Exploring the Canyon's Far West: Photos of a Walk

WALKING THE WESTERNMOST HIGH POINT

WITH PHOTOS

Below is the piece of B.L.M.'s Arizona Strip map that shows the W.H.P. and surrounding territory -- what we walked through, and what we could see from the WHP, which has the red oval around it (it is in the Canyon and the Park). The red dot northwest of the WHP is Snap Point. It marks the Park boundary, but is not in the Canyon -- the green line marks the drainage divide for the local Canyon side canyons (Parashant, Whitmore, and east).

We took all day October 6 to drive to the WHP's upper end.

We arrived near sunset,

to see Snap Point to the north; 

and south, over the Grand Canyon:

Next day on our walk, we could see, in summary:  

to the west and north, Pearce Canyon and Snap Point; 

to the east, a couple of points of the Shivwits Plateau; 

south down Dry Canyon and to the Colorado; 

west-southwest across the flat Sanup Plateau; 

and beyond, the western ridge (green line on the map south of the river) that marks the Canyon's end.

To start, we set out south down the WHP over a brushy, slightly rolling landscape.

Good views out over the Sanup Plateau,

and back along the Kaibab cliffs sloping to Hermit hills,

and a good view of the Park's end point on Snap.

However, the walk's dominant feature had to be the three-tiered brush: cactus, shrubs, trees. No straight paths here. 

Maybe not a Wilderness; certainly a walk in the wild.

No. A trail, much less a road, would NOT be better.

Though the more open areas were a relief.  As were the colors and other surprises:

These are scarlet Gilia, a favorite of mine.

Some pricklies

                  Actually, that one was in Pearce.

Food and color for somebody:

More color

More life

A curious totem

One of our main goals was to see how the Sanup Plateau stretched out in relation to the main river gorge and the boundary ridge on the south side of the river.

Flat out there, with little domes

Brought up closer:

Was there a way down on the Hermit; along the divide

As we got closer to the southern end:

Off to the eastern side of the point:

due south

With people: me, Hazel

The Hermit Shale showing to the east

The WHP End, aka the Dragon's Beak

Hermit again, down to the west 

Editorial: 

Decades ago, an itinerant "cowboy/prospector" named Garrett spent some time in this area. (The Sanup was used as winter grazing until it was added to the Park 50 years ago.) Apparently, Garrett piled up stones to make a sort of shelter. Some remain standing, and when USGS cartographers drew the 15' quad (published 1971), they noticed the ruin and -- for a joke? -- called these rock piles "Fort Garrett (ruin)".

  To begin with, the word "fort" is an insult to this peaceable land and its original inhabitants. Even worse, these piles of  rocks are not even in the Grand Canyon, but north in the Pearce Canyon drainage to Lake Mead.

 Yet (as part of the joke?), USGS mappers went on to stick the name "Fort Garrett Point" on the Westernmost High Point of the Grand Canyon, an indignity to the Canyon and the Southern Paiute. THIS SHOULD BE CHANGED, AND I URGE SECRETARY HAALAND'S COMMITTEE FOR MAKING APPROPRIATE NAME CHANGES TO SELECT A MEANINGFUL SOUTHERN PAIUTE NAME, AND  RE-DESIGNATE THE GRAND CANYON'S WESTERNMOST HIGH POINT, THUS BRINGING POSITIVE ATTENTION TO THIS FAR WESTERN PART OF THE GRAND CANYON. 

End of editorial. 

Back to our walk along the WHP, with significant views, first far off to the east, other points of the Shivwits Plateau:

West to the edge of the Sanup, mountains beyond Las Vegas, Pearce on the right;

Again, to the east, and looking hard for the deep view:

Down into the main gorge to the Colorado itself:

And swinging around to look out over the river gorge beyond the Sanup:

A look back to the east:

And over the Sanup again, above the divide with Pearce:

The Kaibab cliffs, and the wonderful colors of the Hermit:

Yes, it was brushy both ways, with some uphill. However,

A well stocked supply of drink and food awaited.