Grand Canyon Adventure: Backpack & Day Hike Stories and Photos
The Tanner-Basalt-Lava Hike


March 9-17, 2012


An HDR image of morning twilight painting eastern Grand Canyon An HDR image of the Colorado River winding around Tanner Rapids with Palisades of the Desert and Comanche Point off to the east
An HDR image of the Colorado River silently flowing past Tanner wash An HDR image of Palisades of the Desert at the Golden Hour
An HDR image of a small waterfall in Lava Creek An HDR image of Comanche Point
An HDR image of Sunrise over Comanche Point An HDR image of Juno Ruin in Lava Canyon
An HDR image taken from inside Juno Ruin An HDR image of sunrise over Comanche Point
Dennis and Bill stand next to the Isuzu Rodeo in Lipan Point parkinglot Dennis comes down the Coconino steps on Tanner trail
Approaching Seventyfive Mile Saddle Escalante Butte viewed from Tanner trail
Dennis hiking Tanner trail Below the Redwall on Tanner trail
Looking toward Comanche Point from Tanner trail The imposing Muav on Tanner trail
Entering Slim Shady on the Tanner trail A view of the Colorado River from Tanner trail
Bill pauses for a photo op on Tanner trail Chuar Butte and Palisades of the Desert seen off in the distance from Tanner trail
A cactus garden in Tanner Canyon Comanche Point seen from Tanner trail
The bend where the Colorado River rounds Tanner wash and passes by Basalt Canyon delta Remains of an old miners' cabin at Basalt Canyon delta
An old stove in the remains of the miners' cabin at Basalt delta More appliances in the old miners' cabin at Basalt
Blue turquoise sherds at the mouth of Basalt A view to across the Colorado from a ruin site at Basalt
A large pot sherd at Basalt A collection of ancient stem walls at Basalt
Another room outline at Basalt Pot sherds at Basalt
A hummingbird moth samples the nectar from a flowering plant growing amongst the sand dunes at Basalt delta Dennis hikes upstream in the dry bed of Basalt Canyon
Approaching a distinguished rock feature in Basalt, the Antimatterhorn Interesting stone textures in Basalt Canyon
Mineralized water flow in Basalt Canyon Hiking up Basalt Canyon
A waterfall in lower Basalt Canyon Steel posts near an old mining operation in Basalt Canyon
Dennis overlooks an abandoned mine in Basalt Canyon A mine entrance in Basalt Canyon
An old wheelbarrow outside the Basalt mine entrance Copper ore in Basalt Canyon
A view toward upper Basalt Canyon A view toward lower Basalt Canyon
Basalt Canyon boulder field Cottonwoods in Basalt Canyon
A view into the Basalt Canyon drainage from the Super Group ledges Another view of the Basalt Canyon drainage with Venus and Jupiter temples seen in the distance
Hiking through a wide open valley in Basalt Canyon with Jupiter Temple off in the distance Basalt Canyon narrows as you near the Tapeats
The boulders is Basalt Creek hint at the minor bypasses to come in upper Basalt Canyon Once through the Tapeats, we followed this minor drainage to the rim of Chuar Valley
Nearing the overlook into Chuar Valley, the minor drainage is little more than a crease in the landscape Looking to our right (east) from the rim overlooking Chuar Valley
Looking to our left (west) from the rim overlooking Chuar Valley Looking up through the break in the Tapeats that offers access into Chuar Valley
Chuar Butte dominates the northeastern skyline of Chuar Valley A large potsherd hints at the ancestral Puebloan community that once called this valley, home
Dennis holds an antler found along the descent into Chuar Valley Hiking along the Tonto-like plateau, Chuar Butte grows ever more prominent in the distance
Hiking through the no-name creek bed that leads to the Still Spring site in Lava Canyon Interesting geology in the creek bed leading to the Still Spring site
Maidenhair ferns mark the location of the spring that feeds into Lava Creek The first remains we found of the old still operation in Lava Creek
A rusted bucket and fireplace bricks Barrel hoops at the Still Spring site
More rusted hardware and stone at the old still operation The old coffee mill at the Still Spring site
A close up view of the Elgin National coffee mill at the Still Spring site along Lava Creek Dennis checks out the old coffee mill
The Cottonwood tree has engulfed the old coffee mill Another set of antlers
Colorful water pockets in Lava Creek A view of Chuar Lava Hill as Lava Creek nears the Colorado River
Palisades of the Desert looms over the Colorado River at the mouth of Lava Creek This sandy beach and calm bay are located just upstream of Lava Canyon Rapids
Looking upstream from the boat beach at Lava A Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) repository at Lava Canyon Rapids
A fine view of Lava Canyon Rapids A marker indicates the location of a former mining operation near the mouth of Lava Canyon
Another marker for an old, abandoned mining operation Looking across the Colorado River toward the Palisades Creek area
Was this once a mine entrance at Lava Canyon Rapids? Has it been filled in? Lava Creek flowing
A view to the northwest up Lava Canyon with Siegfried Pyre seen in the distance Super Group rock layers in Lava Canyon
Looking southwest through Lava Canyon toward a distant unnamed butte Pot sherds at ruin site in Lava Canyon
A possible room outline in Lava Canyon More pot sherds in Lava Canyon
Looking southwest across Chuar Valley toward an unnamed butte (on the left) and Chiavria Point in the upper right corner A view into Lava Canyon
A small waterfall in Lava Creek Pot sherds at another ruin site in Lava Canyon
A room outline at a ruin site in Lava Canyon Looking WNW through Lava Canyon toward Chiavria Point (center-left), Hubbell Butte (center-right) and Butchart Butte (upper right corner) in Gtand Canyon
A possible ruin site in Lava Canyon A pot sherd at a Lava Canyon ruin site
An ancient room outline in Lava A small waterfall in Lava Creek
Another Lava Creek waterfall Refreshing Lava Creek water
Lava Creek water, rich with life Resplendent Lava Creek water
The source spring for Lava Creek Walking up dry Lava Creek en route to Juno Ruin
A petroglyph in the ceiling of the overhang at Juno Ruin Pictographs on the overhand ceiling at Juno Ruin
A crumbling granary at Juno Ruin Another crumbling granary at Juno Ruin
The best preserved granary at Juno Ruin A metate stone marks the entrance to the main granary at Juno Ruin
The main Juno Ruin granary stands in the background with less-well preserved granaries occupying the foreground Juno Ruin beneath its overhang
Looking south toward the route to the Lava-Unkar Redwall saddle Reflection of a backpacker
Dennis surveys Chuar Valley to the northwest, including Chiavria Point and Hubbell Butte An unnamed butte defines Chuar Valley's western horizon
Looking north across Chuar Valley, Siegfried Pyre stands just inside the upper left corner with Butchart Butte seen just to the left of the unnamed butte at the center of the image Looking up through the break in the Tapeasts leading out of Chuar Valley
Dennis emerges near the top of the ascent route through the Tapeats break Taking a lunch break in the shade of a tree with Juno Temple in the background
Juno Temple in Grand Canyon A tall pine stretches for sunlight in Basalt Canyon
Slickrock hiking in upper Basalt Basalt Creek widens below the Tapeats
The boulder and scrub choked drainage below this pour off is the only major obstacle to overcome in Basalt Canyon Tapeats and exposed Super Group layers in Basalt Canyon
Looking back toward the Cottonwoods and exposed Super Group rock layers in Basalt One of several large cairns we encountered in Basalt
Another good sized cairn in Basalt Canyon Dennis descends a hill into the bed of Basalt Creek
A Basalt Canyon waterfall Interesting rock layers in Basalt Canyon and beyond
A self portrait in silhouette Mars rises with the constellation Leo
Orion and the winter Milky Way set off to the west The Escalante Route skirts the ledges and hills near the river across from Basalt delta
The area where Felix Lanteir may have operated a mine in Grand Canyon The one piece of hardware I found that may possibly have been part of the Lantier mining operation
Looking upstream along the sandy shore of the Colorado River toward Palisades of the Desert Debris found along the Colorado River
More debris near the river Copper ore found along the Colorado River
Shallows of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon A view down the drainage we used to access Tanner wash
With my pack safely conceiled beneath branches and scrub, the kayak pack stands at the ready to be hauled along another section of Tanner trail A view through upper Tanner Canyon, where Tanner trail ascends to the South Rim


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Copyright 2007 / W. D. Ferris