Pointless Waymarks

Ramblings, Questionable Geographics, Photographic Half-truths

Horseshoe Mesa, Grand Canyon National Park - East Side Loop - 9/29/2020

Created by Charles Miles on 10/15/2020. Updated on 10/30/2020.

2020 September Descending off Horseshoe Mesa
Descending off Horseshoe Mesa. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.

The first few miles on the Grandview Trail pass quickly, the steepness pulling us down towards Horseshoe Mesa.

The first version of the Grandview Trail, originally called the Berry Trail, was built in 1892/93 by Pete Berry and his employees to transport copper ore from the Last Chance Mine on Horseshoe Mesa. Ore was transported by trains of 8-10 mules who made daily journeys to and from the mesa with loads of 200 pounds of ore and supplies. In addition to the mine Barry and his wife Martha opened the Grandview Hotel - a two story lodge that catered to the increasing number of visitors to the canyon.

As we descend off Horseshoe Mesa sections of the Tonto Trail are visible on the plateau below - viewed from above the Tonto is an amazing dream route thru the canyon. However, as usual, down on the Tonto - even for a short stretch - a hot-dry-shadeless-hotter-and-hotter-still-shadeless reality sinks in... Deep black patches of canyon shade far below in Hance Creek transform my Tonto dreams into thoughts of lazy days in beautiful shaded, wet, canyons.

2020 September Dana Above Hance Creek
Dana Above Hance Creek. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.
2020 September Hance Creek
Hance Creek. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.
2020 September Looking Down Hance Creek
Looking Down Hance Creek. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.

The trail turns west as it leaves Hance Creek and begins to climb again towards the mesa. I've been this way before but it still takes a bit to spot the tailings from the Last Chance Mine that point out the improbably steep path up.

2020 September Cotton Top Cactus above Hance Creek on the Tonto Trail
Possibly Echinocactus polycephalus subs. xeranthemoides. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.

The climb back to Grandview Point is slow - far too much time to ponder which sections of cobblestone are from the original trail, and even with sunset approaching more breaks than the most prolific photographer could ever need...

2020 September View From the Grandview Trail
View From the Grandview Trail. Charles Miles. 9/29/2020.

In 1901 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line to the Grand Canyon was completed. The train was cheaper, more comfortable and quicker than a stagecoach to the Grand Canyon and the train's terminus many miles from the Grandview Hotel contributed to its eventual demise. Abandoned by 1920 it was torn down in 1929.

The Last Chance Mine produced hundreds of tons of copper ore before it was closed in 1907 after a drop in copper prices.

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