2010 River Trip Day 6 - 9/17 Parkins Inscription RM 116.5 to Football Camp @ RM 138

2010 river trip - day 6 - from Parkins Inscription (RM 108.5) to Football Camp @ RM 138

Monument Fold (at Explorers Monument)
RM116.5 Elves Chasm (stopped around 10:30)
RM119.2 lunch stop unnamed beach above Randy's Rock
RM126 Randy's Rock (Randy lost a boat here in a story from our trip)
RM132 Stone Creek
RM134.5 Owl Eyes
RM135 Granite Narrows - 76' wide 100 feet deep narrowest part of river
RM136 Deer Creek Falls

06:25 view downriver - notice the supergroup exposure lit by sunrise - very nice!

06:26 SX20 view of Wayne's tree - the beach provides a stable platform I did not have yesterday shooting from the boat and this is as good an example of the SX20 superzoom capability we will see.  All in all, this was a good camera - the bulk of the trip photos and video were done by my trusty d10 and the sx20 with the t1i used only when "safe" (no going thru water and when not climbing).  Like several Canon point and shoot cameras, the SX20 is sensitive to fine sand and dirt causing the zoom to grind but cleaning this out with a can of air and minor dis-assembly worked.

06:50 thieving raven stole a waist pack - Jeff spotted it high above the camp and climbed up for the rescue

07:07 breakfast cleanup

07:12 Waynes points out and explains a Shinumo Island onlapped by Tapeats - the Tapeats Sea was adjacent to then rose over the island - it deposited the Tapeats against and onto the island

area photo - the Shinumo Island is just in light at bottom center

Here is a 2009 image I took (in afternoon sunlight)

Wayne's really great early AM 2010 image

08:00 we are loading the boat and almost ready to depart

08:19 as we depart the beach - Brandon explains the rattlesnakes name is Sandy - this is one of several boat mascots

08:27 we pass another camp and I could not resist a photo of their Groover

09:08 we pass Monument Fold (near Explorers Monument) - also shot short video as Wayne discusses

09:11 we pass a great example of Travertine (flowstone)

09:12 the area has numerous caves - many with active seeps/water flows, the source of the flowstone

09:22 we stop at Elves Chasm RM116.5

09:27 at Elves Chasm photo of Crimson Monkey flower

09:31 hiking up to Elves Chasm main pool and waterfall

Wow!

09:32 another view of main Elves pool showing canyon above

09:33 view from pool of the area above Elves Chasm

09:37 Kevin climbing behind Elves

09:39 Kevin getting ready to jump next

09:43 Bill in Elves pool (Beth shot using my camera)

09:53 getting past the large boulder (Jeff Eorio photo)

09:58 Howard enjoys a pool at entrance to Elves Chasm on way back to boat

10:01 Ranger on duty tracking visiters to Elves Chasm (it is an especially busy stop for boats) I would love this job!

10:02 our boat tied up on right

 10:09 everyone arrives and we reboard

10:27 shortly after starting downriver we see another big horn

10:30 a familiar rock appears (for some reason I have photographed this on every river trip)

10:30 Rama Schist (seen here in Upper Granite Gorge)

10:33 Tapeats rock face at water level - very pretty in the light

10:33 inner gorge reappears

 10:34 conglomerate boulder

  
10:34 close up of the familiar saucer shaped rock

10:35 locomotive and caboose rock formation (another old friend)

10:36 view ahead

 the views are enjoyed by all

 11:21 more bighorns

11:24 Jeff photo of rapid

12:20 RM126 Randys Rock (approx time we passed here in 2010) photos are from 2009 trip as my photos taken this year were on lost card

locale of Randys Rock (which is right above the heads at bottom of image) - if someone has a good 2010 photo I would like to include that

below image taken from shore above Randys Rock (source Potters Journal)
this photo shows how impossible it would be to pass on the narrow side

12:38 schist below Tapeats - note the nonconformity at base of Tapeats

 13:11 supergroup puts on a fine show again

13:26 RM132 Stone Creek

 13:30 hiking to the falls at Stone Creek

13:33 Jeff and Kevin at Stone Creek

13:38 ladies at Stone Creek

 13:30 men at Stone Creek

John Zambrano image of the ladies from another angle

 John Zambrano image of the men

14:06 we head on down the river and spot another groover - could not resist the photo op

On the river - 3 John Zambrano photos
First with Beth Rambikur and Wayne

and two more of the cast on the boat

14:26 134.5 Owl Eyes - do you see them?

and two 

 14:34 135+ xmas tree cave - named for long gone stalagmite shaped like xmas tree

14:34 135+ Granite Narrows 76 feet wide 100 feet deep narrowest part

14:34 Jeff Eorio photo

14:49 RM136 Deer Creek Falls - the great unconformity is just above where the water is brightly lit by the sun (in its usual position below Tapeats)

14

Detail of unconformity from 2009 river trip

John Zambrano took this photo of the rainbow below the falls

JZ: also this photo of Jeff and Kevin Eorio

15:01 Beth and I use the quick stop as an opportunity to run up to Deer Creek overlook and the narrows

15:01 view upriver from the overlook

Beth at overlook

 Bill at overlook

Deer Creek narrows - we had limited time and just "peeked"

Beth at the narrows

We run back down, re-board the boat and continue

15:36 mega-slide seen above us as we head downriver - this is the bottom of the Surprise Valley slide that started 2 miles back (see Thunder River photos from my 2008 trip)

other side of river - this slide came down and crossed the river flowing up the other side!

15:38 Poncho's Kitchen camp is occupied

15:39 RM138 we take Football Camp - adjacent to/just downriver of Poncho's Kitchen
here is the cave above Football (I hiked here in 2009 and several of us do it 09/18 AM this year)

16:21 several hundred yards downriver from Football camp are several arch sites - a few of us hike down to this - here is the view upriver - you can just see the Philomena

16:23 Beth at the main part of the site

16:24 granary

16:25 another granary

16:27 view upriver

16:29 chip off the old rock face - end of arch site

16:47 Peggy starts descent for our return

Peggy with arch site in background

17:30 John Zambrano provided the next 3 photos from our camp

18:41 our after-dinner chair circle

18:41 swimmers appear - the river trip at Poncho's Kitchen comes calling for a little party with our Canyoneers crew - they take Brandon and Jamie back to their camp and we continue with the chair circle

moon over Football Camp - good night!