Down to the River (Kwagunt Canyon)

     John Wesley Powell, the pioneering geologist who first explored the Grand Canyon, established basic concepts of river and stream activity and their powers of erosion. Unprepared for its grandeur, Powell and his party were held in awe during their first expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. Mesmerized by its dramatic canyon walls, Powell began to focus on the layers of rock in the Grand Canyon. Like pages in a long, intriguing history book, Powell suggested the canyon would be the Book of Revelations in the Bible of geology.
     More than a mile deep, as much as 18 miles wide in places, and 277 miles in length, the Grand Canyon extends beyond human comprehension. Only revealed in small slices, a proper introduction calls for exploration into the canyon on foot. Down through its multi-layers of ancient, sun-baked rock, this group of vagabonds take in an eight-day loop hike. Starting off on a march through the Saddle Mountain Wilderness, sights are set on Kwagunt Canyon. Generally, the deeper into the canyon the hotter and drier it becomes. Here on the Horsethief Route a reliable source of water is essential. The reward in this journey into the earth is this scene of the Colorado River rapids and a closeup view of Kwagunt Beach (inset). Tamed by upstream dams and reservoirs, sediment deposits are allowed to build; and Kwagunt Beach is one of the largest in the canyon. This eight day introduction not only offers a showcase of geology, but a look at today's desert denizens, fragile wildflowers, ancient granaries, petroglyph panels, and a close up view of the Southwest's lifeblood, the powerful Colorado River.
     

    GPS track/Map