After my decision to hike every hike, Hilltop Overlook was a good place to start. This was, as all of the hikes were, a challenge. But, this was a more ‘do-able’ hike for me.
It was, as Matt would say, ‘flat’ all the way – meaning good trail with no bouldering.The day was beautiful, and the weather, warm…..
On an exposed trail such as this, there is no shade……
But the trade off is the awesome views.
Before long, we had reached the summit – or,at least, as high as we were going to go.
Great view of the Colorado River……As well as a good look out over the Canyon.
Getting a view like this is a treat, because when we are on the river, we lose the perspective of seeing the whole width of the Canyon. When on the river, one’s view often becomes limited to the inner canyon walls and it is easy to forget that the grandeur of the Grand Canyon is contained in the whole of the canyon…..it’s height, breadth, and length.
Reaching a summit seems to create a sense of giddiness and exhilaration. This usually results in everybody taking their pictures, and each other’s pictures, with the overlook in the background. This time, it was the guide’s turn to have a group picture taken.
After celebrating the summit, we followed Matt….we were not sure to where……We backtracked a bit and crossed the ridge…..
And up to another smaller ridge.
There we found the remains of an ancient Pueblo structure.
This stone structure overlooking the river valley was possibly used as a watch tower.
Matt felt around the stones in the wall, locating a loose stone which hid these pottery fragments. How clever for the guides to protect this site from vandalism.
Then, it was time to head back down and make more miles on down the river.
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