Horseshoe Mesa Loop – December 2009 – Day 3
Hance Creek to Horseshoe Mesa:
Cavemen and east arm geography.The trek back up to Horseshoe Mesa is familiar ground for us, so we make good time up to Page Spring. Stop here for the last chance to filter some water before reaching our dry camp up on the mesa.
Continuing up the Redwall we both stop briefly at Last Chance Mine, which has been closed to visitation since the last time I passed through. Apparently some bats have moved in that the Park Service wish to remain undisturbed.
Back atop the mesa, there is no one to share camp with again, a welcomed trip long theme. We grub some lunch and then head out for another day-hike. First stop is a return visit to Cave of the Domes where we reacquaint ourselves for a spell. Since we’ve also previously been out to the west arm of the mesa, the next leg on our hike is out to the east arm, but to save time we contour off trail around the north side of Horseshoe Mesa Butte until we link up with the east arm path.
The trail is faint in places out to the edge, but the direction and flow of travel is obvious. The end of the east arm affords some outstanding Canyon views, from west to east the most prominent features: Zoroaster and Brahma Temples, Angel’s Gate, Wotan’s Throne, and last but certainly not least Vishnu Temple. Wish I could sit here a lot longer.
Back in camp we expected a very cold night, but some moderate cloud cover keeps the temperature reasonably above freezing. The weather’s been about as good as you could hope for in December on this trip.
