click here to view a gallery and slideshow of all 237 photos from this trip

This is Page 2 of a hike along the Escalante Route. Page 1 Page 3 Page 4

Soon reaching Cardenas Creek, I set up camp at an established site near the trail above the river. I heard voices down at the beach, and assumed that sites along the river had been taken by three guys we met briefly near Tanner Beach.

With a few extra hours to kill before sunset, I chose to explore upstream in Cardenas Creek.

Reaching the lip of this pouroff was the only place on the walk up the canyon that was a little “climby.”

It was in this area that I had one of my coolest wildlife experiences in the Grand Canyon. I saw a Roadrunner! And let me tell you, that little guy sure was fast! It was there one second, and gone the next. Wile E. Coyote… super genius…

As you can see in the above photo, Cardenas Creek essentially comes to an end here where it cliffs out at the Tapeats, with the Redwall virutally immediately above it. Checking my watch, I’d reached my designated “turn-around time” anyway.

I arrived back at the mouth of Cardenas Creek and hiked up to the Hilltop Ruin before sunset. The ruin is at the top of a hill just west of the mouth of Cardenas. Typically I don’t post the locations of Grand Canyon archaeological sites on the internet, but this is a popular one that sees a lot of visitation. They speculate that the Hilltop Ruin was part of a series of lookout stations along this stretch of the river.

looking down into Cardenas Creek

This is Page 2 of a hike along the Escalante Route. Page 1 Page 3 Page 4

click here to view a gallery and slideshow of all 237 photos from this trip