Driving across the Navajo Reservation, Doerte and I were happily surprised to run into Bruce McIntyre. He told us about his trip with Bob Audretsch up and down the Walter Powell Route in a day! What an adventure!

There were four vehicles at the Trailhead, two from AZ Fish and Game, and two private vehicles. We could see Gold Hill, Cedar Mesa, and way in the distance the Desert View Watchtower.

We started down the Route at 9 am, hoping to reach the LCR and return the same day. The route through the Kaibab is quite steep with some short down climbs and loose rock. There are some amazing pinnacles below the Kaibab.

Looking back up the route at the Pinnacles.

The Route is well marked and not too hard to follow. It winds in and out and around boulders, rocks, and cactus. At the junction with the Hermit Shale we found shade, some full potholes, and a large party that included Bob Bordasch, Bert Fingerhut, and a Babbit. They were heading all the way to the New Hance Trail! Of course Doerte and I wanted to go with them. Later we met a father and son team that were on a two week hike to South Bass! There are certainly a lot of tough, athletic hikers out there!

It was hot on this April day despite snow the day before. Shade was preferable over the sun. The LCR was running high and muddy from the spring runoff.

Doerte and I saw a couple of petroglyphs at a shady boulder. We reached the LCR in 3.5 hours. The main campsite was occupied by Humpback Chub researchers. The researchers had a crowded big camp set up complete with all the comforts of home. They are lucky enough to have their gear flown in by helicopter. The Chub are almost extinct and number only a few hundred. Trout have been removed from the Colorado River near the confluence to ease the competition on the Chub.

The Little Colorado was flowing high. At Cameron it was flowing 300 cubic feet per second. I don’t know how much flow the Blue Springs add to that. I wondered how Bob, Bert and the party would do crossing the high muddy water. About a mile up river is Big Canyon with it’s Emerald Pools. Farther up is Blue Springs, the source of the LCR flow in times of no run off. From just upstream from Blue Springs a route goes up to the Rim.

Looking upstream. That is Big Canyon coming in from the left.

We had a rest and lunch, then started back up Salt Trail Canyon. It was hot, almost 75 degrees, but the sun was at our back the whole way out. We reached the Rim in under 3.5 hours, for an 8 hour day. Elevation gain was about 3,000’. 6 miles each way. Navajo Nation permits are required.