed, after who knows how many million years to wear it's way deep into the sandstone forming a canyon with high sides that twists and turns it's way down to the river. We're going down the wash, into the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River. Behind us are the Vermilion Cliffs.

We will be traveling back in geological time through the Kaibab Limestone and Toroweap Formations that are seen in the Grand Canyon. Any time you hike in this area you are looking at a snapshot in time because these creeks and rivers have gouged their way down through layers of rock that were deposited millions of years ago. We met a geologist on the bus at the south rim last year and he was like a little kid with a new toy explaining the sandstone / limestone layers to us. This is considered a moderately difficult hike, not due to the length or elevation gain, but due to the ruggedness of the terrain. 
Oh! By the way we dropped by the BLM office for the lottery. No Go again today. Third try. ☹☹☹

Like most canyon hikes this one started with a walk in the open down a sandy wash. This is where we look for wildlife and this time we were lucky.

We spotted a horned lizard, the first one we had seen.

They are tiny little things, and that's good. I would hate to face one if they were 4 feet long. Like so many things in the desert, they look very defensive.

Lots of Taffoni in the rock here. I'm not sure what has caused it, comments anyone? I'll try to look it up and post later.

Speaking of looking things up, Julie Ligon sent me some information about Rabbits and Hares from an earlier post. I'll add it at the end of this letter. *

--> This is the Kaibab Limestone. It's brittle, fragile, and riddled with fossils. I'd love to tell you that we found some fossilized dinosaur bones, but most is unrecognizable except to an expert. You do see an occasional shell though. You have to be careful walking on this stuff because it fractures so easily that it is easy to turn an ankle on it.

--> A short while down the trail the canyon begins to narrow as the walls get higher. Unlike Buckskin Gulch this canyon never gets too narrow and is generally a couple of hundred feet or more wide.

As we go deeper into the layers, the trail gets tougher.

--> At this point we also started running into impassable pour-offs and had to climb the walls for a while to get around them.

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The last half mile or so got very rough and narrow, but then started to open up as we got closer to the river. At this point we could hear the river in the distance. 

Another canyon visitor heading for the river.

The Colorado River: Looking up canyon.

--> The mighty Colorado River.  Here at the beginning of it's journey through the Grand Canyon the river is clear and has not yet picked up it's distinctive red color. I guess it has left most of it's silt behind the dam. Seems as though I remember that they have had to take ameliorative action over the last few years, increasing the outflow from the dam, because of silting problems in the Canyon due to low flow; probably going to have them behind the dam sometime too.

Oh!  That water is very cold.

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Good lunch spot. We got here by the only way you can, walking...sure keeps the crowds away.

--> The Colorado River is one of those special places that we are privileged to have in our world and it was exciting to see it here. It may be tamed somewhat by dams, but it's still a wild and scenic river and a joy to see. Time to head back up Canyon. Why do these canyon hikes always have to end going uphill. I'm going back to the mountains where the hikes are right side up.

Tired hiker on the home stretch. Notice how heavy the traffic is. We seem to have a knack for going places that are out of the way, and/or off-season and that suits us fine. We often find ourselves the only people at a campground and seldom meet more than a few, if any, people on the trail. Whazoo and Lynn need to get back home tomorrow so Cheryl and I will continue exploring the Paria River area on our own and I'll tell you a little bit about our lifestyle on the road. We'll try for “The Wave” again too. If third time isn't a charm, what's fourth time?

* What is the difference between a hare and a rabbit?  This is a very good question because most people often confuse rabbits and hares, but they are very different in several ways. Hares are generally larger, and have longer hind legs and longer ears than rabbits. When hares are born, they have a full coat of fur and their eyes are open. Their mothers either drop them on the bare ground at birth or into a slight depression in the ground. A young hare is called a leveret. Rabbits, on the other hand, are more compact. Their young, called bunnies, are born hairless and blind. The mother rabbit lines a nest with grass, bark and soft stems. Over this, she places a layer of hair that she plucks from her own body. When she leaves the nest, she covers the bunnies with more hair and dead plants to keep them warm and hidden from enemies. Rabbits and hares both molt and then grow new hair. This happens in both the spring and in the fall. Rabbits' brown summer fur is replaced with fur that is grayer. Hares, especially those living in cold, snowy regions, turn white in the winter. Rabbits and hares are more active during the dark hours from dawn to dusk. Rabbits hide in either burrows or depressions in the ground during daylight hours. They try to keep hidden. Hares hide among plants and usually try to escape enemies by running. Rabbits are often found together. Male rabbits even fight within a group to become the dominant male. The dominant male rabbit then mates with most of the females in the area. Hares live most of the time by themselves. They come together in pairs for mating only. There is little or no fighting among hares. They just pair off. The link below provided the information on rabbits and hares. Thanks to Julie Ligon for the info.
Next:  A little free time in southern Utah.