From the Horseshoe Mesa, one may descend to the Lower Plateau
on horseback, and then to the river on foot. Those who wish a more extended
trip should ride from the camp, across the old Hance and Mineral Canyons
into Red Canyon, stay over night at the river, at the foot of the Red
Canyon Trail, and then return up the latter trail to the hotel. The trail
is fairly good, and the three different side canyons traversed reveal a
wonderful variety of rock scenery.
To Hance Canyon. To take this trip, the trail passes the mine, eastward,
down a steep break in the red-wall limestone, zigzagging back and forth.
Passing under overhanging cliffs, it leads down until the plateau is
reached, where twenty years ago I saw bands of mountain sheep. From this
plateau, the descent is steep into Hance Canyon, and the student of the
dynamic forces of nature can here see (when about half-way down) a
wonderful example of the shattering of the earth's crust. Here the immense
mass of the "red-wall" has been shaken up, and is now rapidly
disintegrating, to be washed down by the storms of succeeding years into
the great river which will ultimately deposit it in the Gulf of California.
By and by Vishnu Temple, the grandest of the rocky structures, comes into
sight, and a little further on one can see, at the base of Vishnu, and
above the granite, the red tilted strata of the Algonkian.
The descent into Hance Canyon reveals a fine view of Ayer Peak, and as we
look down we can see the peculiar shattering of the Tonto sandstones that
Thomas Moran named the Temple of Set. It takes but a few minutes to ride or
walk down to the temple, which is one of the distinctive features of the
Hance Trail, down which most of the early visitors to the Canyon used to
come.
Angel Gate. The ascent is now made on the eastern side of Hance Canyon, to
the summit of the Tonto sandstones, and from this point a fine view of
Angel Gate is to be had, its rich reds contrasting agreeably with the grays
and olives of the Tonto series.
Mineral and Red Canyons. On the plateaus separating Hance Canyon from
Mineral Canyon, and the latter from Red Canyon, one can see the rare
Algonkian strata to fine advantage. Numerous faultings and flexurings may
be observed, and on the last mile before reaching the foot of Red Canyon,
the trail leads through a great boulder bed along the brink of the gorge
immediately overhanging the river. Camp is made here at night.
The return ride up the Red Canyon Trail is made enjoyable by the brilliant
colorings, the faultings and nonconformities of the strata, which are
apparent even to the most undiscerning layman. Here the conglomerate
appears above the blue limestone, while ordinarily it is found below it.
The Algonkian also is largely in evidence. Across the river one may see the
location of the asbestos deposits.
Moran Point. Grand View Point and the points east are all reached from the
Grand View Hotel. The first of these is Moran Point, seven thousand one
hundred and fifty-seven feet elevation, five miles east. The trip may be
made in a vehicle, over a road from which the Canyon is not visible until
the point is reached; or in the saddle, over a trail, the last two miles of
which are along the rim. This is a unique trail, from the fact that it
overlooks Hance Creek, and further along, gives commanding outlooks down
Red Canyon.
Zuni Point. From Zuni Point, two miles further east, a still more extensive
view is obtained. The trip to these two points may be made in half a day,
but many prefer to give a full day.
Navaho Point and Desert View. Ten miles from Grand View is Navaho Point,
over seven thousand feet elevation. The ride thither, after leaving Zuni
Point, is through the Coconino Forest, without a trail. It is necessarily a
saddle trip. The outlook is especially attractive, as it presents portions
of the Painted Desert and the mouth of Marble Canyon.
Comanche Point, seven thousand and seventy-nine feet, and Cape Solitude,
six thousand one hundred and fifty-seven feet, are respectively about
seventeen and twenty miles east of Grand View, and may be visited in the
saddle during a camping-out trip of two days. They both command views of
the amphitheatre where the Colorado River makes an almost right angle curve
from Marble Canyon into the Granite Gorge. The walls are precipitous to
three thousand five hundred feet below, and the outlook afforded is about
seventy miles in either direction, up and down the Canyon. In addition to
the Canyon outlook, Cape Solitude, which might well be called Desert View,
commands a fine expanse of the Painted Desert, extending a hundred miles in
either direction, the colorings of which are especially dazzling at sunset.
The Little Colorado River flows through this desert, one thousand five
hundred feet below Cape Solitude, in a gorge of about two thousand five
hundred feet in depth. From the narrow canyon of the Little Colorado, the
desert rises to the east in three successive, gigantic steps of about one
thousand feet each. This affords a panorama of glorious colorings at
sunset, while the view in the opposite direction glows best in the early
hours of dawn.
To those who wish to camp out, sleeping in the open for two or more nights,
the trip may be extended to the Canyon of the Little Colorado. In this
excursion, one gets a fine breath of the desert, a sight of the narrow and
boxed-in Little Colorado Canyon, and extended desert views, passing by
Cedar Mountain, one of the few spots where fragments of the almost vanished
strata of the Permian age are still visible.
