Another remarkable difference, or
surprise, is found when one leaves the rim above, where the weather is
lovely and there is not a sign of rain, and go below to the river, which
gives evidence of a great rise.
How can the river rise without rain? Yet it
seems to, and one almost doubts the evidence of his own senses.
Experience on the River. Engineer Stanton tells of an experience as his
party went through the river: "About 2:30 P. M. we heard a deep, loud
roar, and saw the breakers ahead in white foam. With a great effort we
stopped upon a pile of broken rock that had rolled into the river. When we
went ahead to look, much to our surprise, the whole terrible rapid that we
had expected to see had disappeared, and there was only a rushing current
in its stead. While we stood wondering, there rose right at our feet those
same great waves, twelve to fifteen feet in height and from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty feet long across the river, rolling down stream like
great sea waves, and breaking in white foam with terrible noise. We watched
and wondered and at last concluded that this was the forefront of a vast
body of water rolling down this narrow trough from some great cloud-burst
above. (We learned afterwards that there had been such a cloud-burst on the
head-waters of the Little Colorado.) Believing that discretion was the
better part of valor, we camped right there on that pile of rocks, fearing
that, although our boats would ride the waves in safety, we might be caught
in one of these rolls just at the head of a rapid, and, unable to stop, be
carried over the rapid with the additional force of the rushing breakers."
High and Low Water. The piles of driftwood found on the rocks in the Canyon
reveal a difference of upwards of two hundred feet between high and low
water. This, however, does not refer to the general condition of high
water, but to exceptional cases. As, for instance, I myself once saw a mass
of rock, the whole face of the cliff, containing doubtless millions of
tons, fall into the trough of the stream. The whole course was at once
dammed up, and the river rose sixty feet in one hour before the principal
mass of rock was made topheavy by the power of the flood. Then it rolled
over with the force of the millions of tons of water behind it, and
crumbled as it rolled. The mighty wave dashed on, carrying everything
before it. In less than another hour the rock mass had disappeared, and the
water had resumed its normal level. A rise of fifty to seventy feet is not
so very unusual in the heart of the gorge, where it is narrow and the
waters would necessarily pile up. To see such a rise, without any evidence
of a rain above, is a wonderful experience that one occasionally enjoys.
Snow on the Rim. Another remarkable contrast is observed by winter
tourists. On the rim at El Tovar, Grand View, or Bass Camp snow may fall
during December, January and February, and sometimes in March, though it
quickly disappears. This is not surprising when one considers the high
altitudes. The weather is then sometimes quite frigid, but it is a dry cold
which rapidly yields to the warm midday sun. Do not imagine from this
general statement that winter, as we know it in the East, is the usual
thing at the Canyon. Quite the reverse. There are more sunshiny, warm,
windless, stormless and no-snow days than otherwise, taking one year with
another. Real winter weather often stays away until well into January. Some
years it is a negligible quantity. At no time need it be feared by the
traveller.
Trails in Winter. The trails for half a mile, or even a mile, down into the
Canyon, during a part of the winter, are sometimes covered with light snow.
As soon as the snow line is passed, the climate begins to change. The cold
is less penetrating, and by and by one enters what might be called a
temperate zone. Warmer and more comfortable it becomes, until, on reaching
the river, the word "delicious" alone conveys the rich sense of
satisfaction that one feels all over the body in the delightful sensation
experienced. No time is so agreeable for a long stay in the depths of the
Canyon as in the heart of winter. A semi-tropical climate below, while
above, within three hours easy ride, a snowy winter may be reigning
supreme!
Winter in the Canyon. Robert Brewster Stanton, who made his successful trip
through the Canyon in wintertime, comments on this as follows: "It has been
the fortune of but few to travel along the bottom of the great chasm for a
whole winter, while around you bloom the sweet flowers, and southern birds
sing on almost every bush, and at the same time far above, among the upper
cliffs, rage and roar, like demons in the air, the grandest and most
terrific storms of wind and snow and sleet that I have ever witnessed, even
above the clouds among the summit peaks of the Rocky Mountains."
Change in the Flora. This climatic diversity above and below is noticeable
all through the year to the man or woman of sharp eyes, in the difference
of the flowers, the shrubs, and the trees. Above are the pines, the cedars,
and junipers of the cooler climes. The further down one goes, the greater
the change becomes. The pines drop out, then the cedars and junipers, and
when one reaches the patches of growth in the lowest depths, the agave, and
other plants and flowers that we find only in semi-tropical climates here
grow profusely.
Indian Garden. Another difference between the "above" and the "below" is
found in the fact that a garden is almost unknown on the rim, and that
there are many down below.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 38 of 85
Words from 37608 to 38630
of 85893
