Grand Falls Photos

[montezumawell]

(See last post)

We went to Grand Falls March 29. Here are 24 pictures:

http://fromthedge.com/2003/grandfalls

This topic was started to alert forum readers about the possibility that Grand Falls might run soon.
The topic title has been changed to reflect the topic's current status.
Whenever this topic pops back up to the "top of the list" it simply means we have posted some "new" news at the end of this topic. Hopefully, your forum settings will take you directly to the last post because it will be the most current.
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Basically, every Arizona resident should see Grand Falls running at least once in their life.
It's that simple. The area can take a HUGE amount of human usage. You gotta see it!
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OK, with those comments in mind--here are the words with which we began this topic:
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The gauges on Chevelon Creek and the Little Colorado at Winslow are what you watch this time of year to see if Grand Falls might run. They are looking VERY promising.

A LOT of water has to pass by Winslow to fill up those porous sand beds out there in the Little Colorado. So, it's a LONG shot.

However, if you know the power of Grand Falls, you will grasp at any straw to get the chance to see it run in the springtime.

Here are your two straws:

http://az.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?s ... 0065,00060

http://az.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?s ... 0065,00060

Cross your fingers--maybe we will see you THERE!

J&S

[Sredfield]

Keep us posted?

[montezumawell]

You betcha. That's the nice thing about those rare years when there's enough water to make Grand Falls run in March--people can actually get out there to see it. Most of the time, Grand Falls runs because of summer monsoons and they are almost impossible to "catch." Basically, you have to be pretty lucky tro see it run in the summer. In addition, it can often be brutally HOT out there in those black lava beds when Grand Falls runs during the summer. Sometimes knats and flies, too.

But spring runoff there is BLISSFUL--the snow-capped Peaks loom large on the horizon, the air is crisp and clear. Few, if any annoying bugs. Near perfect temperatures--cool enough to actually camp overnight. Maybe a few wildflowers. Really great stuff.

So, if Grand Falls runs for more than a couple of days, most people can actually "schedule" a visit there. What a novel idea!

We will definitely be keeping a daily watch on that situation and will post up here if it looks like there's any chance for it to run big enough to justify a trip out of the Valley for you and others we know down there.

J&S

[montezumawell]

Chevelon Creek continues to surprise. It's over 600 cubic feet per second and may not have peaked yet. Most interesting! Meanwhile, Blue Ridge Reservoir has risen several vertical feet in the last couple of days. There's every reason to believe some ungauged water below the Blue Ridge Dam will be making its way toward Winslow in East Clear Creek. In fact, the Little Colorado gauge at Winslow shows no signs of a peak either as it is running about 200 cfs this afternoon.
Grand Falls can put on a pretty good show with just a few hundred cfs of flow. Naturally, it gets better as the flow volume increases. We ourselves are beginning to assess whether next weekend might not be a prime time to be at Grand Falls. We are tentatively planning on going there next Friday. We have to see a few more days "evidence" to confirm those plans but it is looking VERY good at this time. We would have NEVER thought Chevelon could keep rising up to this level this early in the runoff cycle! Bear in mind, Chevelon's flow represents a four foot rise at the gauge!
Well, enough chatter! We will keep watching and continue posting to The Grand Falls Watch!

J&S

PS--Remember--you can watch ALL the Arizona flow gauges at:

http://az.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current/?type=flow

[montezumawell]

Well, looks fairly good that Grand Falls will actually run. Big question is "when?" Next weekend is a really good bet at this time.

The Chevelon water finally made it to Winslow and there's at least several days volume behind those Winslow readings. Chevelon's hydrograph is showing the affects of rain on snow last night.


What does all this mean?

Well, for starters, it looks like there will be enough volume to saturate the sand beds between Winslow and Grand Falls with enough left over to put on a medium-decent show at Grand Falls.
Figuring the "when" of this equation is a tough call. Initially we thought Friday would be a good bet.
We're probably going to head out there Wednesday as well. Depending on what we see we will most likely go back on Friday, too. We think you can schedule a visit there next weekend and expect to see the Falls running!










OK, here is a NWS graphic depicting the total precipitation for this storm. It shows precip from 4:36 p.m. Saturday to 7:44 a.m. Monday. You can see the colors show some Rimlands areas got a lot of inches! Those areas just so happen to be the snowpack that feeds the primary tributaries of the Little Colorado River--the ones that make Grand Falls run in the springtime!
Now, one of tribs is East Clear Creek and the top 71 square miles of it drain into Blue Ridge Reservoir which is only about 2/3rd full. So there won't be much flow produced there. However, it's now a much more likely bet that Grand Falls will run big enough to justify a trip to see it.



Stay tuned!

J&S

[montezumawell]

Richard and Sherry Mangum's do a great job with their hiking books. If you don't own both "Sedona Hikes" and "Flagstaff Hikes," you really ought to!

We are taking the liberty of transcribing copyrighted material from Page 106 of Mangum's "Flagstaff Hikes," Revised 5th Edition, Copyright 2001. We do not think the Mangum's would mind our adaptation of their material.

Anyway, Grand Falls is 38.8 miles from Flagstaff City Hall. Travel North on Highway 89 to Milepost 420.5, the Townsend-Winona Road. There is a stoplight there. This light is just past the last gaggle of gas stations past the Flagstaff Mall in "East Flag."

Turn right on the Townsend-Winona Road and go 8.2 miles to the Leupp Road intersection.
This intersection should be well marked. Turn left on the Leupp Road and go 15 miles out through the cinder cones and lava fields until you drive onto the Navajo Reservation.
Fifteen miles after you turned onto the Leupp Road you ought to see a rather major road to your left. It should be signed as Navajo #70. There should also be a sign for the Grand Fall Bible Church at the turn. Another way to tell you are at the correct turning point is pull over and take a minute to look out into the bottom of the Little COlorado Valley sweeping into the Painted Desert in front of you. If you look carefully, you can probably spot the spray plume from Grand Falls with your naked eyes. You can almost certainly see the plume with even low rent binoculars. (More on the spray plume below.)

This is where the "tricky part" starts. You will have to drive a little more than 9 miles to get to the Falls, 8.6 of it on Navajo #70. The road is very wide and rutted with patches of volcanic clays that become very slick when wet. You generally don't need high clearacne or four wheel drive for this road unless you're going out there in a driving rainstorm. COnsider the road more of a "corridor" than a road. You will see some confusing branches and vehicle routes here and there. Try to stay on the most heavily used portion of the road and this will help you avoid getting "detoured." The road can be very washboarded and provides a rough ride for most vehicles. It can be slow going.

There is an unmarked turn to your left after you have traveled the 8.6 miles from the pavement. It's another half mile to a top of a hill that overlooks the Falls. This turn is very easy to miss--we miss it almost every time we go out there. However, if you arrive at the Little Colorado River, you have obviously gone too far and will need to turn around and retrace your route to find the little turn that goes downstream to the Falls picnic ramadas.
You probably won't want to drive any farther than the first picnic ramada as there are some lava outcrops that are very rough.

By this time, there will be no doubt about the location of the Falls because you might even be in the spray plume. The Little Colorado River is one of the West's most turbid streams. It carries an ENORMOUS sediment load. We forget the exact figures, the water's sediment content is practically at the maximum theoretical amount water can carry without turning to flowing mud. When the so-called "water" goes over the Falls a the spray is carrying huge amounts of fine particulate matter. Anything that sits in the spray plume for more than a few seconds will rapidly become coated with fine brown mud, dirt or whatever you wanted to call it. That's why some people refer to Grand Falls as "Mud Falls." However, the sediment load gives the water unusual visual characteristics you probably have never seen before.

There is a small trail farther downstream where you can hike to the water's edge. If you are planning on taking this trail, you probably ought to bring a change of clothes and wear something to cover your hair. You're likely to be a muddy mess when you return from the short hike. However, it actually is worth hiking down there to look up at the Falls from below. Also be forewarned that the spray plume can wreck havoc with expensive cameras, especially digitals! Take a zip lock to protect your photo gear.

You might want to pick up a copy of "Volcanoes of Northern Arizona" by Wendell Duffield (Amazon link below) to help you better understand what you are looking at during your trip to and from Grand Falls. The books really puts the region into perspective in terms anyone can understand.

We attempted to interpolate a LONG-LAT from Page 69 of the "Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas."
Consider these coordinates as "approximate."

35°-25.87'N
111°-11.32'W

Well, let us know how your trip turned out! Happy Trails!

J&S

PS--Here is a nice link to the average weather for Leupp, Arizona, a Navajo Reservation community now far away from Grand Falls.

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?azleup

Here is a link to that volcanoes book on amazon. It's presented for informational purposes only.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

[montezumawell]

Grand Falls started running sometime late on St. Patrick's Day!
That's a little earlier that we projected yesterday.
This morning there was over 600 cubic feet per second passing by the USGS gauge at Cameron near Highway 89 north of Flagstaff. Since the LC's minor tributaries draining out of the Hopi Mesas haven't shown any activity recently, it's a very reasonable and safe assumption that all of those cubic feet of water passed over Grand Falls before getting to Cameron.
Meanwhile, the LC at Winslow has risen to 1,100 cfs while Chevelon Creek still carries more than 500 cfs farther upstream.
Sooo...this means Grand Falls will run pretty good in the next few days and should still be running this weekend. Whether is continue to run big enough to justify a trip after this weekend is debatable. We'd expect the biggest water to pass over Grand Falls late this week but a good show's going on there now.

"Let 'er rip, Let it fly"

J&S

[MtnGeek]

I've seen Grand Falls twice. Once when it was flooding. That was amazing. and once when it was dry. I think everybody has to see it twice, once running and once dry. Its amazing to see what the dry falls looks like. I have some pics that I wish I could submit on the internet.

[cactuscat]

Man, I'd really love to see that, but I've already got a hike this weekend that has been planned for a long time and postponed once already due to snow. Gotta climb Brown's Peak! Please keep us updated, J&S - I'll make sure and get up there if it's flowing in the near future.

[MaryPhyl]

My Mom's little brother took a bunch of us cousins to Grand Falls about 1953. It must have been summer because we waded in our underwear. I remember being coated with a kind of crust when
we dried. That's muddy!!

[Sredfield]

I'm heading up that way for work Monday, will stop by and take a photo. Hope its still flowing.

[plummer150]

Nice! Keep me in kibitz.

[MtnGeek]

I remember being coated with a kind of crust when
we dried. That's muddy!!

I can believe that. I cupped my hands in the water and let the water drain out and I was holding quite a bit of silt. I could not imagine swimming in it. Discusting!!:yuk:

[Sredfield]

Went and saw it Monday, impressive! Too thick to drink and too wet to plow.

[montezumawell]

IF you have EVER wanted to see Grand Falls running moderately big--this is the best weekend this spring to go! With our current so-called drought cycle in full swing, who knows how long it will be before you have this chance again? Better take what you've got before waiting for what you might not get!

On Saturday morning, the Winslow reading was 729 cfs.
The Cameron gage finally came back online and it showed 633, up about 100 cfs from Friday morning. The flow dropped by a full third from 331 to 220 cfs up at the distant Chevlon gage. Best water will DEFINITELY be this weekend and then it will decline back to its dormant dry phase until "who knows when?"

WUpakti's high temperature is forecast at 59 for Saturday about probably in the upper 60's for SUnday. There will be a Northeast wind Saturday but it will be more of a northeast "breeze" on Sunday. Skies are supposed to be clear and that deep blue you can only see out in the middle of nowhere.

"Let 'er rip, Let it fly"

J&S

[montezumawell]

Here's a page of 24 thumbnails linked to the larger size pictures of a March 29 trip to Grand Falls:

http://fromthedge.com/2003/grandfalls

Happy Trails

J&S

PS--We want to get this information to you. Don't bother following the final directions here on HAZ or in Mangum's book, "Flagstaff Hikes." The road is horribly washboarded. Continue about 5.1 miles beyond the boundary of the Navajo Reservation to a left turn onto Rez Road #6910.

The distance from the pavement to the Falls here is only about a mile more than Navajo #70. It's well worth the extra distance. Trust us, Navajo #6910 is regularly bladed and it is GREAT! You can cruise 40-45 mph with no fear. If you truly want to abuse yourself, your passengers and your vehicle, then stick with Navajo #70.

[jeremy77777]

Beware of the mud when it's a slow trickle...