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Grand Canyon Pioneers Society - The Bulletin |
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| Vol 5, No 12 | December 2001 |
Backpacking Adventures
Submitted by Nancy Green
Some of the GCPS members at the Backpacking Adventures program in Sedona.
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Carolyn Castleman presented some of her remote backpacking adventures in the Grand Canyon. She has hiked and rafted the river extensively logging approximately 1,500 hiking miles in the canyon and 20 rafting trips. Over the years, she interviewed Harvey Butchart, her mentor, for advice on route finding and water sources, especially on the Great Thumb Mesa trip. She says that she would probably still be in the canyon if it weren't for Harvey!
The first backpack she featured for us was off the Great Thumb Mesa--36 miles west of Grand Canyon Village--to the village of Havasupai. It was a full day of hiking just to get to the rim of the canyon--15 miles. Most of the time on this 8-day trip was spent on the Esplanade without river access and only using infrequent potholes to supply their water. The only spring water was at 140 Mile Canyon. Much of the hike was route finding--except for an occasional wild horse trail--and even a rappelling of their packs descending into Matkatamiba Canyon. They just kept heading west towards Mt. Sinyala for 7 days, hiking 8 to 10 hours a day, with 46 lb. packs plus carrying two gallons of water. One of the adversities they faced was the frigid below freezing temperatures each night. After finally descending to the village at Havasupai, they exited via the Topacoba Trail, a 14 mile hike in itself.
Another featured hike was the Nankoweap trail off the top of Saddle Mountain on the North Rim with a traverse across Kwagunt Canyon and down to the Indian granaries above the river. Heavy rains produced a reward: a picture-perfect rainbow. Since it was spring, they were also treated to blooming red buds and Indian paintbrush.
The next hike was one that Harvey Butchart described as one of his most rewarding because it took him so long to find a way off the Coconino sandstone formation. It involved finding a 4-inch wide sheep trail off Enfilade Point on the Great Thumb Mesa to descend to the river and on to Forester Canyon, Fossil Canyon and an up-climb back to Royal Arch Canyon above Elves Chasm to exit at Apache Point.
The final hiking presentation of the afternoon was off the North Rim at Sowats Trail to Jumpup and finally to Kanab Canyon, which is just a gorgeous canyon with lovely water holes and pools. Carolyn described Whispering Falls as a beautiful sliver of shimmering silver water sliding several feet into the pool called the Fountain of Youth. Where Kanab Canyon finally ends at the Colorado River, her group continued along the river to Fishtail Canyon and Deer Creek Falls up across Surprise Valley to Thunder River and finally to exit at Indian Hollow. The surprise on this 80-mile June hike was to find several inches of snow waiting for them at the top.
It was delightful to see the beautiful remote areas of Grand Canyon, and to hear Carolyn's commentary of her wonderful adventures.
GCPS Outings for 2002
| January 24-27: |
Grand Canyon History Symposium - the first such gathering to
address historical topics specific to Grand Canyon National Park. Sponsored
by Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon Field Institute, Arizona
Humanities Council, Grand Canyon National Park Lodges, Grand Canyon
Pioneers Society and the National Park Service. One of their goals is to introduce
NPS administrators and interested members of the public to the history of
issues confronting the park today. Another is simply to learn more of the
legacy of this crown jewel of the National Park System. [Participation is
limited to the first 100 registrants.] Call Grand Canyon Field Institute at
928-638-2485 for more information.
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| January 26: | 11:30 AM - GCPS members meet for lunch at the Maswik Lodge cafeteria. |
| February 16: | Tour of the State Capitol in Phoenix, in honor of the Arizona statehood. Tour is at 1:00 PM; meet on the east side of the Capitol. Lunch at 11:00 AM at Sams at the Arizona Center. The parking garage at the Arizona Center is free with a stamped parking ticket. Arizona Center is between Fillmore and Van Buren and between 3rd and 5th Streets. |
| March 16: |
One Hundredth Anniversary of the Grand Canyon Post Office
presented by Bob Bechtel. Bob will be displaying a 4-panel exhibit on the
postal history of the Grand Canyon and will talk about most of the panels.
The post offices at or near the Canyon were Tolfree, Tourist, Grand Canyon,
Kaibab and Kaibab Forest which became North Rim, and Supai. He'll give a
brief history of each with some anecdotes about the characters like John
Hance, and will also mention the stamps that have been issued at the
Canyon, beginning with the National Parks stamp in 1934.
Luncheon at Bright Angel Lodge restaurant at 12:00 Noon pre-presentation talk at one of the cabins at Bright Angle Lodge (site of the old Post Office). |
| March 29-31: | 2002 Easter Hike and Service at the South Bass and Ruby Drainage. |
Mt. Trumbull Schoolhouse
by Tom Martin and Hazel Clark
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On October 5, Tom and I drove up to Whitmore Canyon for the weekend. We
stopped on the way to admire the latest Mt Trumbull schoolhouse. The
original was burned down and then rebuilt in the mid-1990s. That one was
burned down and rebuilt this year. It stands at the crossroads with several
old houses and farm buildings in view. The inside has been beautifully
finished in light woods and white paint. It could never have looked as good
with a horde of children in it.
We were lucky enough to be admiring it when several of its alumni drove up. Sally Bundy had taught there for a year. Atwood and Orville had both been students there. Atwood said he'd gone until he was 14 and then had transferred to a school in St. George. He mostly remembered being outside the building playing with the other boys, rather than sitting inside studying with the girls. We helped them move in a fine old cupboard that had been in the original schoolhouse and hadn't been put back in the second one before it was burned down. Sally had some flashcards with her just like the ones she had taught with. They showed us framed photo boards with lots of pictures of Bundys and Snyders lined up outside the school and their homes and cabins around the Mt. Trumbull settlement. They had brought them over in preparation for the rededication of the schoolhouse to be held the following weekend. It was great to see their enthusiasm for the building and their childhood homes. They all ranch and live nearby on a part-time basis now. The BLM has put some signs outside giving some historical context to the building and you can still ring the schoolbell. [ Click on the thumbnail images to the right to see larger images ] |
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New Members
Jim Mc Carthy - Phoenix, AZ
Jo Scheier - Lake Havasu, AZ
Brad Dimock and Jeri Ledbetter - Flagstaff, AZ
Letter to the Editor
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October 2001
I am overjoyed to tell you that 24-Mile Rapid in Grand Canyon has now been changed to GEORGIE RAPID! The vote was close: 3 in favor and 2 opposed. Those in favor were the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The National Park Service and the Forest Service were in opposition. They seemed to feel there was controversy about the choice, although they were not opposed to naming something for Georgie in Grand Canyon National Park. Still and all, in the end, the vote was for Georgie Rapid. It will now appear as such on all maps and other references produced by the U.S. and Arizona governments in the future. Thanks to all of you. Your letters and emails to the USGS, and to the Arizona Board on Geographic and Historic Names made a big difference. The U.S. Board received about 115 letters in support of the name and 45 opposing it. So, as you can tell, writing letters in support of a cause really helps. Perhaps someone out there would be willing to arrange a reunion for Georgie's former passengers and crew. It would be nice to be able to celebrate this victory.
Thanks again.
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John Vernon, author of
The Last Canyon
to Read in Flagstaff December 8
December 8, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.: John Vernon will read from and sign The Last Canyon, his novel about the 1869 J. W. Powell expedition down the Colorado River. The event will be held at the Northern Arizona University Cline Library Room 200. Books will be available for purchase and signing at 2:30 p.m. The presentation will begin at 3:00 p.m. This free event is open to the public.
John Vernon is the author of five novels, including Lindberg's Son and Peter Doyle, as well as the memoir A Book of Reasons and other works of poetry. He is the recipient of two NEA fellowships and teaches at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Vernon lives in Estes Park, Colorado and Little Meadows, Pennsylvania.
Outings Contacts Information
Outings Coordinator is
Carol Castleman
18909
North 87th Drive
Peoria, AZ 85382
623-825-9971
e-mail AZlady3@aol.com
The Bulletin welcomes comments, stories, or Reflections and Remembrances.
Please send them to
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Diane Cassidy 8540 N. Central Ave. #27 Phoenix, AZ 85020 |
or e-mail them to GCPioneers@yahoo.com
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