Float over the canyon

Joan and I ventured over to see a canyon I last saw nearly a decade ago.

Unlike last time, we visited the canyon by floating over to the mouth, hiking in, and then returning to our vehicle, which was waiting at the first canyon across the river.

It did not involve much paddling, but the paddling we did get in allowed us to access the canyon a bit quicker than if we had driven the dirt road and hiked across the plateau to the canyon rim and descended below.

Even after many canyons and miles through red country, I still found the canyon as scenic as what I had embedded in my memories.

At the mouth of the canyon. From Joan.

And the advantage of seeing a canyon again is seeing what I missed last time.

The abundant enough water let us enjoy a quiet and scenic camp.

Only the sounds of the canyon wrens accompanied us during our time on the canyon floor.

We hiked out the following morning and picked up our packrafting gear not far from the mouth of the canyon.

Another two-part, quick float brought us back to the other side of the river.

At the landing. PCO Joan.

Some “cowboy glyphs” indicated others enjoyed the same view.

We had a quick hike out and enjoyed some cold goodies waiting in the cooler at our truck.

A simple, enjoyable, and altogether satisfying trip.