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Home > Archive > Aug 16, 2007

Getting High on the Canyon
By Sharon May
Managing Editor
How long has it been since you've visited Toroweap? Have you ever stood on the rocky edge of that 3,000-foot drop down to the Colorado?
I've asked around and discovered, to my surprise, that not as many native-born folks as I thought have made the trip. Some have distant memories of going there when they were little kids. But it doesn't seem to be a very popular destination for Southern Utahns.
I shouldn't be too surprised, actually, considering that the route is a two-plus-hour journey over dirt. But "dirt" doesn't really convey the experience: In good weather, flying rooster tails of dust will blanket your car in pale dust; rocks will ping off your car's underside, doors and sometimes your windshield. Bumps, holes, ruts and washboard will rattle your fillings and have you wishing you hadn't had that liter of soda or water before leaving.
In bad weather - well, you don't want to travel into the Arizona Strip backcountry in bad weather. Chances are, you'll get mired in clay, mud and suddenly churning washes.
But back to the good weather. If you have a hardy vehicle with some good ground clearance and a set - including a spare - of multiple-ply, waffle-tread tires, you're probably going to be fine, but make sure you have a good jack and know how to use it because the Strip roads love to gobble tires.
Two major routes are probably going to give you the best ride: County Road 5, which begins where the pavement of Riverside Road ends at the south end of St. George, and County Road 109, about five miles beyond Pipe Springs on Highway 59. Road 5 runs southeast to Mt. Trumbull and connects to County Road 115 (which continues south to Toroweap) before looping around Trumbull and heading north again, ending at Hwy. 59 near Colorado City.
County Road 109 heads south from Hwy. 59 and joins with Road 5 for a few miles before connecting with Road 115 and the final dozen or so miles to Toroweap.
Taking either route will be a trial for your tires, and you'll encounter sections of annoying-to-alarming washboard. After seeing a few out-of-state cars enduring the shake-rattle-and roll of washboard, I offer some advice to novices: Don't drive too slowly, although that's the driver's instinct. I've found that each car has an optimal speed for smoothing out the bumps while maintaining sure control (For my Jeep, it's about 40 mph, except for curves, of course - loose rock on curves can get real skittery).
Taking either route will get you to Road 115 - these routes are signed, unless some helpful person has shot them out (again!) - and a final bone-shaking few miles to the rim at Toroweap. I remember once getting downright giddy watching five heads in the vehicle in front of me shaking in unison like Bobble Heads as the car heaved and dipped over the slick rock ledges and ruts in those last miles (Hint: Lean forward from the backrest).
Once at Toroweap, your reward begins. Here, the canyon is at one of its narrowest points, merely a mile from north to south rims. And your view is a dizzying 3,000 feet straight down burnished rock walls, in places with no ledges to break a fall. According to Grand Canyon NP ranger Jim Wessel, the height from rim to water is the deepest and sheerest in the entire canyon.
It feels that way. On windy days, standing near the edge can be daunting, and I've seen people crawling to the edge and lying on their stomachs to peer over the rim. Heck, I've seen that even on days without a hint of a breeze. Looking that far down can be scary and even seem to draw you over the edge. Even the desperately despondent find it too scary to contemplate jumping, another ranger told me once. There have been a few accidental falls, such as the grandmother taking a picture of her assembled family who took a step backward over the edge, the ranger told my group - and we all shuddered.
But for the stalwart of heights, the view of the river from Toroweap is one of the most awesome, grand, breathtaking and photographed in the Grand Canyon.
From the parking area near the rim, you can easily scuttle along the rim for a couple miles, stopping every few minutes to perch on an outcropping over the canyon and mutter appreciatively. If you bring binoculars, you can watch rafts plunge over Lava Falls Rapid, the most intense rapid in the Colorado's muddy course through the Grand Canyon. On my recent visit, I watched a raft hit a deep hole sideways and overturn, continuing through the rapid and beyond while upside down. I watched for heads bobbing downstream, but the distance down was too great for my binoculars. But rafters and kayakers are continually floating below, so please don't give in to your temptation to toss rocks over the edge.
Toroweap offers a nicely maintained, scenic campground among heaps of red rocks, with eight first-come, first-serve spaces. And the outhouses - with composting toilets you throw a scoop of sawdust into after using - are wonderfully clean. In fact, the outhouse near the rim has to be the best little outhouse in the West. What other outhouse gives you a 60-mile view down the Colorado canyon.
But back to hiking. Between the campground and the rim is a short, half-mile roundtrip walk, marked with a trailhead sign: Saddle Horse Canyon. This short hike takes you through interesting boulder-dotted terrain to a view down into a spectacular side canyon. The boulders are pitted with rain catches, many deep enough for sprouted guppies to be darting about.
A second marked trail, the Tuckup Trail, begins before the campgrounds. A narrow dirt road to the left marks the turnoff. Take this road around a bend and stop shortly beyond where a whirl of tire tracks in the widened path indicate parking. The row of rocks to discourage further vehicle travel should be a hint, too.
The Tuckup Trail continues for miles - about 50, eastward past SB Point and Dead Horse Mesa. A permit is required for overnight hiking, but it's a beautiful trail for a day hike of any length. The trail begins as a two-track road - once used to access an old copper mine and smelter (which I mistook for an Indian ruin) - and then narrows to a one-track and then footpath. About five miles in, the trail withers to a guess, and a bit of trail blazing is needed before picking it up again.
Toroweap is maintained as a primitive area, so there are no services (except the great outhouses) and no water. Bring lots of water, especially in the summer, and salty snacks for your hike.
And please - pack out all your trash! Leave the area pristine for critter inhabitants and the next human visitors. This is National Park territory, too, so no guns, fireworks or boomboxes are allowed (OK, the "no boomboxes" was my own plea).
Unlike the South or North Rim lodge areas, Toroweap will give you a magnificent, quiet, reflective opportunity to view the canyon without elbow-to elbow chattering crowds. On my recent trip, I was the only one around on a quiet morning. I could listen to the canyon wrens' calls descending the scale and let my imagination soar a thousand years back in time. Metaphorically and literally, Toroweap gives me a high.

Before you go, check your tires and engine. Bring water and food. And I recommend referring to the BLM Arizona Strip map. You can purchase this map at the BLM Interagency Office, 345 E. Riverside Drive in St. George (688-3246).

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