Glen Canyon NRA, Utah
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Broken Bow Arch Glen Canyon NRA, Utah |
April 23, 2019
Today's venue is the primary reason for venturing all the way to Escalante
this spring. Of all the major hiking attractions off Hole-in-the-Rock
Road, this is the only one that I have not yet visited. I opt to don my
rarely used slickrock boots. If I must walk in water today, I would rather
get them wet than my regular boots.
There are three other vehicles at the trailhead at 9 a.m.
A trail consisting of deep sand plunges unceremoniously down into the canyon. Within just a couple of minutes, a remarkable formation appears nearby.
Mortarboard Rock
Named for its obvious resemblance to a college graduation cap
Wow! All that's missing is the tassle.
Heading down into Willis Gulch
Tufted Evening Primrose
Paintbrush
The easy walking is over
A garden of Locoweed
Although hikers can opt to struggle further in the canyon bottom from here,
I veer off at the obvious place on a well-established route.
This Bypass Route is sunny, yet saves a lot of time and trouble
Prickly Pear Cactus
Desert Trumpet
A young man approaches, wearing a hat with an embroidery of a llama on it.
It seems that he is the guide for a group of photographers on a five-day outing
supported by — you guessed it — llamas; and he is headed back to his
truck to pick up some forgotten ropes that will be used to cordon off a grazing area for
the animals.
A nice sandstone wall appears
There is running water here after all
The scenery just gets better..
..and better
While investigating this water blockage, I manage a reprise of the fall that broke my wrist five year ago. While putting my camera in my pack, I slip on a piece of moss and fall backward. My butt, left elbow, and the camera all strike the wet rock together.
Without even looking at my elbow, I scurry over to rescue the camera and wipe it off. It still functions, so perhaps it's okay.
No passage on this side
No blood is pouring out of my arm, so I press on. Shortly, however, my discombobulation turns to elation around the next corner.
There is is!
Naturally, I had seen lots of pictures; but they never are as good as the real thing.
Broken Bow Arch, estimated at 100 feet high
The arch got its name from an early explorer who found the remnants of a broken hunting bow underneath the span.
There are half a dozen llamas around
Someone is sitting in the shadow underneath the arch
Access to the span seems stymied by the sheer walls of the creek gorge itself passing just below; it must be necessary to venture around to the back side. I continue toward a number of tents set up on the bench to the right.
Passing beside the arch
Presently I find myself cliffed-out, with no way to access the creek bed below. Also, unbeknownst to me, a lot of photos are being trashed because the camera is not focusing properly all of the time. Perhaps I did damage it after all.
Oh well, as long as I am over here, I might as well investigate the huge red wall beside me.
The photographers' dining room
Backtracking past all the tents, I find a trail that drops directly down to the creek. More nice photos are lost in here, because I am not paying adequate attention to the focus.
Eventually, a very steep deep-sand trail gets me up to the back side of the arch. Along the way, I encounter a single photographer shooting some foliage.
Even this one is somewhat out of focus
The guy who had been sitting underneath the arch is trying to make his way out on the front side. I'll observe his progress, and possibly follow him later.
The steep wall is giving him pause; he clearly doesn't like the prospects.
I have other things to do, however. Proceeding as far northward as I can from the arch, I manage only to snap a couple more worthless photographs.
Unfortunately, this one is in reasonable focus
Heading back toward the opening, I see that the guy in the red shirt finally is about
to take the big plunge. Clicking on Movie-Mode, my camera battery actually
chooses this moment to die! What are the odds of that?
He made it down; I assume that he is resting now
While I am busy replacing the battery with a spare, I miss all the action. I guess that I am finished here.
Looking back
Looking ahead
Back at the little waterfall, I know which way to go this time.
There are minnows in the pool
Suddenly, Mr. Red Shirt appears from behind the falls, somewhat the worse for
wear. He begins fiddling with a big bandage on his right arm; apparently,
he scraped off a lot of skin on the way down that steep slab. That's why he
was sitting at the bottom — applying first-aid.
In an unrecognizable foreign accent, the middle-aged man assures me that he is okay; so I wish him well and continue up the trail, reminding myself to do something for my own elbow later. It also is missing some skin.
I also have but a pint or so of water remaining. Although replenishing my supply would be easy enough, once again I don't bother. After all, I have but a mile to go.
Back on The Bypass, two others are approaching
Nifty passage
That cairn is important, for one would not naturally go that way
Mr. Llama Hat reappears, toting a bag containing several lengths of rope. I tell him about the injured man in the red shirt, hoping that he will check up on the poor guy.
He's off to build a llama corral
Presently, the anticipated landmark appears.
There's the Mortarboard — so near, yet so far
Aware that the most difficult part of the hike lies ahead, I must place one foot ahead of the other even though only two swallows of precious liquid remain. My lack of preparation has come back to plague me again. Will I ever learn?
Only a couple hundred vertical feet to go
Near the end of the trail, I spot a photogenic little arch across the way; but I am too tired and too thirsty to venture over there to explore it further, and that's a shame.
I'll call this one Missed Opportunity Arch
Back at the trailhead, I now know what the big trailer is used for.
I also discover a blister on the side of a big toe, and some toenails are sore
as well. It is time finally to acknowledge that these relatively
little-used boots simply are too small for my feet. Without further ado,
I say goodbye to them for good.
A paper note says, "TAKE ME"
§: Well, had I known, I could have used my backup camera; that's what
it's for. Some very nice photographs were trashed today. On the bright side,
this was one of my most interesting hikes. Despite having spoken with only
two people, there was a lot of human-interest stuff today.
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| Flowers |  |
