This picture was taken shortly after leaving Cottonwood.  The shadow of Horseshoe Mesa still shades the Tonto trail.  Notice the Park Service arrow pointing to the vertical wall in the lower left of the photo.  It marks the beginning of an ever deepening cut made by Cottonwood Creek as it makes its way down to the Colorado.  At this point the canyon cut by Cottonwood Creek is perhaps 100 ft deep.  The guide books say it is not possible to follow Cottonwood to the Colorado.  We get glimpses of the reasons why as we walk along the Tonto... just too many sharp drop-offs.  Cottonwood Creek drops 1,200 ft in about 1.5 mi's.  Getting down some of the waterfalls would be possible but reversing the direction would be impossible without equipment.