Assault on the Redwall

One of the most formidable barriers to getting around in the canyon is the Redwall, or 6th rock strata down from from the South Rim.  It is thick - perhaps 300 ft from base to top.  It is relatively hard - which is why it has not eroded away over the eons.  And the Redwall tends to sheer along vertical lines - very hard to find routes up or down that don't require climbing equipment.  Our objective for this day was to find a way up the Redwall to the top of an unnamed mesa to the West of our camp site on Cottonwood Creek.

As should be graphically evident from the animated topo map at left, we made a relatively steep descent from our camp the previous night on Horseshoe Mesa, down the west wall to Cottonwood Creek.  The trail follows the creek as it runs from Cottonwood Spring toward the Colorado River.  Fortunately, Cottonwood is perennial, though until you see the water coursing along the stream bed, there is this nagging little fear it will be dry and you'll have to retreat back Miner's spring on the other side of Horseshoe Mesa.  We found water... then it disappeared!!... only to appear again near the junction with the Tonto Trail, where we found a great camp site.

After dropping our packs at Cottonwood Camp, we loaded our day-packs for the Redwall climb.  The particular finger of the canyon where our objective was located has no trail and rates only a sentence or two in even the most detailed guide book.  Andrew Carver, a previous hike-master, found a reference in some guidebook that indicated the Redwall was possibly climbable... that's all this crew needed to hear... and we were off!

For those out there in net land who want to give this one a try - fair warning, it does take a reasonable degree of aerobic fitness, a high fear resistance factor, and some free-climbing ability.   Recommended medications before making the attempt include massive doses of Testosterone and Viagra, Testosterone for summoning the courage to start and Viagra for prevention of early wilting during the ascent. 

After making it to the top of the mesa, the idea of retracing our steps was not very appealing.  Going up a wall is far easier and safer than going down.  So we made our way around the back (South) side of the mesa to a spot that looked simpler... the operative word is 'looked'. 

All things considered, this is definitely high on my list of day-hike adventures.

Day 2 Hike Agenda