Walnut Canyon

The last time (and first time) I visited Walnut Canyon National Monument (near Flagstaff), I was limited to the rim trail.  I had my dog in the car (not allowed in the visitor's center or trail down into the canyon), and it was too hot to leave him there.  But even more limiting, my knee was in bad shape for uphill walking at my weight, and the descent/ascent was steep.  So, I swore to come back when I was stronger and dogless.  The view from the rim was enticing.

Last week, returning from my road trip to Oklahoma, I stopped there on my way home.  I'd been using non-weight-bearing exercise to get my knees, thighs and calves into shape before asking them to haul my heavy body up the steep trail.  Biking (indoor and outdoor) has been the ideal exercise to accomplish that.  I was ready.

The trail (actually paved, with concrete steps and handrails provided) was a little disappointing.  Oh, the canyon was beautiful, but the trail was very short and didn't go all the way to the bottom.  Still, I (who until recently had had to give up stairs) wanted to try out my knees.  The elevation change was a modest 185 feet, but it was concentrated into a very short distance, with the rest of the trail very easy.  The distance was only 0.9 miles round trip, hardly a challenge.  It's main objective was to allow visitors to view ancient dwellings used almost a thousand years ago by Sinaguans (yes, the name translates to "without water"), as the stream bed at the bottom is dry for a significant part of the year.  The residents had to collect water during the wet season and store it. 

The geology is interesting and visible even to folks like me who could never get excited by "rocks" class -- memorizing types devoid of context in labs devoid of field trips.  The upper layers are limestone, flat deposits (inland sea) whose softer layers had been eroded by wind to provide sheltering overhangs easily walled in for protection of dwellings, work areas, and storage.  Below the limestone is a striking layer of rocks with striations going in all directions.  This is sandstone, wind deposited, displaying variations in angle due to changes in wind direction and topography.  Below is my favorite shot of this layer through swirling juniper branches.

In the shot below, both layers are visible.

And here's a more  inclusive view.

It's such a lovely canyon, and I wanted to walk along the bottom, looking up.  No deal.  There was a beautiful bird call coming from every direction that sounded like sparkling water singing as it bounced down the canyon walls.  When I got back to the top, I asked around and learned that it was the song of canyon wrens.  I huffed and puffed on the way up.  Even with frequent pauses, my heart and lungs were seriously stressed.  But my knees were perfect!  No pain, no weakness, no wobbles.  Hurray!