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| North Bass Trail to Butchart Nat Bridge, AZ | |
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| | North Bass Trail to Butchart Nat Bridge, AZ | | | |
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North Bass Trail to Butchart Nat Bridge, AZ
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| Hiking | 5.90 Miles |
4,600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.90 Miles | 6 Hrs | | 0.98 mph |
| 4,600 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | North Bass Trail to Butchart Natural Bridge
Butchart Natural Bridge
Muav Canyon, North Bass Trail, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
UTM coordinates: 12 S 378713 E 4019425 N; NAD 83/WGS84 datum
Sinkhole NB in Redwall Limestone. Top of NB opening is at approx. elevation of 5160'.
directions and photos by Rob Jones, Wilderness Vagabond
named by Rich Rudrow for Harvey Butchart, a prolific Grand Canyon explorer. Butchart reportedly documented this NB in 1967.
Driving directions:
Starting from Jacob Lake, Arizona, drive South on Arizona hwy 67 toward the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for approximately 26 miles. Take a right turn (West) onto Forest Service road (FR) 22, just past DeMotte Campground and the Kaibab Lodge. After a mile, turn hard left onto FR 270. Drive FR 270 for 2.2 miles, then turn right (West) and follow FR 223 for approximately 5.8 miles to FR 268. Drive approximately 0.25 miles to FR 268B (goes left at fork), then approximately 0.7 miles to the Park Boundary. Drive the rough Swamp Ridge Road 8.0 miles to Swamp Point and the TH for the North Bass Trail.
Note that these roads are not all well-marked or maintained. The Swamp Ridge Road is especially slow-going and prone to closure by snow and falling trees. This route to the TH climbs to over 9000'- keep this in mind. You will need an NPS permit to camp in the park, which you entered at the start of the Swamp Ridge Road.
Hiking directions:
This hike loses (and gains coming out) 2300' in elevation. It is about 2.7 miles to the NB, one way. It is partially on trail and partially in brush, sometimes nearly impenetrable brush. Wear long pants and take care. The last 600' to the sinkhole presumed to form the NB is in very thick brush. The route down into the "room" at drainage level is dangerous because of lose rocks and steep angles.
Starting at 7500' at Swamp Point, the North Bass TH, hike the trail down through the Kaibab, Toroweap, and Coconino layers to Muav Saddle over 0.8 miles. Take the right fork of the three-way junction at the saddle to see Teddy's Cabin (named after Teddy Roosevelt). Our NB is to the left at the junction. (The center trail climbs to the Powell Plateau.) The trail continues into Muav Canyon, through the Supai layer, here in the streambed (brushy, no longer a trail). After about 2.6 miles, the route reaches the top of the Redwall Limestone (actually a native grey color when not stained by oxides from the Supai Formation) and a series of increasing ghastly dry falls. You are near BM 5175 marked on the King Arthur Castle USGS quad; this is marked 5181 on the actual BM monument.
From the top of the dry falls in the Redwall, the Supai Traverse (trail) goes right (West). (It is suggested that you hike the Supai Traverse for about 600' to get a view of where the NB might be in the narrow yet deep canyon, and determine a possible route through the brush on the other side of the canyon. The axis of the NB is parallel to the main creekbed. Return to where the traverse climbs out of the creekbed.) The NB route goes left, East side of canyon, scrambling along a boulder then entering thicker and thicker brush as one works toward the side drainage and then to the sinkhole beyond it. Stay back from the canyon edge and take your time. This 600 feet is slow going.
At the sinkhole, you have arrived at Butchart Natural Bridge. Enjoy the view. Travel into the canyon bottom is possible yet not recommended.
Bob' Arches explains the canyoneering route into the room below Butchart NB. |
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