RAINBOW PLATEAU ONLY FOR THE HARDY AND THE SAPIENT

A Challenge To Those Who Seek A Kind Of Natural Beauty Unsurpassed Anywhere. RAINBOW PLATEAU

Photographs By Helga Teiwes Along the Arizona-Utah border and south of Lake Powell lies a vast section of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Some maps show this as the Rainbow Plateau but for those of us who have been there we think of it affectionately and with a great deal of personal pride simply as “the Navajo.” In every way this section of the Navajo reservation is unique and it must remain one of the most perplexing paradoxes in the discovery and exploration of our country. The large number of cliff dwellings and other archeological sites that have been found show the Rainbow Plateau to have been home to Indians for many centuries. Generally living in small groups of a few families, these prehistoric inhabitants of the area were able to make a living by hunting, fishing, and some agriculture. In modern times the area has seen little economic development for until a use is found for hundreds of square miles of sand there is little to develop. Overgrazing in the past has all but eliminated what little grass once existed, however, a handful of Indians still manage to raise a few sheep. But even though there is little to develop economically it does have a resource, and it's a resource that can't be matched anywhere, and that is its magnificent scenery. Vertical sandstone cliffs, spires, and pinnacles. Sandstone domes devoid of vegetation but with an indescribable beauty of their own. Canyons hundreds of feet deep and but a few feet wide. An area truly unique in this world of ours. This is the beauty of “the Navajo.” This is why whenever we mention “the Navajo” among our-selves our hearts beat a little faster in anticipation of the adventures that lie ahead.

Modern man has long recognized the beauty associated with the Rainbow Plateau. Completely encircling the area are such scenic and recreational areas as Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Bridges National Monument, Arches National Monument, and the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, along with numerous campgrounds. These are all areas that are outside, but indicative of the beauty that originates on the Rainbow Plateau. The paradox surrounding this mysterious country became complete when Rainbow Bridge National Monument was established in the very heart of the area, and even more, it must be remembered that this National Monument was established, not for the uniquely spectacular beauty of the setting, but only for its one admittedly outstanding feature. So what is the paradox? That the Rainbow Plateau as large as it is, having been the home of prehistoric Indians, and with all its attractions for the modern day hiker and adventurer is still unexplored, little known, and virtually unseen. It has remained this way in spite of the thousands of persons who enter the area annually to visit Rainbow Bridge. For with the scenery surrounding Rainbow Bridge being so superb, it is difficult to imagine that a few of its visitors haven't left the beaten trail to see what the other canyons have to offer. And maybe it is just as well, for it is the undisturbed, untouched serenity that gives this country so much of its charm.

The paradox has continued in spite of the tremendous increase in the number of people utilizing our country's undeveloped areas for the wilderness experiences they are able to provide. And this increase is so significant that many of our more popular wilderness areas are now so heavily visited that the impact on them by people has been great enough to destroy the wilderness values they came to find.

If “the Navajo” is unique in that it has not yet been discovered by the adventurer looking for something new, it is even more unique in that the most experienced outdoorsman will have a whole new set of problems to master. For, the problems that one might expect to encounter in “the Navajo” are unlike the problems that one encounters in the more popular areas.

Of minor importance but still significant is the fact that this area is unknown. A group planning a trip to the Rainbow Plateau will have little more information available to them on which they can plan their trip than did George Mallory when he was first trying to climb Mt. Everest, or Admiral Byrd on his attempts to reach the North Pole, or even Columbus when he headed west across the Atlantic. Perhaps the greatest aid that anyone could have when entering an unfamiliar area would be a good map. In this respect the unknowing might be falsely optimistic, for the U.S. Geological Survey has produced very excellent maps of nearly all of the Rainbow Plateau. These maps are the result of the very latest in map making techniques using aerial photographs, but as excellent as they are “the Navajo” is so broken up and of such a nature that even the most skilled map reader will find them difficult to interpret, especially in regards to the topography. Still they are a “must have” item for any visitor to this country as they are useful in keeping a group oriented in time and distance to where they are supposed to be at the end of the trip. I have always thought that it would be very embarassing to find myself two days from my car on the last day of the trip. For this reason we always have a map of the area we are going into even though we jokingly say that it would help tell us where we want to go but at least it can tell us where we've been. Those desiring to visit this country would do well to plan their trip for late fall, winter, or spring when it is cooler, for the summer heat sends the temperature soaring to well over a hundred degrees. Even this is an asset, since many of our recreational areas are thought of as summertime areas and outdoors people are often at a loss over where to go in the winter. Also experience has taught us that the minimum length of any trip that is planned to the Rainbow Plateau should be four days.

Access to the Rainbow Plateau is available over a network of undeveloped roads that criss cross the reservation. Their construction consists of an Indian driving a pick-up from one At point to another and everyone else following him. As might be imagined, these roads are forever changing with new ones com-ing into use and old ones being abandoned. There is no good map that shows these reservation roads but the U.S. Geological Survey maps are as good as any. Of greater importance is a sixth sense that can only be developed over many years of trying to second guess these roads. Then again these roads could be the most important protector of the country and those who enter it. I remember trying to explain to a friend of mine the route of a trip that he wanted to make. He seemed to be having some apprehension over whether or not he would be able to find the right route. I was able to reassure him by letting him know that if he could figure out the roads to get to the beginning of the hike then he would certainly have no trouble in figuring out the rest.

Below Navajo Canyon. Here according to legends is where the ghosts of the "Other People" live and the night time is haunted by haranguing demons. In the lower regions of the canyon are hundreds of remnants of cliff dwellers' ruins. The Navajo is a formidable canyon with its jutting slabs and terrace-like overhangs creating an exciting kaleidoscope of highlight and shadow variations on the canyon walls and reflected in pools along the canyon floor.

As a person who loves the challenge of the unknown I try to plan our trips so they are, at least in part, different from anything we have done before, and therefore unfamiliar to us. Fortunately “the Navajo” is so big that finding a new area is not difficult. There are few trails, and those that do exist seldom have any continuity. They are a way by which an Indian once moved a few sheep from one place to another. Therefore, in planning a trip one has only to pick an area of interest, visualize some imaginary way across it of the approximate length desired, then try to follow this predetermined route. Any route through this country, like the route through a giant maze will never be direct, but also like a maze if enough time is spent, a way through will finally become apparent. The main thing is to never take anything about this country for granted. When water is expected, that's when it won't be found. When the route looks possible, that's when it will be blocked by a vertical walled canyon that cannot even be seen a few yards away. But also, when the way looks hopelessly blocked, that's when a set of prehistoric steps cut into the rock is found leading around the obstacle. This is the mood of “the Navajo.” Always changing, and truly unique in every way.The uniqueness of this country was never more apparent to me than one day a few years ago. We had just come down from Cummings Mesa and had stopped to eat lunch along a small stream near the head of West Canyon. We were near the lower end of a small basin but it was still possible to see several hun-dred yards back upstream and to either side. Ahead the stream plunged out of sight into a narrow defile, just a few inches wide but many feet deep. Towering more than a thousand feet above was the escarpment of Cummings Mesa. It was a scene of spec-tacular wildness, one I had seen many times before, but some-how this time it was different. The sandstone domes forming the sides of the basin were every immaginable color from white and creams to yellows, pinks and reds. The stream now flowing serenely through the basin from pool to pool before plunging out of sight must on occasion flood, since there was not one loose grain of sand that could be seen anywhere. Not a tree or bush or even a blade of grass was visible, just the varied colored sandstone domes and yet it was a scene of unsurpassed beauty. It was an important moment for me for in this scene of stark barrenness I became more aware of the true value of areas such as this and their importance to man.