Rainbow Bridge National Monument

October 22, 2018
Best of the Best Tour: Day-14

On this grand tour, Gary and I already have done a lot of interesting stuff, despite some unseasonably cold and rainy weather.  The last scheduled adventure is a boat tour on Lake Powell, which includes a short hike to a very special place that cannot otherwise be accessed except by a rough multi-day hike.

I had planned for us to 'go out with a bang' as it were, by saving today's outing for last.  Gary never has gotten up close and personal with Lake Powell, and I have been yearning to get back to Rainbow Bridge for some digital photographs.  Because our eight-hour boat ride departs at 7:30, we are on the road to the marina early enough to catch a spectacular sunrise.

Sublime

It is a 50-mile boat ride up to Forbidding Canyon, where our destination hides out.  The sky is full of clouds, which our cameras love; but it would be nice if any actual rain could be avoided.

The lighting is great on Lake Powell today

Entering Forbidding Canyon

Approaching the pier

Our group is allotted an hour and a half to do its thing.  That should be plenty of time.

Gary is first on the trail

This place is prettier than I remember it

My excuse is that it was more than twenty years ago

What a beautiful canyon

Approaching a repaired area

That new trail segment replaces the 2013 washout

Entering the Hanging Gardens alcove

A good-feeling place

In this verdant amphitheater are virtually the only flowers I have seen on this entire trip.

Large-flower Evening Primrose

Cardinal Flower
Creeping Thistle

Around the next corner, a grand scene unfolds.

Peek-a-Boo

Walking a bit farther completes the picture.  Oh, my!  The grandest span of them all is mine to enjoy again!

This is why I go anywhere

The typically (and knowingly) inaccurate park brochures state that Rainbow Bridge is 275 wide, yet laser measurements in 2007 reported a width of 234 feet.  Also, the height has been recently measured at just 245 feet rather than 290 feet, which size refutes the park-brochure hype about fitting the U.S. Capitol Building underneath it.

Worldwide, a couple of natural bridges and several arches have greater spans; but this one is king of the western hemisphere, and in any case it is far more beautiful than the ones in China.  (I have viewed pictures of them all.)

But who's counting, anyway?  I have just discovered something more important!  On my last visit here, a ranger discouraged me from walking underneath the bridge for some photographs.  That irritated me for a number of reasons (see Addendum), but now I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Two years ago, a new trail was constructed that leads around the arch, thereby circumventing the controversial claims of religious intrusion into the area beneath the span (see Addendum).  I'll be able to get my photos after all!

The new route entails a scramble over the rocks

Getting closer

And there it is — the back side of Rainbow Bridge!

I have waited 48 years for this opportunity

On the nearby cliff are two nice plaques honoring the pair of Indians that helped the first white explorers to find 'Nonnezoshe'.  Jim Mike was unsure of the route, but then Nasja Begay found them in the dark and guided them to the site the next day.

Jim Mike (aka Mike's Boy) was a Ute
Nasuah (=Nasja) Begay was a Paiute

Nonnezoshe is Navajo for "rainbow turned to stone"

President Taft set aside this quarter-section of land as a national monument in 1910, and Teddy Roosevelt visited the site in 1913.  More recently, on April 18 of this year, Rainbow Bridge was honored in a special way.  You can read about it here:

<Rainbow Bridge is designated the world's 4th International Dark Sky Sanctuary>

Also, the rock expands an inch in the heat of summer, and it is alive!  The bridge actually resonates in response to various climatic conditions.  Read here:

<Have You Ever Heard Rainbow Bridge Hum?>

Heading back down the new detour

One last view of the incomparable monument

Although plenty of time remains, Gary already has disappeared.  He probably will be the first one back to the boat.  It cannot leave without me, however; so I'll take my time and savor this gorgeous walk.  Besides, I probably am visiting this place for the last time.

I make sure to thank the trail maintenance worker

Jimsonweed

Back through the hanging gardens

It's not far now

The lake reappears

The boat hasn't left yet

Heading out

It really is clouding up now

In fact, it begins to rain almost immediately.  One benefit of that is the appearance of some waterfalls on the canyon walls.

A few hours later, our tour is complete.

Wahweap Marina

§: Well, we surely got lucky on this one.  Had our excursion run an hour later, the weather would have ruined the walk.  As it played out, however, everything was virtually perfect.

In fact, I hardly could have asked for a better finish to this Best of the Best Tour, which featured fourteen hikes, tours of Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, two regions of Canyonlands, plus visits to several petroglyph sites.  From here, all that remains is the drive home, which will take the better part of two days.

• Trailhead: (Wahweap Marina)
• Distance: 2½ miles
• Elevation gain: 50'
• Hikers: 50
• Rating: 10

Scenery
Difficulty
Personality

ADDENDUM

Here are some data, paraphrased from another web page:

A controversy developed concerning access to Rainbow Bridge in May of 1995 when a flyer was issued titled "Respect for Tradition", which urged visitors "please do not approach or walk under Rainbow Bridge" because, it said, the American Indians consider it a sacred religious site.  "People are now asked to stay on the trail and avoid walking beyond the viewing area at the end of the trail".

Later that year, the Park Service imported some boulders to discourage access to the trail under the Bridge, and they also placed Park Service personnel at the site to dissuade visitors from going under the Bridge.

The Park Service flyer stated that "long before its 'discovery' by white explorers, American Indians considered Rainbow Bridge a sacred religious site."  However, according to the late NABS (Natural Arch & Bridge Society) Director Stan Jones, an expert on the formation's history, there is no evidence for this assertion.  Jones stated that the Navajos paid little attention to Rainbow Bridge until great numbers of people were brought there by the tour boats on Lake Powell.

NABS issued a detailed critique of this Park Service policy in 1996 written by NABS member Harvey Leake (the grandson of Rainbow Bridge co-discoverer John Wetherill), concluding that the policy was of questionable legality.  A United States District Court decision in 2002 upheld the Park Service policy, yet further pointed out: "Although some visitors may feel social pressure not to walk to or under the bridge, that in no way transforms the voluntary request into a mandatory policy.  In fact, there is no officially imposed consequence for choosing to walk to or under the bridge".

Unfortunately, that edict did not help me in 1997, when the attendant ranger all but commanded that I not walk underneath the bridge so as to take some photographs from the other side.  I was pissed off about that; for not only had I made that very walk back in 1970 without complaint from anyone, and not only had I read about the native disinterest in the site, but there even was a visitor register on top of the span itself until 1980!  So much for religious consideration.

On this trip, I was prepared to defy any ranger if necessary and try to get my photos.  I was so pleased to learn that such a confrontation would be unnecessary, that I consider the newly constructed bypass trail to be a highlight of my entire journey.

Another significant factor resulted from religious considerations.  In 1993, Lake Powell finally filled up for the first time, sending fourteen feet of water underneath Rainbow Bridge.  The Navajos sued, but lost their case; however, in an appeal a U.S District Court ruled that the claimed violation of religious freedom was indeed unconstitutional.  This means that the lake never again will be allowed to fill up enough to encroach upon the monument itself.

Of course, that's not likely anyway; for within a couple of decades, not only will the Colorado River flow have diminished greatly, but demand for the water will have increased dramatically.  Lake levels rate to decrease commensurately.

For more photos of the boat ride, go here:  <Lake Powell Boat Tour>