Photo Friday: How Grand is the Canyon, Part 2

What, is it Thursday again already? Time to share the thrilling tale of the search for Chevaya Falls, which many have sought and few have found.

In our last, we had arrived at Clear Creek campsites for our second & third nights in the Canyon. Our layover was to be devoted to a search up the creek for Chevaya Falls, which is understood to be quite spectacular when it is running. Regardless of the status of the falls, which we considered should be running at that time of year, the canyon was pretty, intriguing, and worth exploring.

Dawn start

Lighting up the Canyon

One of the most beautiful things anywhere--cottonwood trees in a red canyon.

There was a trail, of sorts, sometimes...

We all got a bit more familiar than we really wanted to with the pointy bits of yucca and agave. I still love the way they look.

Agave, aka century plant, with the flower stalk just starting to shoot up.

Last year's flower stalk

Yucca has equally pointy leaves, but a different sort of flower head.

Yucca in bud. It was too early; I didn't see any in bloom.

 Lots of other cool patterns, too.

Hollow log, filled with pine needles.

Redbud

And cool rocks that look like deliberate art!

Cottonwood leaves under water.

As we got closer, there was less and less of a trail, and we had to find our way through the tangle of brush. When I finally pulled out my GPS to see how far, it turned out we were there.

A very dry waterfall. You can see the hole the water comes out of when it's flowing. And the rock below is white with mineral deposits.

We did, however, have what we dubbed "Consolation Falls," coming out of a much lower layer of rock.

Bad lighting for a photo, and I was done with bushwhacking so didn't even try to get close enough for a better sense of the falls. Kind of wish I had, but that stuff was murderous.

When we turned around, we realized how much we had climbed. I think camp is below the middle cliff?

Another cool rock on the way down.

It was probably just as well we didn't push on up to Consolation Falls, as we were all pretty tired by the time we got done. I nearly sprained an ankle stepping carelessly (as one does when tired) over rough terrain. 

And the sun set on the Canyon.

We hit the sack early, as temperatures were rising and we wanted an early start in the morning for the nearly 10 miles back to Phantom Ranch and the Bright Angel campground. Stay tuned for Ribbon Falls!

 (If you really like to drool over amazing rocks, the rest of the story is at Into the Canyon, Rainbow Falls, and Back Out of the Canyon.)

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2022

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