Paria Canyon 1994

Easy day out!

Saturday, April 26 Lower Hackberry is unexpectedly interesting. On so many trips, the last few canyon miles seem so anti-climactic, like the closing credits on a movie: you have to have them, but no one pays attention. Hackberry was much different. Susie and I were out of camp by 7:50 am. All but Will and Barbara were ahead of us. Hackberry broadens out for a while, widening to almost a mile, rim to rim. Then, it hangs a left turn to the east, and goes through some very hard formations. As a result, the canyon narrows down, with very high, straight walls. In many spots, the creek floods the entire floor of the streambed. It would make a great short day hike for anyone just out for a stroll. Susie and I both commented on how neat it was to finish up with a bang. We covered the distance from camp to the trailhead in about 3 hrs 15 minutes. Within a couple of hundred meters of the finish, right where the narrows end, there were a couple of children splashing in the creek. These were the first people we had seen in nearly a week. The solitude, coupled with the wonderful scenery, and the Thursday adventure, had made this a special trip. We were sorry to have to leave.

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