The Grand Canyon of Arizona: How to See It Part 3

Wotan's Throne. Two majestic b.u.t.tes in the heart of the Canyon, to the east, have been demanding our attention for some time. They are both towering mountains of rock, that stand out even more strikingly than do the temples near at hand. The flat-topped ma.s.s is Wotan's Throne (once Newberry Terrace), and is as ma.s.sive as s.h.i.+va Temple, seen to the west. Its elevation is seven thousand seven hundred feet.

Vishnu Temple. The more ornate and sculptured of the b.u.t.tes is Vishnu Temple, a solid mountain of rock carved into a majestic form by centuries of erosion. Wherever one stands, at the eastern end of the Canyon, whether on the north or the south, on the promontories at the rim or on the plateaus beneath, it is the dominating and eye-compelling object. It is, without doubt, the most stupendous ma.s.s of nature's carving in the known world. It is seven thousand five hundred and thirty-seven feet above sea level, and over five thousand feet above the Colorado River, which practically laves its base.

In front of Wotan's Throne, and a trifle nearer the river, is the Angel Gate, described in the chapter on Indian Legends.

Indian Garden. Now let the eye fall upon the Bright Angel Plateau. The tents at Indian Garden are clearly to be seen as well as any trail party that may happen to be crossing the plateau. The insignificant size of the horses and mules and their riders can scarcely be believed. On the rim the elevation is seven thousand and eighty-one feet. At the Garden the elevation is three thousand eight hundred and seventy-six feet, so we are looking down four thousand two hundred and five feet, over three-fourths of a mile.

Immediately below us, to the right, we see the rugged gorge of gneiss in which flows Pipe Creek. The left fork of this (to the west) is Garden Creek. A small break from Angel Plateau will be observed, where Garden Creek curves to enter Pipe Creek. Here is a beautiful ma.s.s of green, and not far away the trail that leads from the plateau to the river is in sight.

El Tovar Point. A quarter of a mile west from Yavapai Point is El Tovar Point (formerly called Grandeur Point), so named because it is the end of the right arm of the amphitheatre in which El Tovar is located. Its elevation is seven thousand feet.

Coconino Forest and Angel Plateau. To the west and south is the Coconino Forest; beyond is seen the dry bed of the ancient Eocene lake, and the blue ridge, where the lava-flows from Mount Floyd shut in the view. It is a glorious expanse of over a hundred miles, and on a clear day every object is plainly discerned. Here even better views of the Angel Plateau may be obtained than from Yavapai Point, and an excellent outlook over the narrow break in the great wall, where the shattering of the strata and the deposition of talus and vegetable matter made possible the building of the zigzag portion of the trail near the top. The faulting of the strata is clearly seen, and the observer will not fail to note that the strata of the left arm of El Tovar Amphitheatre are thrust up some one hundred to two hundred feet above the level of the same strata upon which El Tovar itself stands. This is one line of the Bright Angel fault, which extends across the river, and accounts for the carving out of the Bright Angel Gorge as described in the chapter "How the Canyon was Formed."

How exquisite is the rich beauty of the greens of the Douglas spruces, and the vegetation on the upper part of the trail, contrasted with the reds and grays and creams and buffs of the rocks around!

The round trip from El Tovar to Yavapai Point is about six miles. A foot-path has been cut from El Tovar to El Tovar Point, so that visitors may walk to and fro between these so diverse and yet equally attractive outlooks over the Canyon.

Many visitors, however, after the drive to Yavapai Point, go to Hopi Point.

And, while this point is pa.s.sed on the Rim Road drive, it is also very popular as a morning drive.

Drive to Hopi Point. This point is three miles to the west, and is just beyond Maricopa Point, which is practically the left arm of El Tovar Amphitheatre. The round trip is about six miles, taking in both points, and occupies from an hour and a half to two hours. Those who go in private conveyances generally stay longer, and make a three-hour trip of it.

Leaving El Tovar, the road turns southwest for a short distance, and then enters the forest to the north. It is a restful drive over a section of the well-made Hermit Rim Road.

View at Hopi Point. The first impression when one arrives at Hopi Point is of the nearness of the b.u.t.tes, and the sheer precipitousness of the place upon which he stands. Both are owing to the fact that Hopi Point is thrust far into the heart of the Canyon. Its elevation is seven thousand and forty-nine feet.

Dana b.u.t.te. Immediately facing the visitor, a continuation of Hopi Point at the five thousand and twenty-five foot level, is a b.u.t.te that would dwarf into insignificance the most stupendous of all the world's city sky-sc.r.a.pers, yet here it is hardly noticeable in the wealth of more ma.s.sive and majestic structures. It is Dana b.u.t.te, so named after the great geologist. Across the river, which here can be seen in five different places, are the temples to the right or east of Bright Angel Gorge, while Buddha and Manu on the left (west) are equally in evidence. But right before us is the dominating ma.s.s of s.h.i.+va Temple, with Isis Temple and Cheops Pyramid guarding it on the right. To the left, new architectural forms and ma.s.ses come out into clearer view, two of these being stupendous structures of great beauty and majesty that guard the approach to s.h.i.+va Temple. These are Osiris and Horus Temples, the latter being in front.

Tower of Set. Just before Horus is a smaller but ma.s.sive structure, known as the Tower of Set. The elevation of Osiris above sea level is six thousand six hundred and thirty-seven feet, that of Horus six thousand one hundred and fifty feet, and of the Tower of Set five thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven feet. Beyond these, to the west and north, are Confucius and Mencius Temples, the latter being the nearer. These are respectively at an elevation of seven thousand one hundred and twenty-eight feet and seven thousand feet. The eye now rests on Point Sublime, the spot where Captain Dutton indited his vividly descriptive accounts of the Great Canyon.

Marsh b.u.t.te. On this side of the river, nearly opposite Mencius Temple, is a b.u.t.te of singularly beautiful structure, of an elevation of four thousand seven hundred and thirty feet. This is named Marsh b.u.t.te, in honor of the great paleontologist, the rival of the equally great Cope. In the far-away distance is Havasupai Point, the most notable of all the points of the south rim, because of its great projection over the river.

Dutton Point. Across from Havasupai Point, on the north side, is the ma.s.s of Powell Plateau, the "nose" of which, facing this way, is named Dutton Point, after the poet-geologist. Beyond, in the faraway distance, is to be seen the curve of the Canyon wall, at the great bend of the river, where the granite disappears from the Inner Gorge, and, resting upon the paler blue of the horizon, is the line of the Uinkaret Mountains in Southern Utah, about sixty-five miles away. What a wondrous outlook it is!

On returning, a short stop is made at Maricopa Point, where the views are much the same, but changed by the new angle of vision. It is one of the great charms of the Canyon that each point of view, even though not more than half a mile away, reveals new and interesting features of the stupendous wonder.

Second Trip--Drive to Grand View. This is a fourteen-mile trip, over a fairly good road, made in comfort in two and one-half hours. One may stay from two to four hours, observe all he wishes to see, and return to El Tovar in another two and a half hours, thus making twenty-eight miles for the round trip. The drive is through the Coconino Forest, by narrow canyoncitos (little canyons), washes, and through gra.s.sy glades and royal parks, where one need not be surprised at any moment to see deer or antelope bound before him. A full description of this trip is found in the chapter devoted to Grand View and its trail, the scenery being too varied and important to be hastily described.

If one has but one day, and he wishes to spend it on the rim, the Grand View trip may be made with a limited amount of time devoted to sightseeing at that point, so that on the return the drive may be taken to Hopi Point in time to view the sunset. This, however, can usually only be done in the summer months, when the sunset is late enough to afford time.

Third Trip--Down Bright Angel Trail. To an ordinarily well person, there is neither danger nor serious fatigue in this trip, but it is not to be ignored that riding down, down, down, for four thousand four hundred and thirty feet (the difference in elevation between the rim and the river) puts a pressure upon certain generally unused muscles, so that one returns tired. But it is a healthful fatigue, and invariably benefits all who experience it. To go down the trail and back is enough to accomplish in one day, unless the visitor is very "strenuous," although not a few do take the drive out to Hopi Point and see the sunset, upon returning from the trail trip. Those who take this ride down the trail, after arriving on the morning train, do not go as far down as the river. They visit the Indian Garden, and are then taken out to a prominent point of Angel Plateau, and there obtain a fine view of the river. From the scenic standpoint, this is much to be preferred to going down to the river itself, especially when time is limited. The trail to the river is down a side gorge, where one's view is materially obstructed, and while there is great satisfaction in standing immediately before the river itself, and seeing it roll along between the gloomy walls of the Inner Gorge, one does not see as much of it, or in so striking a setting, as from the plateau, one thousand three hundred and twenty feet above.

If one is determined to go to the river, however, it will be necessary for him to arrange for a special guide, and push along down the trail with vigor, for the regular trail party for the river leaves at 8:30 A.M., while the train does not arrive at El Tovar until about 9 o'clock, and one may wish to take breakfast before starting. Hence the start is seldom accomplished until after ten o'clock, two hours beyond the allotted time.

Sunrise and Sunset at Hopi Point. It already has been pointed out that this is the strong scenic point near to El Tovar, for both eastern and western canyon scenery, though the eastern is not so fully revealed as from Yavapai Point. Regular conveyances take visitors out to this point both morning and evening. The scenic effects are heightened in the Canyon a hundredfold by the presence of the morning and evening shadows. In the glare of the midday sun, the temples, towers, walls and b.u.t.tes lose their distinctiveness, while in the shadows of either early morning or the late afternoon, they stand forth as vividly as a profile cameo cut in black on a light ground. As the hours of sunrise and sunset vary, the drives are so planned as to reach the points at the proper time, so as not to weary the visitor by too long waiting, or lose the enchanting effects by too late arrival. As the sun sinks, the shadows lengthen and deepen, bringing out into bold relief features. .h.i.therto un.o.bserved, and giving a sublimity to the vast scene that it did not possess in the full blaze of the sun. If clouds obscure the direct rays, all the better, for then other and even more startling effects of beauty and color are produced. At times the whole Canyon seems filled with a luminous mist, in which the temples float into individual prominence in a remarkable manner.

Then, as the vision is turned to the east, one may see the shadows gradually, and, at the last, rapidly rise and shut off the peach glows, the vermilions, the absolutely fiery lights, that often blaze in lingering affection on the peaks they love so well to illumine. No two nights are the effects the same. One can never grow weary of watching them. Sometimes the tones are soft and tender. Again the vividness of the flaming colors is as if the G.o.d of color were declaring his power, and demanding special homage.

From the soft tint of rose-ashes to the fiery red of a blinding sun, the whole gamut of colors and effects is used. The afterglow is by many considered more alluring than the sunset itself.

The Canyon Before Sunrise. An exquisite effect is seen by those who watch the Canyon before sunrise. A soft flood of reddish purple fills the vault, and rests in perfect harmony upon the great north wall. Little by little the darker tints are subdued, every moment adding to the charm of the changing effects, until suddenly the sun bursts over the horizon, floods the plateaus with light, or casts dark and richly purple shadows, and this sets wall and recess, mountain b.u.t.te and deep abyss in startling contrasts.

Returning in Time for Trains. One thing should be noted about these rim or trail trips. They are all planned so as to afford ample time for meals before and after making them and also to insure the catching of trains. The Fred Harvey system runs in harmony with the Santa Fe Railway system, so that no matter how nervous the visitor, he may rest perfectly contented that when he goes on any of these trips he will always be back "on time,"

both for meals and trains.

CHAPTER VI. How To Spend Two To Five Days At El Tovar

Suggestions for Two Days. Suppose the visitor to the Canyon arrives in the morning on an early train and must leave the next night; how can he best fill in his time?

In the morning of the first day he should take the popular drives to Yavapai and Hopi Points, and the afternoon can be spent in driving out on the Hermit Rim Road to the head of Hermit Trail, with a stop, returning, to view the sunset from Hopi Point.

The second day can be well spent in going down Bright Angel Trail.

Suggestions for Three Days. If the visitor has three days at his disposal, let him spend the first day on Hermit Rim Road; the second day he can drive to Grand View and enjoy the eastern end of the Canyon. These trips will give him a general outlook over the Canyon from all the salient near by points on the rim, El Tovar, Yavapai and Grand View on the east, and Maricopa, Hopi, Mohave and Pima west on Hermit Rim Road, and an extensive panorama stretching many miles from the end of the road.

The next day the Bright Angel Trail trip may be made, and at the end of the third day on returning from this trip, the traveler will be able to a.s.sert with truthfulness that he has gained a reasonably comprehensive view of Grand Canyon.

Suggestions for Four or Five Days. If one can spend four or five days, and wishes to fill every hour with travel and sightseeing, he can take one or all of the day's experiences already suggested.

To the Boucher Trail. Then let him plan either to ride a saddle animal or be driven to the head of the Boucher Trail (about six thousand five hundred feet elevation) through the forest to the west, by Rowe's Well, a distance of ten miles. This trip can be made in about two hours. If one has been driven to this point, the harness is removed from the horses, saddles subst.i.tuted, and the descent of the trail begun.

Dripping Spring. It is a little over a mile to Dripping Spring, which is at about five thousand four hundred and ninety-three feet elevation. The trail descends easily at first through a beautiful wooded canyoncito, where it is completely hidden and embowered in foliage. Then it winds its way down and around the cherty limestone, to the top of the cross-bedded sandstone, down which zigzags and steps lead one to the spring itself. This is located in a picturesque spot. Picture a great, overhanging wall at the very bottom of the cross-bedded sandstone, from twelve to fifty and more feet high, the recess being perhaps thirty or forty feet back. From the rocks above, with a drop of about fifteen feet, seeping through a green cl.u.s.ter of maidenhair ferns, the pure water of the spring drips into a stone trough placed to receive it. Day and night, winter and summer, fair weather or foul, it seldom varies its quick, tinkling, merry drip, drip into the receptacle below. Below the trough, a natural cavity in the rocks receives the overflow, and here, within the pool and on its edges, aquatic and other plants grow in profusion. By the side of this ever-flowing water, Louis Boucher, the builder of the trail, has his simple home camp. Two tents, placed end to end, rest against the wall, well protected from sun and rain, though the morning's sun s.h.i.+nes in freely. Below is a corral for horses, mules and burros used on the trail.

Hermit Basin. Here, after lunch, one continues on his trail trip to the river. For three miles the trail winds in and out of the recesses, on the easily rolling ground of the plateau. There are no sharp descents. For about half a mile the trail is in Dripping Spring Amphitheatre, an alcove on the edge of Hermit Basin, so named by Louis P. Brown, a miner and prospector, who, in the early eighties, made this basin his home while engaged in prospecting operations in the Canyon.

As the plateau pa.s.ses across the basin and out to the open Canyon, the scene becomes more and more enlarged, until it is stupendous and vast beyond description. Down on the right, Hermit Creek cuts its narrow path deeper and deeper, until it reaches the red-wall limestone, where it makes a narrow gorge, that, from the elevation of the plateau, seems more like a mere slit in the rock than a gorge. Louis Boucher a.s.sures me that it is so narrow and deep that he has seen stars from its recesses at midday, and I record his statement in spite of the fact that eminent astronomers have told me that such a sight is impossible. Anyhow, the effect of that stupendous descent is such as to almost make the rider on the trail see stars, though there is no danger to any one with ordinarily steady nerves.

Two miles out, one sees the continuation of one arm of the Bright Angel fault in the shattered strata of the red sandstone, some ma.s.ses of which are toppled over at the base of Pima Point. It was this fault that made the talus slopes, down which the Boucher Trail descends, and also the great eroded recess of Hermit Basin.

Columbus Point. The nose of the plateau on which we have been traveling, now directly under Yuma Point, is named Columbus Point, and from this spot, where several noted American painters have made paintings destined to become memorable, the outlook in three directions, east, west, and north, forms one of the n.o.blest of all the panoramas of the Canyon my eye has ever rested upon. s.h.i.+va's Temple is almost directly opposite, as we look towards the northeast. Stretches of the river are exposed east and west, where raging rapids send up their roar to us. Overhead is a great castellated structure, surmounted by a lesser building, with a round tower, embattlements and all the architectural accompaniments of an elaborately equipped castle of ancient Europe. An attempt to describe all the objects seen in the heart of the Canyon is needless. Suffice it to say that the panorama takes in every tower, temple, b.u.t.te and structure, seen from Point Sublime on the north side; or any of the points on the south side, from Havasupai Point on the east, to Yavapai Point on the west; and includes Wotan's Throne, Vishnu Temple, and the wall of the Little Colorado to the faraway east.

On the Lower Trail to the River. The trail then winds under Yuma Point, and zigzags down the thinner strata of the red sandstones on to the red-wall limestones, where it affords more extended views on a lower plateau of lesser area, the rocky b.u.t.te on the end of which is named Bunker Hill Monument. From this plateau another rapid descent is made through ma.s.ses of rock to the bed of Long (or Boucher) Creek, where, at the distance of about a mile from the river, is located the lower camp. Here Boucher has planted a garden of all kinds of vegetables, and with seventy-five trees, which include oranges, figs, peaches, pears, apricots, apples, nectarines, and pomegranates; he boasts of his melons, canteloupes, beets, onions, tomatoes, chile, carrots, cuc.u.mbers, parsnips, etc., and I can vouch for the sweet and refres.h.i.+ng qualities of his melons. Tomatoes, ripe and green, covered his vines in January, and he has them throughout the year. It needs no comment to explain how delightful fresh vegetables are, after one has made this trail trip, especially if it should be in the hot summer months.

Good and comfortable beds and other camp accommodations are provided here, so that a stop may be made over night. In the morning, the river is visited, and the return trip accomplished in easy time for dinner. The distance from rim to river has not been measured, but it is estimated to be from eight to ten miles.

Boucher also has a copper mine, rich in mineral. He claims that it is a continuation of the copper ledge of Ba.s.s's mine, and is possibly the same deposit that continues east to the Canyon Copper Company's mine on the Berry Trail.

The return trip can be made over various routes, including the ascent of Ba.s.s or Bright Angel Trails, but a majority of visitors will wish to return by way of Hermit Trail, across Hermit Basin from Boucher Trail. In that way they will get the experience of using two trails with their different outlooks and a journey across the plateau down in the Canyon, as well as a drive back to El Tovar on Hermit Rim Road.

CHAPTER VII. How Fully To See And Know The Grand Canyon Region

Advantages of Camping Trips. The suggestions in this chapter are mainly for the strenuous and strong, though this by no means excludes members of the gentle s.e.x. Many women and girls--some who have never before been on horseback--have made these extended trips, even those that have required weeks of rough camping. For detailed particulars of the scenery, those interested are referred to the various chapters devoted to the respective trails. The transportation department at El Tovar is under the control of competent men, and is thoroughly well equipped to send visitors on prolonged camping trips with everything needed for a week, a month, or six months. It is merely a question of time and meeting the necessary expense.

On the occasion of my last visit to El Tovar, a small party of both s.e.xes was equipped and started out for a trip to last fully three weeks.

Reference to the chapter ent.i.tled "Across the Grand Canyon to Point Sublime," mainly written as her diary by an elderly lady, will give the ideas of a woman who had next to no previous experience of the hards.h.i.+ps, as well as the immediate enjoyments of such a trip. But no one can estimate the continual source of delight and pleasure the memories of such a trip are to those who have resolutely faced and overcome the merely temporary discomforts entailed. The experiences with the burros, the surprises of the scenery, the exquisite delight of the perfect rest and dreamless sleep one enjoys, after the first few nights of novelty are worn off, the satisfaction of seeing and knowing much of the most sublime piece of natural scenery on earth, are compensations and satisfactions enough.

Down Bright Angel Trail. After one has gained the slight knowledge of the Canyon afforded by the easier trips described, let him plan to make the following as "a starter" in his more thorough investigation. With a good guide, pack animals carrying a full equipment of sleeping, cooking and eating necessities, plenty of water in canteens, one or two extra canva.s.ses in case of rain, a note-book, and pencils or fountain pen, a compa.s.s and barometer for alt.i.tude readings, and the United States Geological Survey maps of the region, one is ready to make a "good start." Descend the Bright Angel Trail to the river, study the formations all the way down; get a clear idea of the relative positions of the strata, and learn to detect them by the individualistic appearances of wall, temple, b.u.t.te, etc.; and examine the so-called cliff-dwellings hidden away in the Tonto sandstones before descending on the gneiss into Pipe Creek Canyon. Arrived at the river, spend a day there investigating the peculiar foldings and tiltings of the Algonkian strata. Sleep, as did Powell and his men for weeks, on the sands of the Colorado River, with the noise of the rapids ever in your ears. Breathe the pure air, and watch the solemn march of the stars.