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| Top of Gateway Canyon |
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| Brownstone Canyon Pictographs |
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| Calico Basin from Kraft Mountain Saddle |
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| Wardrobe Adjustment on Saddle |
All six of our AtBF pod were accounted for to delve into Brownstone Canyon, a yearly endeavor for Mike, Rita and I, at the least. It was Ralyn's second hike there and both Jerry and Cheryl had not been there for many years. It was a little nippy in the morning as we set off out of the Kraft Mountain Trailhead dirt parking lot in Calico Basin toward 5 Stop Hill. The parking lot was already almost half full at 7:30am on a Friday. Hikers and climbers were gathering in their small groups and we knew many of them! On the way up to the hill climb, Jerry pointed out the parallel scramble that someone has dubbed Three Peaks Valley. It's fun to name stuff ... and sometimes the name catches on! Otherwise, it is just the only way we can keep things straight. (
Instead of, turn left at the second rock next to the tree in the wash.)
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| View into Lower Gateway Canyon |
We were all pretty energetic and the climb up 5 Stop Hill went at about 1.5 mph. At the top, we took a short rest to take off extraneous warm clothing.
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| Climbing Upper Gateway Canyon |
The route would take us in and out of the sun. It was quite warm in the sun but, in the shade, it was a lot cooler. There was not a "uniform" for today due to the changes in temperatures!
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| One of the Big Dry Falls |
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| Square Arch in Upper Gateway |
We dawdled down Rattlesnake Trail to Gateway Canyon wash while everyone behind caught up. A short slog up the gravel to the left brought us to the bigger rocks and fun scrambles. Rattlesnake Trail headed up to the left at a wash junction and we continued up Gateway. Jerry and Cheryl got up in the lead and the race was on! We all knew the scrambles pretty well and no one needed too much assistance. Rita and Mike tried a couple of new scrambles with instructions from Jerry. I did the "tried and true" and Ralyn followed since it was all fairly new to her ... until we neared the top of Gateway when Ralyn confidently led the way! A short break had been earned where we looked back and got the view of the square arch seen in the photo to the right.
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| Climbing up to Sandstone Plateau |
Rested, we turned to the left and followed a choice of small trails up to the sandstone watermarked drainage. When a small canyon opened out on the right, we turned into it.
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| Big Dry Fall to Plateau |
After a scramble up the right side of the drainage, we arrived at the watermarked drainage on the left as seen in the photo above. Always a favorite part of this hike, we climbed up to do the switchbacked climb up the dry fall.
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| Turtlehead Peak from Dry Fall Climb |
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| The Passage |
At the top of the dry fall, we headed into a short slot. Next, our group divided with some of us continuing through the slot to the left and the rest of us climbing up the corner scramble. We met again at the end of the slot coming out on a large plateau area. Weaving our way through sandstone formations, we found the first shallow tinaja to be completely dry as expected. Hiking through, we spotted the large domed rock passage across the plateau. The passage is on the right side of this dome and as you hike past the dome enclosure, you see a large deep tinaja inside. It was also very very dry. Continuing on the same trajectory, we followed sandstone all the way down to earth and made a right turn into a chute, another favorite part of this hike!
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| Large Deep Tinaja |
The chute is filled with a few plants, loose large rocks and, finally, large boulders. This part is self-explanatory for navigation.
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| Scramblers Anonymus |
However, at the end of the slot, navigation gets lets obvious. Drop down to the right one level. Climb up to the left. Travel left about fifteen feet. Turn to right and drop down to the sandstone slope below. Traverse the slope to the end and drop down to earth.
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| Brownstone Pictographs |
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| Arriving at Lower Dam |
Tah-Dah! You have arrived adjacent to the famous pictographs on the wall to the right! We have all seen the ancient writings many times and we didn't spend a lot of time here. If you visit, respect the past! Next, we crunched down the gravel wash passing the petroglyphs on the right high wall facing upstream. (See photo below.) Then, we arrived at the next opening on the right where there is a worn trail up to one of the old ranchers' dam. When we climbed over the dam, we saw there wasn't a single drop of water to be found. The large water tank was sandy dry. We stayed here for our large break taking photos and doing small explorations of the area. Mike went high and took some interesting photos of us down below.
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| Petroglyphs in Brownstone Canyon |
After the beautiful break, all we had left was to return the way we came ... with the exception of a deviation on the sandstone plateau above.
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| Completely Dry at Lower Dam |
Someday, we really should work on a loop return from the dam to the plateau. Instead, today, we slogged back up the gravel ... the least fun part of the hike! "Good excercise!", says Jerry.
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| Overlook above Lower Dam |
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| Mike's view from Above |
We arrived at the pictographs and climbed up the chute retracing our previous drop. On the way back to the large sunken tinaja, we took our group photo with Brownstone Canyon as a backdrop. Next, we turned to cross the plateau to the west traversing as straight as the sandstone would allow us ... which wasn't very straight! At the end of the traverse, we came to the sandstone descent slab, the easiest way to make your way back down to the top of Gateway Canyon. Starting down Gateway, the race resumed! "Down the scrambles!", my knees cried, and off we went! (Insert ♬♬ Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture here.) We were having a lot of fun. ... They waited for me at the Rattlesnake Trail junction and I resumed the lead. We hiked down the gravel to the right turn onto the continuation of Rattlesnake Trail up and over the Kraft Mountain Saddle.
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| Dam and Dry Tank from Above |
After all the down scramble, the climb up to the saddle felt pretty good! Then we hiked down 5 Stop Hill.
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| Six with Sticks at Brownstone Canyon |
There were men playing guitars in the parking lot when we returned. Maybe I'm a purist but it grated on my ears in the middle of the wilderness.
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| High Point of Hike on Plateau |
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| Starting down to Upper Gateway |
Brownstone Canyon is a strenuous hike and scramble. It is worth the effort if you are up to it physically. It can also be done as a loop up to the top of Brownstone, over the saddle of Turtlehead ridge and down the Limestone Trail. But, if you begin where we did today, the out and back is the best option. The loop is best done from Sandstone Quarry. See link to a post for this version.
http://aroundthebendfriends2.blogspot.com/2016/03/brownstone-canyon-dam-loop-33116.htmlFantastic day! See you on the trails!
Stats: 7 miles; 2000' gain; 5.5 hours
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| Watermarks |
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| Nearing Rattlesnake Trail Junction |
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| Kraft Mountain Saddle |
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