Colorado Riverway, Utah
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Fisher Towers Colorado Riverway, Utah |
April 23, 2014
Just outside of Moab is a National Scenic Byway that follows the
course of the Colorado River and just happens to be one of the prettiest
routes in the country. This is to be another double-duty
day — two unrelated hikes off this same road.
Although I reach the trailhead at 8 a.m., ten other cars are here already. This place appears to be more popular than I had anticipated.
Colorado River
Early-morning trailhead
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There are two trails here. One of them advertises a nice
photo-op, so I head that way.
Preview of coming attractions, including Kingfisher Tower
Onto the main trail
As long as the sun isn't out, I might as well utilize this opportunity to shoot more flowers, something that is best done under light clouds.
Tufted Evening Primrose
Small-flowered Milkvetch
I knew that I would be in red-rock land today, but they overdid it here.
Fantastic shapes in the Ancient Art section
This truly is a one-of-a-kind place. Walking underneath the tall, straight cliffs is almost intimidating; at the least, I am in awe of the workings of nature.
Wow. I never have seen anything like this
Just ahead are some more named landmarks:
Echo and Cottontail Towers
A balanced-rock archlet
Barcelona architect Antoni Gaudi would feel right at home here
Many buildings in Barcelona feature contorted, fantastic designs and gargoyles on top, mostly created by Gaudi and all resembling these formations.
The Cobra
Up in the rocks to the left I hear spirited voices. Whatever those folks are doing, they are having a good time.
Sounds from above
Study in Ochre
Next, I get to traverse the base of the most truly vertical cliff I ever saw:
This is why I go hiking
It's like being in a cathedral.
I have arrived at a deep gully. How did the
trail-designers handle it?
This is how!
At the base of the ladder is an opportunity to explore a side canyon. I'll pass on that for now.
An inviting detour
natural stair steps out of the gully
I'll be back
Cottontail and Echo from the other side
Can you spot the three hikers at the base?
The trail leads up to an opening in the rocks with a cliff on the other side. Is this the end of the road? Apparently not. A male foursome comes by and continues around the blind corner. One of them, sporting a heavier pack, stumbles at the precipice; but he falls in the right direction.
Knowing that the trail does terminate soon, I decide to turn back here.
They'll go that way
I'll go this way
Not bad for an ocean-bottom deposit
The trio of hikers I spotted traversing the base of Cottontail have arrived at the ladder. As I pause to watch them, a foursome of young women nearly overtakes me, creating a potential traffic jam. I scurry up the rungs ahead of them, guessing correctly that they will want to pause for photos of each other on the ladder.
They could have constructed a little bridge instead, but the ladder is more fun
There seems to be some activity up in Ancient Art. At maximum zoom I can make out four climbers doing their thing; that explains the mysterious voices I heard earlier.
Where others fear to tread
This is shaping up as an interesting opportunity. Sitting down, I screw my camera onto the top of my walking stick for added stability, and await some action. I don't have to wait very long:
The Corkscrew — possibly Utah's most popular climb
Incredible! I bet that that guy would like to see this photo,
but how would he ever know? Although the man nearest him shooting pictures,
he cannot get the overall perspective from his position. What a serendipitous
photo-op!
Still no sunlight
It's not far now
Back at the trailhead, I chat with two climbers just heading out. I give one of them a calling card, hopeful that he might be able to pass it on to the other guy, in case that person should care. Better photos of The Corkscrew are available online, but possibly not one of him.
On to the next adventure
§: No matter how much time one might have spent in red-rock
country previously, hiking the Fisher Towers for the first time will be a
unique experience. This one is not to be missed.
I might well return for more photographs on a sunny day. Besides, I seemed to have screwed up by not continuing to trail's end; for I missed out on an unobstructed view of The Titan which, at 900 feet, is reputed to be the tallest freestanding sandstone tower in the western hemisphere.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Flowers | |
| Personality |  |
| Solitude |  |
SAD NEWS
The Cobra was destroyed during a storm just three months after this visit. Some of the formation's rock was 245 million years old. I was very lucky to have gotten there just in time to see it.
Farewell to The Cobra
