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Early morning is the ideal time to descend from Horseshoe Mesa to Cottonwood Creek.  We were expecting mid-80's by noon so the hike down the extremely rocky trail is best done in the shade.  I might add that climbing back up in the shade is not a bad idea, either.

The valley below is Cottonwood Canyon.  Our camp site is at the bottom, about half way to the tip of that mesa on the left (full sun).   After dropping our packs and setting up camp, the plan is to day-hike around the tip of that mesa (no name), into the next canyon, then up the Redwall.  The Redwall on this side of the mesa appears unclimbable without ropes and equipment.  Note the 500 ft thick, vertical  Redwall formation at left.  There are a few more chinks in the otherwise impossible wall on the other side of the mesa bordering Cottonwood creek.   That is our objective for today.