Paria Canyon Backpack History, Geography, and Geology of a Remarkable Region May 19-25, 2020 with: Christa Sadler
CLASS INFORMATION SHEET AND SYLLABUS MAY 20
History and geology are perhaps nowhere more inextricably We’ll spend the day exploring and hiking in the entwined than on the Colorado Plateau, where the shapes area and continuing our discussion of the natural of the land determined the places people explored, traveled hum and history of the region. We will likely do a and settled. This class focuses on Lees Ferry and Paria long hike (roughly 8 miles with about three Canyon, areas rich in Native American, Spanish and thousand feet of elevation change) with a fantastic Mormon history. We will explore the geology and historical, geological and scenic perspective on the geography of the area and how they affected the history of region. We’ll continue our discussion of the the peoples settling the region in the last few centuries. history of the region with the following topics:
We will begin our exploration at Lees Ferry. From there, The history of the crossing at Lees Ferry we will shuttle to the White House trailhead off Highway John D. Lee and Emma Batchelor Lee 89. Our route will take us down the Paria drainage until Lonely Dell Ranch we come full circle back to Lees Ferry. The route drops The last days of the ferry and the building 1,400 feet in 35 miles. While it is a relatively easy route, of Navajo Bridge it does follow the creek the entire way. There are a few places where we will need to climb over rock falls, so hikers An introduction to Mormon colonization must come prepared for occasionally rough and always wet into Arizona, the Honeymoon Trail and walking. Jacob Hamblin
MAY MAY 19 21-24
Meet at 9:00 am Arizona Time on the porch of Our shuttle will meet us early in the morning and the Old Marble Canyon Lodge (across the bring us to our trailhead. We’ll spend the next 4 highway from the restaurant and main lodge), days exploring the Paria drainage, a lovely where we will introduce ourselves and the class. confluence of soaring red sandstone walls and We will then relocate to the Lee’s Ferry deep narrow canyons. Over the course of our Campground, where we will set up camp for two journey, we will discuss topics relevant to what we nights. After lunch we will explore the Lee’s Ferry are seeing, including: area and begin to examine the history and geology Geologic time and dating of rocks of the region. You will have the opportunity to The first peoples of the region do any last minute shopping and planning should Jacob Hamblin you need to do so. Our topics will include: Mormon colonization of the area A geographic overview of the region The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition Introduction to the formations of the area John Wesley Powell’s exploration of the Structures and structural geology, faults region and folds and how they help shape the Slot canyon formation land, and the people who settled the land Erosion, weathering and geomorphology of the area Springs, seeps and the role of water in a desert ecosystem
Mesozoic history of the region—big trees,
little dinosaurs and other cool things. We shouldn’t travel more than 6 to 8 miles per magnets and close to impossible to get day, and while water is available in the canyon and pebbles out of without stopping and at some of the campsites, some of our camps will taking them off. be dry ones (i.e. no spring water, only the creek). Our pace will allow us time for exploring and side Hiking poles are VERY useful on this hiking. trip. They can help steady you in the soft sediments of the creek, and we don’t have MAY 25 too many places to use our hands climbing. Rubber tips on your poles are We will hike the last miles (as many as 10) to Lees helpful, as they stop the poles from Ferry in the early morning to avoid the heat. We sinking too deeply into the sand and mud. should arrive at Lee’s Ferry by lunchtime, where we will finish up with the class. You will be carrying “wag bags” for your human waste while we are in the canyon. IMPORTANT ITEMS – PLEASE READ Be prepared to carry all your solid human waste out of the canyon. If you have This time of year will be warm to hot, so never used these bags, we’ll introduce come prepared for warm weather and lots them. They are actually quite convenient; of sun. Hiking in the canyon is great, using them will protect the Paria drainage, because you are in water the whole way, which gets a lot of use every year. but it will still be quite sunny during portions of the day. Quick dry or light ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR cotton clothing, long sleeves, wide- brimmed hat and summer camping gear Christa Sadler has worked with the Field will be appropriate. A full tent may not be Institute since its inception in 1993. She is a necessary, but keep an eye on the weather geologist, educator and naturalist with a serious in the days leading up to the trip. addiction to rivers, deserts and mountains. She has pursued research in archaeology, geology and Bring water capacity of 6 liters (preferably paleontology across much of the globe, including in collapsible containers). We may not searching for dinosaurs in Montana, fighting off need that much, but some of our camps dust storms and overly curious camels in the Gobi will not be near springs and you’ll want to Desert of Mongolia and steering clear of annoyed have the ability to carry that much in marine iguanas in the Galapagos Islands. Christa order not to have to use the creek. teaches geology and guides in the canyons and on the rivers of the Southwest in the spring and fall, We will be hiking IN the river the entire and escapes to Alaska in the summers. She also way once we reach the Paria, so your runs This Earth, a small business that takes hiking shoes will be wet, sandy and geology and fossil programs to children around muddy. Probably the best thing to do is the country, and designs Earth science exercises, wear your low hikers (not big high-topped programs and field trips for students in grades K– boots) and plan on getting them wet. 12. Christa’s writing and photographs have Some people hike in river sandals, but appeared in Plateau Journal, Sedona Magazine and they tend to collect pebbles easily and can Earth Magazine, and she is the author of Life in rub badly with sand and grit. You will Stone, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Where Dinosaurs want to make sure you have camp shoes Roamed, The Colorado, and the editor of the that are comfortable so that you can anthology There’s This River … Grand Canyon change out of your wet, sandy shoes at Boatman Stories. camp and let them dry. If you do plan on hiking in your river sandals, bring socks to SUGGESTED READING LIST help lessen the rubbing. Keens are not good for this hike, as they are rock Bagley, Will. 2002. Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre and Mountain Meadows.
Blakey, R. and Wayne Ranney, 2005. Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau
Brooks, Juanita, 1984. Emma Lee
Reilly, P.T. 1999. Lees Ferry: From Mormon Crossing to National Park
Rusho, W. and C. Gregory Crampton, 1992. Lees Ferry: Desert River Crossing
Sadler, Christa, 2005. Life in Stone: Fossils of the Colorado Plateau