Monday, November 17, 2014

Day 12 - National Canyon Hike

Note- Fred wrote this blog.   : )

We had been limited in our hikes the previous day due to the concerns about rain and flash flooding in these side canyons. After all, water rushing down from up canyon was what had shaped all of them. And we were closing in on the last few days we would have in the canyon and on the river so we wanted to enjoy the hikes we had left.  National Canyon was one more chance to walk up one of these very large slot canyons.  The canyon started out as a very wide and relatively flat opening from the river.

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But, like most of the hikes before, it quickly developed into a scramble over boulders that had washed down from above and required careful steps and climbing.

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We were following a small stream into the canyon and there were numerous small pools and some mud we were dealing with as we went back and forth and side to side seeking the easiest path.

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This was not a long hike and we quickly reached a point where it became more narrow.  The shapes of the walls and the coloring were beautiful.

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As we rounded a bend in the canyon, it appeared that we had reached the end of our trek.  A fairly deep pool spanned the canyon and on the other side was a beautiful waterfall cascading off of a pretty steep wall.

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Well, some of our group were not going to be held back by a little bit of water or a wall.

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Sarah and Jason watched several of our group swim the pool and climb the wall.  Not to be left out, they decided to give it a go as well.  Up the wall they went and then navigated through a very narrow slot to see what lay ahead.

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Sue and I watched for a while and then decided to enjoy a quite, leisurely hike back to the river at our own pace.

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Note – for another perspective of this hike and some rally beautiful pictures, check out Becky’s blog post Day 12 part 1.

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