Rim Routes off The Great Thumb!  

May 05-08 1996  Mike Mahanay

My plan on this late spring trip was to car camp on The Great Thumb for a few nights and explore the rim routes to the Esplanade. The winter and spring had been exceedingly dry and even in the best of times water was scarce on the Esplanade. The only confirmed water I knew of was the deep pothole at the head of Fossil, the spring above Keyhole Natural Bridge, and the small seep by Mt. Sinyala. There are other small seeps but in such a dry year they could not be counted on. The only river access is Fossil and Matkatamiba.

I had six gallons of water in the jeep as I drove to the end of the road on The Great Thumb east of Tahuta Point. It is five miles from the Cave Route trailhead to this point. The road really ends earlier but twists and turns through a recent fire area. At the end of the road the route heads north to Tahuta Point. When it crosses the big wash turn west and follow it down till a trail starts heading north again above the Kaibab. An old gate and barbed wire mark the spot through the Coconino to the Esplanade. This route is called The Great Thumb Trail or 140 Mile Trail. There were four of the wild Supai horses there and they have developed a nice trail around the Esplanade. On my way back up I saw the constructed trail to 140 mile spring that I couldn't find on an earlier trip sentencing me to a night without water. It is .5 miles east of where it shows on the quad.

The second route starts exactly where the road meets the north side of The Great Thumb, approximately 2.4 miles from the Cave Route. It is marked by a campsite and takes off the rim exactly there and goes straight down to 140 Mile Canyon. This route would be a shorter drive and a more direct way to 140 Mile or Keyhole Natural Bridge. As with all the routes in this area, it is steep down the loose talus but direct. I had the pleasure to see two more of the wild Suapi horses here.

The third route starts in the woods 1.1 mile from the Cave Route to Fossil Bay, where the road leaves the rim. It is a Harvey route and is a little more complicated. It starts by following the wash in the woods to the rim southeast of Gatagama Point. You can see the initial route from the road where the wash goes off the rim. At the cliff in the Kaibab there is a bypass to the east or right that might involve lowering packs. the route then heads west above the Coconino less than half a mile until it drops straight down the talus covering the Coconino to the Esplanade at the head of Olo Canyon. This route seems to have had the most use recently.

There are two other routes on the west side of Great Thumb. One at the second point southeast of Towago point and the other in the first bay east of Paya Point. These two would go directly to Matkatamiba Canyon which would provide river access.

The Cave Route goes to Fossil Bay. It starts where the road meets the rim, 9.6 miles from where the gate on The Topocopa Hilltop road. The idea is to work down to the top of the Kaibab, and then head north across three small drainages along a faint deer trail until a cairn marks the descent through the Kaibab. Packs might have to be lowered with a rope here. Then it is just a long glissade down the talus covering the Coconino and through the rabbit brush to the Esplanade and the pothole at the top of the Supai. Nothing marks the route from below. Earlier I came up this route and had an extremely difficult time locating it from below.

Harvey's blood, sweat, and tears route, The Enfilade Route starts half a mile north of Enfilade Point. It is marked by a small cairn. I parked .75 miles north of the sign that reads W2A/W2AB and headed due east to the rim cairn. The route works it way down to the Kaibab and then heads north half a mile to the break in the Coconino. From there it is a somewhat steep descent to the Esplanade. Harvey reported a pothole down there but I haven't seen it yet. This is perhaps the most well marked route cairn wise. It is amazing that Dr. Butchart found this route because it is not at all obvious. When I was on the Esplanade looking for the route from below I couldn't even get a "maybe." (From the Topocopa Gate to the sign W2A/W2AB is 3.6 miles.)

There are also a couple of rope routes to Supai leaving the rim at Manakatcha Point.