The Arizona Highway Department The Past, Present and Future

Breaking A Trail Through Bright Angel Canyon

By F. E. MATTHES, United States Geological Survey Last autumn-in the month of Nov-ember, to be precise-it was just twenty-five years since the first pack train made its way through Bright Angel Canyon. It was a rough-and-tumble journey, the hazards of which may be difficult to imagine by those who now travel safely and comfortably across the Grand Canyon via the excellent Kaibab Trail. The perils that were faced by those hardy explorers who passed through the Grand Canyon in boats, and battled with the rapids of the Colorado River, are now known to many, but the adventures of the first party to cross from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other with a pack train have never been told. Here fol-lows a brief statement of the circum-stances: In the spring of 1902 it was my privi-lege to be assigned to the task of be-ginning the topographic mapping of the Grand Canyon for the United States Geological Survey. Naturally our party started work on the south side, the Grand Canyon railroad affording the most convenient route of approach.

For several months the surveying operations-triangulation, leveling and plane table mapping-were carried on over the Coconino Plateau and from its rim down into the chasm. Then we began to seek a route across to the north side, but at that time there was no trail across from rim to rim, nor was there a bridge over the Colorado. We found ourselves face to face with a bar-rier more formidable than the Rocky Mountains-an abyss 280 miles long, containing an unbridged, unfordable, dangerous river.

Not unnaturally we cast longing glanc-es up Bright Angel Canyon-it seemed to us such a convenient, straight avenue. But Bright Angel Canyon, we were told, afforded no practical route for pack animals, and might be impassable even to the foot of man.

Lee's Ferry, at the head of Marble Gorge, of course, was suggested, but to cross the river there would require a detour of some 180 miles, mostly through parched deserts, where feed and water would have to be carried for the animals.

BASS TRAIL SELECTED

There was but one other choice, to go west 35 miles and descend by the Bass Trail, cross the river in some way, and climb out on the north side through Shinumo and Muav Canyons. The crossing was known to be dangerous. The Bass Trail was merely a burro trail, still unfinished at the lower end, and the Shinumo Trail was little more than a faint track seldom used. Yet this was the route we finally selected.

About the middle of August, when the river had subsided to a moderate level, we set out with a pack train of ten animals. W. W. Bass consented to our using his home-made boat, and this, of course, facilitated matters considerably. Unfortunately, however, we found that the boat was on the north side of the river, and two of us, consequently, were obliged to match our strength against the current and swim across to get it.

The camp equipment was quickly ferried over, but the transferring of the horses and mules proved a difficult task. The animals, worn out by the heat, and unnerved by their descent over the great rock slide at the foot of the trail, could not be induced to enter the water. A strategem had to be resorted to. They were led down to a rock platform, ostensibly so they might quench their thirst, then suddenly they were pushed over into the swirling flood. Quickly behind the boat they were then towed across, one by one. In their frenzy, many of them tried to swim back or down stream, or even to climb into the boat, so that the rowers were more than once in danger of being dragged down over the turbulent rapids below the crossing. Eventually, however, all the animals were landed safely on the other side.

The next day we began the ascent to the rim of the Kaibab Plateau. It took us a day and a half of arduous, exhausting work to gain the top, and the en-(Continued on page 21) patching be done under the classification as regular maintenance.

It is estimated that this will result in the relative saving in the proposed method over the present method of the equivalent to approximately $183,890.00 per annum based upon the same mile-age and traffic, and which saving should be proportionately increased with the increase in mileage and traffic of the system.