La Poudre Pass:
Out of a spring fed marshy lake at 10,194 feet along the Great Continent Divide bears the headwaters of the Colorado River; here it begins but this isn’t where my story began.
Once upon a time… kidding … but that’s probably a really good story too.
The La Poudre Pass straddles the Continental Divide which separates the headwaters of La Poudre Pass Creek, which then joins the Cache Le Poudre River. The Pass is a gap between the south end of the Medicine Bow Mountains and the north end of the Never Summer Mountains. The Never Summer Wilderness Range spans diverse habitats amidst deep tundra to forested ridges; peaks within are named Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus, and Nimbus. The newest kitty living at the Mt. Washington Observatory is named Nimbus.
Eventually, many miles later, from the headwaters of the Colorado River, they empty into the Gulf of Mexico.
Oh, funny that reminds me of when I sat (because I could) in the headwaters of the Mississippi River but that's a story for another time :`)
A native NY’er is this gal. They say you can’t ever take New York out of us but you can take us out of NY. Seriously, I’d not left my home state until I finished college for more than a quick vacation with most summers spent inside the blue line (aka Adirondack State Park) at my family’s camp in Speculator throughout my childhood and early teen years.
Fast forward to college, with that NY bred grit and determination I skipped all of the usual graduation pomp & circumstance seizing an opportunity and left for Arizona to start a new chapter with my high-school sweetheart, Eric.
On hope & dreams we embarked on an unknown journey out west not unlike days long ago but with a moving van not a wagon.
In Arizona, we began our careers, bought a home on a shoestring budget, forged relationships, eloped, carved lifelong friendships all while living in the rich desert exploring each of her four corners and treasures tucked within. Then... Quinn was born. The absolute best gift from our time out west.
We kept exploring with Quinn, now seeing the world through his eyes.
Our favorite places were the high desert. We'd take visitors who’d never seen this region up to the Grand Canyon; a tourist trap I know but we sought trails less traveled and even that long drive to the north rim with some adventurous friends who eagerly shared this mysterious place with us.
Eric & I at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon 1992 (photo credit Michelle Helstowski) Eric, Quinn & I at the East Rim of the Grand Canyon - March 2017 |
There's a cute sub-story here too. When we were hiking out from the canyon Quinn was giving me a hug, an over-under hug that someone thought was a rescue life-saving kinda move. A dude leading a guided hike quickly came over and asked "does she need help?!" Quinn replied that I was completely fine and that he was simply giving his mom a hug. He looked at us both and shared that it wasn't any type of hug he'd ever seen before. This will forever be one of my cherished memories - Quinn squeezing me tightly inside the walls of the Grand Canyon.
For us it wasn’t just exploring but learning about our earth’s immense deep rooted history.
The Mogollon Rim (correctly pronounced moggy-yawn) an escarpment, a cliff, defining the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau was a regular trip for hiking, camping & exploring just for us. We’d simply disappear FriYAY after work, pack up our K5 Blazer (Blazah for my New England peeps) and go seeking new places or that favorite spot to boondock.
The Colorado Plateau has the greatest concentration of US National Park Service (NPS) units in the country (outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area). Among its eight national parks are Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Mesa Verde, and Petrified Forest.
Among its 18 national monuments and other protected areas managed by the NPS, the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are Bears Ears, Rainbow Bridge, Dinosaur, Hovenweep, Wupatki, Sunset Crater Volcano, Grand Staircase–Escalante, Natural Bridges, Canyons of the Ancients, Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the Colorado National Monument.
Over the years and most recently on our last overlanding trip we’ve explored all but just a few of the above National Parks, Monuments and protected lands.
The Grand Staircase:
The largest stairway that ascends out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon north with the cliff edge of each rock layer forming giant steps.
The Grand Canyon and Canyons of the Escalante slice through the Colorado Plateau, a colossal region covering an area of 130,000 square miles roughly centered on the Four Corners region. To better understand the Grand Staircase of the Escalante, one needs to understand the formation of the Colorado Plateau.
Continuous and structurally sound is key to this, meaning that the rocks remained unbroken by faults or fractures while they were being pushed upwards. Most mountainous regions are crisscrossed by faults and fractures, resulting in landscapes where different types and ages of rocks being placed side by side. This mishmash of rocks becomes a difficult puzzle for geologists to resolve as they work out the origin of each type of rock. Thankfully, this is not the case with the Colorado Plateau rocks. The rock layers of the Colorado Plateau are displayed in a chronological narrative from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the lofty heights of Bryce Canyon. The resulting geologic feature - The Grand Staircase of the Escalante.
Simply put, this geologic feature made up of various rock layers forms terraces resembling a set of stairs. This geologic wonder spans from Bryce Canyon and into northern Arizona.
In the southwest corner of the Colorado Plateau lies the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Much of the Plateau's landscape is related, in both appearance and geologic history, to the Grand Canyon.
Here brightly colored rocks have been left bare by dryness and erosion sharing their domes, hoodoos, fins, reefs, river narrows, natural bridges, and slot canyons; features typical of the Colorado Plateau.
Exposing the rocks of the Colorado Plateau took the driving force of erosion from the Colorado River; with an annual mean discharge of about 15 million acre-feet (I think I’ve got that right). This water now flows through our National Park - The Grand Canyon. Discharge results in “down cutting” into the sedimentary rock layers of the Colorado Plateau at the rate of just 1 mm (or about the thickness of a piece of paper) per year.
The history of this creation aside, this gal has stared down at the Colorado River and hiked several of these canyon walls, always yearning for her floor or rather the river far below.
Dreams, goals, hopes & wishes.
We stayed in Arizona for a decade then packed up our memories, house full of stuff & headed back east; to New Hampshire, a new state & region to explore.
And have I!
Hiking the 48 4,000 footers, some multiple times & seasons along with enjoying beautiful trails and waterways all throughout New England. I have a wonderful group of friends that also love to scamper, rock hop, scoot on our butts, find hand holds, seek peaks and don't forget our trailgating treats. Together, we've climbed mountains and shared a plethora of trail chatter, stories that'll never get old, camped in winter and soaked our tired happy feet in refreshing springs ... oh and those post holes!
However, there’s always been this draw, this pull, back to Arizona and so west we’d go.
Vacations, extended road trips, overlanding all have brought us back to the lush unforgiving desert.
The year Quinn was born there was a beautiful bloom of Golden Verbena that took over the desert floor. Just days before he joined us we took a drive out to the Superstition Wilderness to see nature’s display as seeds had been stored away safely until a water filled sky gave way allowing for these dainty yet hearty flowers to be shown.
Water is something that is so often fought over, namely “water rights”. Water is considered liquid gold or blue gold. Water is something to behold, water isn’t easily held nor should its force ever be underestimated.
Most times you can find me on a kayak, boat or canoe. I’ve only ever been on a raft navigating currents two times in my life but I’m on my way to soon claim number three.
My first rafting trip was in Arizona back in 1994. A work sponsored getaway that was a real treat. We headed out, carpooling to the upper Salt River. My co-peep Gary and friend to this day dug out a picture of me refueling... I do love food. If you look closely, past that huge smile, you'll see that I've got my Saratoga shirt on.
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| Salt River Rafting Trip eats pre-float or post circa 1994 (photo credit Gary Smart) |
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| Salt River, AZ (a section we rafted - photo credit Gary Smart) |
The Salt River Canyon Wilderness is often referred to as Arizona's other Grand Canyon. While it lacks in size of the Grand Canyon, it certainly measures up in terms of outstanding, rugged geology and sheer scenic beauty. It’s one of the few rivers that flows through the saguaro cactus forest of the Sonoran Desert, a truly magical landscape.
There’s a deeper story here too that if my memory holds our raft guide “Taz” was chatting with us about a rapid he disliked ahead of our stop that day, a class higher in numbers he & his fellow rafters very much disliked as it required a portage. We listened to his tale that day while navigating our way, later on (perhaps only a few days) we’d learned he arrested for freakin’ blowing the lower lip off Quartzite Falls!
Quartzite Falls & Demise:
Referred to as a dangerous and sometimes fatal stretch of Salt River rapids that provided natural protection for native fish. A skull and crossbones were once painted on a boulder near the rapids, the Quartzite Falls which lies in the Salt River Canyon National Wilderness Area of the Tonto National Forest on the Upper Salt. Rafters typically carried their boats around it (aka portage) a time-consuming process. The rapids spanned the bottom of the Salt River Canyon about 100 miles northeast of Phoenix. The sheer red and brown cliffs form an attraction sometimes called the Little Grand Canyon.
Um… you simply can’t do that dude! Well they did… and a federal grand jury indicted our river-rafting guide “Taz” & seven other men on charges of conspiracy and destruction of federal property with an explosive. Sadly, there never was full punishment for this crime as it’s rumored that “Taz” fled to Australia to evade jail time. So even though it seems no justice has been served for that crime against nature I'd like to think that Mother Nature is watching and remember karma can be a bitch!
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| Picacho Colorado above the Upper Salt River (photo credit Gary Smart) |
My second time rafting was on the La Poudre in Colorado (See! My stories do eventually come back around - those of you who have heard me vocally tell stories know of this gift).
Heading to our “put in” on an old smelly bus we could see portions of the Poudre passing along the windy roadway. Silent glances were cast as we all still wondered if this was going to be a lazy river trip or what?
It was the or what! We had a blast!
Our river guide explained how that when the water flow is lower the trips sometimes are all the more fun. Also, being later in the season there were less rafts which meant more river for us. The trip was absolutely more than we’d expected and I sighed with physical relief when everyone shared how happy they were that we’d committed to a rafting trip on the La Poudre.
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La Poudre River Rafting - August 2019 |
So… this isn’t the end to my story but a new chapter errr rather river to explore is just ahead, around the next bend. Cheers to that ... Yup, my stories may be long so I hope you've grabbed a beverage as you joined along.
I’m embarking on an expedition, nope not an adventure so I’ve been told, on the Colorado River into and through the Grand Canyon.
You read that right!!
An unexpected invite that I feel like I somehow have always been preparing for.
I'll be joining a group for days upon days on a raft with evenings camping along her shore. Thank you for listening to me when I said "if you ever go again ... !" as you spoke of dark skies and campfires riverside, sleeping under the stars and watching the new moon rise, rich in history of ancient people who lived within her canyon walls, while rafting through glacial time.
My boots, water gear, SPF, wide-brimmed hat, a beautiful sarong given to me by my bestie (I hope I don’t wear it wrong) and I’d not travel without my trusty Minus33 - it’s all packed along with a collapsible fishing pole; barbless hooks are at the ready as catch n’ release is a goal.
Dreaming of rapids that’ll sweep my breathe away, along with the vastness of unknown grand surprises. I'm sure there'll be stretches of laziness in between my turns at a paddle or oar. Waterfalls I hope to find, washing away thoughts bogging down my mind. Fulfilling will be the stillness on the Colorado River's sand. Here I'll sit, grasping each grain of time, holding, clinging, cherishing, then simply one by one I'll let them flow. Into her waterway I’ll float about in a raft, dory or simply in my life jacket within her current I'll play. During those early morning hours a cup o' joe and oh that pooh with a view. Upon waves, riffles and rapids is where I’m going.
So....
As I drive to a bus, then hop onto a train, a plane awaits, a seat with my name; logistics galore to reach her shore, don't you dare let me down!
Sharing that I’m giddy with excitement is an understatement so I’ve added a few splashes and sprinkles. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little write-up on how I got here and some history of our remarkable protected public lands.
On the other side of 226 river miles and 14+ days you'll be seeing me and this I’m certain of - I'll emerge dirty & happy, smelly & smiling, tired & refueled, sandy & soar but with any luck a story of how this expedition had carved itself into my soul wanting more.
Be kind, do good work & live in harmony,
Kally :-)
P.S. Keep climbing that grand staircase we call life because those dreams, hopes & wishes can come true.
#AdventurewithKal @dancewithweeds
#Meronoholic #MerinoWool #Minus33 @minus33merinowool https://www.minus33.com/
#azraft #azraraftadventures @azraftadventures http://azraft.com/
#ProtectGrandCanyon #GrandCanyonProtectionAct @GrandcanyonNPS
