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| Confluence via Salt Trail, AZ | |
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| | Confluence via Salt Trail, AZ | | | |
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Confluence via Salt Trail, AZ
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| Backpack | 23.04 Miles |
5,047 AEG |
| | Backpack | 23.04 Miles | 2 Days 4 Hrs 17 Mns | | |
| 5,047 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Decided on a three day backpacking trip down Salt Trail and on to the confluence. I had previously only seen it from Cape Solitude, 3500 feet nearly straight up.
Everything lined up perfectly. Normally, winter runoff keeps the LCR muddy until the last week in April. This year, the low snowpack resulted in the river clearing up 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule. Of course, the weekend forecast was extremely uncertain, and we had backup plans in mind as the river can flood very easily with just the smallest amount of rain.
After a windy night at the trailhead, we drove out to check on the river -- blue  -- before heading down. The forecast called for a cold front and 90% chance of rain overnight so we hoped to get one day in and sort of expected that the river would flash overnight. It rained a bit on us as we hiked in, and while it was pleasant for hiking, it was somewhat worrisome as well.
There were four separate groups parked at the trailhead, and all their permits indicated they would be out on Sunday. We passed two guys who were exiting a day early after having entered via Horse Trail. They had camped at Salt Trail that night so we figured that site would now be empty for us. Wrong. Two guys were camped there when we arrived having entered via Big Canyon. After some discussion, we learned they had followed the detailed triplog posted by Vaporman, and came to disagree with his assessment of the difficulty of Big Canyon. Ultimately they had decided against one of the rappels and then decided to make their way to Salt Trail Canyon from Big Canyon somewhere halfway up. They had spent the night up there somewhere and seemed less than pleased. I hope they post a triplog with their experience as I suggested that if there was any additional information from what Vaporman had posted it would be useful to others in the future.
Anyway, with the Salt Trail camp occupied, (though they politely offered to share the site) we decided to head down stream to another site I had seen on a previous trip. The first mile downstream from Salt Trail is probably the toughest part of the hike. The reeds are thick and the path is narrow, easy to lose, and drops into the river a few times. Plus the trail is muddy and requires wading in the reeds. Luckily, when you finally cross to the west side, the trail is clear and easy, and we were happy to arrive to find the camp site unoccupied.
After setting up camp, we chatted with mandolyn's group as they were completing a Tanner-Beamer-Salt trip. Their description of the trip from the confluence had us excited for tomorrow. First though, we had to endure a night of rain showers and cross our fingers that the river wouldn't flash. If it did -- we would hike out in the morning and go with a backup option. Luckily though, the river was pristine in the morning, and the results of the cold front were fantastic. Breezy, cool, puffy clouds ... exactly what one would hope for when hiking here. Normally it would be warm and toasty down in the canyon but that was not the case today. It was perfect.
The trip to the confluence was beautiful but uneventful. We crossed over to visit the Sipapu, but otherwise the route stays on the west side of the canyon all the way to the river. Once there we went around the delta island and upon arriving back at the confluence were happy to see a rafting party pulling in ... because I knew they would have beer!  Of course I would have to get across the LCR to talk to them, and I immediately decided it was worth the swim! Sure enough I was able to coerce them into offering us some sweet nectar, which hit the spot as we ate our lunch.
We motored back at a good clip, not having to stop and take quite as many photos as on the first time through. Perfect weather for sleeping on Sunday night meant a good night sleep. With the cool weather, we opted for a late start on the way out. Normally this is a bad idea. I've hiked out entirely before the sun hits the canyon, and that's the best scenario, but today was so pleasant it didn't matter. A cool breeze and lots of scattered clouds made the arduous climb go by in no time. Back at the truck, we had a celebratory beverage and started the long drive across the reservation to the next adventure.
Along the way, I learned the chub taggers had just left the canyon on Friday, having completed their spring assessment. I also learned that AZGFD has lost their research funding on this project and won't be tagging anymore. USFWS will still be down there studying as they always have. (It's possible I got that mixed up ... perhaps the feds lost the funding and the state is still studying? I'm not positive. One of the two won't be doing it anymore).
I carried 8 liters of water in and cached one at the top of the Supai. I found BobP's cache, which had been emptied by mice. (I retrieved the bottle on the way out ... don't know if a clear plastic bottle would last longer against the mice -- but the frosty plastic gallon jug definitely doesn't survive). On our trip to the confluence, we returned with an additional 10 liters to cover the rest of the trip and the hike out. Carrying fresh water is the biggest challenge when visiting the LCR. It was nice to see a few pots in Salt Trail Canyon still had water from winter available, and the rain Saturday night even filled a few pools in the slick rock higher up, though those won't last more than a couple of days.
The confluence is such an amazing place. One day there will be a fantastic restaurant with plenty of beer and delicious lunch to enjoy. Until then, I sort of like it the way it is now. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Prime time. Brittlebush everywhere and prickly pear with purple flowers a highlight. Scattered colors of other flowers too. A real treat! |
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Little Colorado River |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Normal flow. Bright blue water. Undrinkable due to mineral content. |
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Marble Canyon |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | The Colorado was running green. Easy filtering with no turbidity. |
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Salt Trail Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Dry at the mouth, but a good-sized pool of water about 1/4 mile up canyon (at least 100 gallons), and several large pools of similar size near the top of the redwall just below where the trail crosses the canyon bottom. | | _____________________
| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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