A 1929 account of hiking across the Grand Canyon

                           The east end of today's Tonto Trail. It was the main trail in 1929.

By Lynn Arave

THE Parowan Times of Sept. 11, 1929 contained an account of three young ladies who hiked rim-to-rim across the Grand Canyon that summer.
The account is from Blanche Decker of Parowan under the headline of: "Parowan girl writes of hike across the Grand Canyon."
The three girls left the North Rim and hiked down to Cottonwood and then a side trip to Ribbon Falls. She said "Alter" was another name for Ribbon Falls.
"A clear silver stream shoots out of the hillside and falls in sprays and ribbons upon a massive alter formed of solid gray rock and covered with corrugated moss," she wrote.
She then noted she lost the sole of her shoe and had to get by many miles to Phantom Ranch. The girls apparently had to walk in the Bright Angel Creek stream, as there was no trail for part of the way.
"Through jungles and cougar lairs, over plateaus and through box canyons we walked, until suddenly, as an apparition appears, we beheld a clean green and white ranch house, reposing in a grove of aspens. It was 'Phantom Ranch' and we welcomed it for we were tired," Decker wrote.
The girls spent the night in a white cabin and didn't not sleep well, as there was stifling hear overnight. A Southern Cowboy there, "Bud," repaired her shoe.
They left in the early morning, rising at 5 a.m. They crossed the suspension bridge across the Colorado River.

                         Part way across the Tonto Trail, a desert experience.

"Crossing the Tonto Trail was the most difficult part of our entire hike," she wrote. "It is a barren plateau; the trail is rocky and the heat is stifling that we fell upon the sand exhausted and gasping for breath. It was like trying to breath in a fiery furnace. Once we became so thirsty that we drank water from a stagnant pool and off the backs of wiggling tadpoles, and we were grateful for that," Decker wrote.
Finally, they saw a sign that stated Indian Gardens was six miles. (This leads one to believe that the trail back then was just the bottom part of the North Kaibab and after reaching the Tonto Plateau, it jutted west, over the the Bright Angel Trail, whereas today the Bright Angel  is built to the river bottom.)

                                                     Indian Gardens.


The girls spent the night at Indian Garden. They took a bath in the creek there, slept a while and then were called to dinner. There were buildings at Indian Garden then and the girls helped with dishes; played with some tame antelope nearby and ate apples from a tree, watching the sunset.
They were woken at 3 a.m., given breakfast and hit the trail.

"The trail was very steep. In some places it rose almost straight up. While he truly enjoyed the climb (being rested now) we were glad when, as we drew near the top we heard the blast of an engine whistle and the chugging and puffing of the train as it approached El Tovar," she wrote.
 People on the South Rim were very curious about their hike.
"Sometimes were felt victims of newspaper scandal but it was fun at that," Decker wrote.
The girls got an airplane right across the Grand Canyon to the north and landed at an airport ("Fredonia"?) and got a bus ride back through the Kaibab Forest to the North Rim Lodge.
"Men even lost money over our adventure," she wrote. "They gambled on us and got surprised. Of course, people exaggerate the difficulty of the hike you know ... I am quite happy now that I have seen Grand Canyon from every angle and I know it's Grand," she concluded.

                       Half way up the Bright Angel Trail from Indian Gardens.

The earliest of Hikes up Notch Peak

By Lynn Arave

NOTCH Peak has been a landmark around the Delta area and the west desert there for centuries.
However, when was it first climbed?
The earliest account available is from April 19, 1930, when four men -- Blaine Cropper, Ellis Bennett, Lester Cropper and Wallace Nilson -- scaled its summit and left their names behind on a weathered piece of paper inside a stone monument on the summit.
These names were rediscovered more than eight years later on Aug. 20, 1938, when J H Belt of Salt Lake City climbed to the top of Notch Peak.
Another peak bagger, name, Louis Schoenberger from May 25, 1930, was also written on the aged paper.
As reported in the Millard County Chronicle of Aug. 25, 1938, Belt was stunned by the beauty of the area.
"On top I found a stupendous sight. Peak after peak arises in majesty across a vista of many miles," he told the newspaper.
Belt said he could clearly see Mount Nebo, Timpangogos Peak and even some Nevada peaks from atop Notch Peak.

                            Just below the summit of Notch Peak.

                                                           The Notch Peak Summit.


-HERE are highlights from an account of climbing Notch Peak, by Lynn Arave, from the Deseret News, Aug. 24, 1997.)

Notch Peak is a premier test for those with acrophobia; it's

the state's ultimate drop-off. 

Only cliffs in Yosemite National Park can rival this one, 

which is a dream spot for hang-gliders.

 Look over its northwest edge and it's a 3,000-foot drop, with 

another 2,000 feet of more gradual slope to Tule Valley.

 
Located 50 miles southwest of Delta, it's a five-mile, one-way hike through a narrow canyon. There is a 3,225 elevation gain to reach the 9,655-foot peak of this distinctively shaped mountain.

You can also enjoy refreshing solitude in this remote hike.

David G. rhapsodizes: "It's not heaven, but you can see it from here."

Carl B. takes in the view then decides to "sit back, close my eyes and imagine Lake Bonneville filled to the brim."

Notch Peak, the summit of Sawtooth Mountain, had its own "mailbox," one of those familiar general-issue tin versions embedded in an impressive rock cairn -- at least years ago it did.

According to a notebook inscription found therein, the mailbox was first placed there by the Wasatch Mountain Club in 1968. So shiny it looks nearly new, it is often stuffed with notes left by hikers - Scout troops, people in pairs and small groups - who reached the peak.

Notch seems to give just about everyone a tingle of acrophobia.

"Wow! Dang," Erick, Lisa and Sue succinctly exclaim.

"It gives me the heebie jeebies," notes an unknown scribe.

Sheer, steep, lofty, abrupt - adjectives don't do this escarpment justice. John Hart, in his book "Hiking the Great Basin," writes that a Notch Peak climb will refine your use of the word "cliff." It is, he says, "the ultimate drop-off."

Perhaps only El Capitan in Yosemite is a worthy rival of Notch Peak, in terms of sheer cliff-ness.

A hike to the top begins at the mouth of Sawtooth Canyon, on the mountain's southeast side. A shot-up sign meant to direct motorists to nearby Miller Canyon (the placard on the main unpaved road heading north says " 'er Canyon") sends adventurers west; at a Y intersection, the road on the right heads to Miller, while the one on the left bumps toward Sawtooth.

 Finally hikers head up a ridge toward the peak. Before they get there, though, the mountain suddenly breaks open and YIKES! A massive cleft opens up, a yaw that certainly contributes to the notch visible from scores of miles away. The mountain's limestone foundations swirl in a sequence of sedimentary layers.

From the peak itself, Notch, at 9,655 feet above sea level, drops 5,053 vertical feet on its west side to the bleak but beautiful sagebrush-and-alkali Tule Valley below.

That, as Fergus points out, is nigh on a mile.

Then there's the view from the top: a panorama of desert valleys and distant ranges. On a clear day there are more sights to behold than you may have time to drink in.

"Scenic overdose," two Provo hikers scribbled in a mailbox note.

When Rainbow Bridge was discovered and preserved

                     Rainbow Bridge as seen from the top of Navajo Mountain.
                                                        Photos by Ravell Call

By Lynn Arave
RAINBOW Bridge, a sacred site to the Navajos, is so remote that it wasn't even discovered until Aug. 14, 1909 by government surveyor William B. Douglas -- and he required the help on an Indian Guide to find it.
And, initially a Native American could not be found who had actually seen the Bridge. It required an extensive search all one winter to find an experienced guide, according to the Salt Lake Herald Newspaper of June 3, 1910.
Douglas had tried to failed to reach the Bridge, 309 feet high and 278 feet across,  a year earlier in 1908.
It was less than a year later in the late spring of 1910 that Rainbow Bridge was made a National Monument by Presidential declaration.
A wagon road was not completed into the Navajo Mountain area until 1925, so discovering the Bridge was a real adventure in 1908-1910.
Even today the area is isolated. Rainbow Bridge is located 12 miles northwest of Navajo Mountain, a 10,000-plus-foot-high peak that dominates the landscape. One has to drive into Arizona and then back into Utah to reach the Navajo Mountain Community.
"Hole in the Rock Shaped Liked a Rainbow" was a Navajo name for the sacred arch, believed to be of two beings, male and female, frozen in place. From it comes rainbows, clouds and moisture for the reservation.

Rainbow Bridge was a focal point of debate over the proposed construction of a dam to create Lake Powell in the 1950s. It was argued the backup of water would damage the arch. Initially, some special backwater dams were proposed to protect the arch, but then it was determined they would only damage the feature more than backed up Colorado River water would.
So, the Glen Canyon Dam was built as planned and in June of 1963, waters rose underneath Rainbow Bridge. This also made the Bridge all to accessible by boat, vs. a long, long day hike otherwise. Many insensitive visitors traveled under the arch and even climbed it, despite it Native American sacredness.
Likewise, Navajo Mountain is no longer quite as sacred today, since cell towers sit a top the peak.
-There is also another arch in the area, Talking Rock, in a nearby tributary of Rainbow Canyon, at Echo Canyon, also a sacred Navajo site.

                                         Navajo Mountain from the south.

OTHER SOURCE: "Navajo Places: History, Legend and Landscape," by Laurence D. Linford.

The "President's Forest" that never happened

                    Point Imperial on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

BACK in 1922, there was a proposal to create "The President's Forest."
Designed and backed by Utah Senator Reed Smoot, this designation  never happened.
It was supposed to be the east half of the Kaibab National Forest, some 500,000 acres of forest going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, according to the Beaver County News of March 10, 1922.
The designation would have made it game sanctuary -- no hunting and no commercial or private development.
Back in 1922, it was also thought that Cedar Breaks would become a part of Zion National Park, instead of its own National Monument.
Also, Bryce Canyon was incorrectly believed to more likely become a state park, than a National Park.

When an observatory was proposed for Mount Nebo

                                  Ravell Call rests just below the South Peak of Mount Nebo.
                                                                                                                     Photo by Ray Boren

By Lynn Arave

BACK in 1920, serious consideration was given to put an observatory atop Mount Nebo as a "Yankee Memorial," to honor the soldiers, sailors and marines of all U.S. wars.
According to the Salt Lake Telegram of March 25, 1920, the Utah Memorial Committee considered this proposal.
Both a searchlight to help guide airplanes (in that pre-radar era) and even a radio station transmitter were considered to be placed there.
"Mt. Nebo is the highest mountain centrally situated in the state and its summit can be seen from three transcontinental railways -- two of which skirt its base -- and three transcontinental auto routes. It stands nearly 8,000 feet above the surrounding valleys," George B. Hobbs of Nephi told the Utah Memorial Committee.
Hobbs believed the U.S. Government would assist in the costs for such a strategic development.
-However, like many such proposals along the Wasatch Mountains in the 1920s, it never happened.
Hiking and scenic-wise, Mount Timpanogos to the south became a favored landmark. Timp was climbed far more often and eventually received a metal shelter on its summit, though a mountain war memorial never came to be on any peak in the area.

Why Zion National Park trails are paved

By Lynn Arave

EVER wonder why many of the trails in Zion National Park are paved?
It isn't just because of erosion, like in many other National Parks, nor is it a recent development.
According to the Iron County Newspaper of June 22, 1928 under the headline, "Highway and trails to be oiled," a different reason is mentioned:
"Dust blowing off the roads and trails covers the nearby plants, shrubs and trees with a coating of gray dust, which entirely destroys its freshness and beauty, and, in time may seriously injure the vegetation," the article quoted Park Superintendent E.T. Scoyen.
So, applying oil to the trails in 1928 was an experiment. Special equipment, designed by the National Park Service's Engineering division, was used in this project.
Decades later, cement and asphalt were used to cover key portions of trails.
Yes, paved trails increase the speed of hikers and help prevent erosion, but the 1928 experiment worked.

                            The West Rim Trail beyond Scout Lookout.

Motor Migrants were a big problem in 1927 Weber County

                    -From a post card in D. Boyd Crawford's collection.



"MOTOR MIGRANTS latest problem on public hands: Weber County gets share" was a July 10, 1927 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.
Even before the Great Depression struck, Weber County, Utah, had a significant amount of migrant people in cars, begging for gas and food and seeking places to camp.
A Riverdale storeowner reported in that story that up to 20 automobiles containing families had camped at night in farming areas near there in the past 6 weeks. Once these people earned enough money, or were handed enough funds, they moved on.
These so-called "Tramp Tourists" were all over the nation in that era.
Murray K. Jacobs of Riverdale reported that he talked to one Tramp Tourist, a mother of five children, who told him she'd been on the road for four years without a home.
These vagrants often begged for gas at rural service stations. In larger cities, gasoline theft was becoming an increasing criminal activity.
Some youth tourist tramps were also encountered, whose goal was to beg or buy a gallon of gas a day and let that take them that much further down the highway.

-NOTE: The author, Lynn Arave, is available to speak to groups, clubs, classes or other organizations about Utah history at no charge. He can be contacted by email at: lynnarave@comcast.net

1916: When Ogden, Utah had big plans for its own zoo

              An elephant at Salt Lake's Hogle Zoo in the late 1980s.


TODAY about the only zoos in Utah are in Salt Lake City and Logan.
The largest zoo of all and by far is Salt Lake's Hogle Zoo.
Logan boasts a much more moderate-sized Willow Park Zoo on its west side.
However, Ogden City had plans and hopes for its own zoo back in the late 1910s.
According to the Ogden Standard-Examiner of Oct. 12, 1916, Weber County Commissioners had hoped to have a small zoo going by 1919 in Glenwood Park.
Unlike Salt Lake, the Ogden zoo would have had more domesticated wild animals housed there, "to the extent they will not be a danger to have about," the story stated.
Bears, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigeons and other birds would have begun the initial collection of animals.
As far as can be determined, this original Ogden zoo plan was never implemented.
--Ogden DID HAVE a small zoo in the 1950s inside Lorin Farr Park. There were at the least some monkeys there, but that was gone by the 1960s and since then Ogden has lacked any kind of a zoo.


-

North Ogden Divide Road in 1914

      The view below North Ogden Divide. The road is on the north side of the canyon.


THE North Ogden, Utah Divide Road has been around for more than a century.
In a Sept. 11, 1914 report in the Ogden Standard-Examiner, Weber County Commissioners traveled by automobile over the North Ogden Divide, also called "North Ogden Canyon Road" in those days.
Their report was a "fairly good" road, though "pretty steep," with a "most pleasing" high point.
Even today this road, about seven miles south of the main route through Ogden Canyon (Utah Highway 39), is a shortcut to Eden and Liberty in Ogden Valley,.

1914: The first skiing in the Ogden area?

                                   The mouth of Taylor Canyon.

WHEN did the first skiing in the Ogden Mountains begin?
Long before Snow Basin came along in 1940, winter recreation was was at least underway to some extent by 1914.
According to the Ogden Standard-Examiner of Jan. 17, 1914, a local minister, Rev. F.G. Brainerd and  a group climbed to Malan's Heights (today's Malan's Peak and Malan's Basin). Then, they used skis to slide down "with the wind,"
Rev. Brainerd said Ogden's mountains are even more "majestic and beautifully inspiring in winter than in summer."
He did regular snowshoe trips east of Ogden in the winter.
Tobaggan rides were reported to be popular pastimes in the eastern U.S., but in the west, few as yet, "realize the joy in store for those who will get out in the hills" in the winter season.
The Standard story concluded: "Our winter scenes, in canyon and mountain top, and the possibilities of our winter sports, should be one of the advertised features of Ogden."

                  Some antique, wooden skis of yesteryear.


-Just over five years later, a headline in the Standard-Examiner was: "They slide on snow banks in sight of Ogden and have a delightful time."
This story reported on May 27, 1919, that several groups of people had climbed to the top of "Observatory Peak" (today's Mount Ogden) that weekend.
There was still significant snow at high elevation that spring. The group went up and down the mountain saddle via the Malan's Heights trail. However, one of the two groups, were Japanese and they slid down quickly much of the distance on some sort of "rubber pads" on the snow.
The other party, presumably white in race, slid down the snow without such a pad and got very wet in the process. Members of that party were: R.F. Baker, Grace Jennings, Clifford Huss, Lucile Davis, George Bauman, Marjorie Turner and Ada Childs.

                          Looking toward Malan's Basin along the trail from Malan's Peak.

In the late 1920s, there was a ski jump near the mouth of Ogden Canyon. By 1937, Taylor Canyon's mouth featured a ski jump and later an ice skating rink.