Big Cove Canyon
This weekend I got an incredible opportunity to visit Toroweap in the winter. Not having an adequate four wheel drive vehicle myself to take on the challenging road that accesses the Toroweap Valley, I have had to patiently wait to encounter this remote part of the Grand Canyon. Luckily, this winter, my buddy David is working as the Toroweap ranger. Sadly, I had to leave my beauty queen at home sick, but another fellow park service employee, Eric, joined David and I for the weekend. We left early from Toquerville/La Verkin (5:30am) on a Saturday morning.
I drove out to Pipe Springs with Eric where after three attempts, I was finally able to parallel park the thing to leave it for the weekend. David drove us away in his park service issued Jeep Rubicon. The road was in particularly bad shape. We left so early because we wanted to get the road while it was still frozen. This was a good idea as there were muddy, boggy spots all over the road. David told us stories of pulling out two park vehicles already this winter, where they got stuck trying to access Toroweap. David is a pro, though, as it did not even seem too faze him. We made good time to the ranger cabin known as Tuweep Ranger Station.
It is hard to describe the Toroweap Valley. Some places are beautiful because of sheer faces and steep precipices. Toroweap was not this way and it was impressive, kinda like Yellowstone, where the area is just so huge and massive in its distance and immensity. It is impossible to take a good picture of this kind of beauty, but you definitely appreciate it. We chilled at the cabin while David got himself packed. By ten-thirty we were traveling the last couple of miles down the road to the start of the Tuckup Trail. I have been longing to do the Tuckup Trail for quite some time.
While, this weekend would not enable us to take on the whole trail, it would give me a taste of this extremely remote access point to the Grand Canyon. As soon as we got on the trail, Eric realized he forgot his glasses. David and I used the spare time to explore a cave like feature we saw. It was similar to a forming arch when we reached it. I climbed through it and it was nice to be playing on some slickrock once again. By the time we were done, Eric was back and it was time to restart our journey. The first part of the trail is on a long abandoned dirt road.
This was easy to follow and this trail was incredibly flat. It lead us to our lunch spot with a great viewpoint over to the other side of Big Cove Canyon. I remarked that even though it was so close, it would still be an hour until we were over there. David said two. We were so, so wrong. We followed the fingers of Big Cove Canyon for the rest of the day. Weaving in and out of slickrock bowls, we were enjoying the flatness of the Esplanade, but longing for a quick access point. We added extra time to our route by going to the edge and having to come back.
It was disconcerting to have to spend so much of our time going the wrong direction. The road gave out not too long after lunch, also, which required some route finding as this trail was not much of a trail. The only structure we saw was probably built by some cowboys that used to use the area years ago. Eric was having some great finds on the day, as he was able to pick up rocks and find hundreds of little shells intact in the limestone that we tried to avoid falling on. We were hoping to make it out to Big Point, but as the day grew shorter and our bodies became more tired, we realized that it was not an attainable goal.
Instead, we camped near a giant pothole, which we called a lake. I could not imagine this trail in the summer. There would be little water and you would bake. On this warm February day, we did not have those struggles, but did appreciate the pleasant 65 degrees outside.
When we pitched camp, that temperature began to drop rather quickly. We sat around and ate our dinners, with my backpacking partners eyeing my summer sausage bagels while their food selection involved the peanut butter food group. We did not stay up too long and I got the required 11 hours of sleep when in the backcountry. Feeling refreshed in the morning, we decided to try our luck with continuing toward Big Point. Sooner than later, though, we realized that this was not going to happen for us on this trip. With only two days, it was not an adequate amount of time to see this aesthetic paradise on earth. I was glad that we went though, as I got to see a desert plant that I have never seen before. There was a ton of it in this one section of Big Cove Canyon. Probably it dominated the landscape before being encroached upon by all the non-native species. Even Eric, who works resources, could not identify it. I also got to check out a crescent shaped window in the rocks above a bit closer. We decided to head back and it was a good plan. The way back was spent with varying ideas of the quickest route back. I figured out that the trail seemed to stay right near the cliff band above us. It was easier walking on the slickrock and less cryptos lost their lives, but each of us wanted to avoid as much finger canyon exploring as possible. This lead us in all sorts of different directions, but in the end it seemed as if we might have been able to knock a mile or so off our previous day's roundabout exploring. All in all, I think we put in 20-25 miles on this weekend. We made it back to the road after another day of heavy hiking and to everyone's satisfaction, back to the car. The only remarkable find was Eric's discovery of a cowboy camp in one of the finger canyons. The dates on the wall were from the mid-thirties. We ended the day with a look from the viewpoint. I spent my youth in the Grand Canyon, but still as an adult it was hard for me to deal with the extreme vertical nature of the cliffs of Toroweap. Just a perfect diving board for those few unfortunates that seemed to want to take their final plunge into the Grand Canyon. We spent the evening drinking beer and not moving in the cabin. We got the wood stove cranking so much, that I had a tough time sleeping in my zero degree bag that had kept me so comfortable the night before. We were still up early to challenge the road again, while I got the pleasure of semi-napping in the back of the jeep. The weekend was over Monday morning and I put on my workman's clothes and headed back to work. Still, I really appreciated the weekend and the unique opportunity. It was definitely great to just hang with some friends in the Grand Canyon once again.
This weekend I got an incredible opportunity to visit Toroweap in the winter. Not having an adequate four wheel drive vehicle myself to take on the challenging road that accesses the Toroweap Valley, I have had to patiently wait to encounter this remote part of the Grand Canyon. Luckily, this winter, my buddy David is working as the Toroweap ranger. Sadly, I had to leave my beauty queen at home sick, but another fellow park service employee, Eric, joined David and I for the weekend. We left early from Toquerville/La Verkin (5:30am) on a Saturday morning. 
I drove out to Pipe Springs with Eric where after three attempts, I was finally able to parallel park the thing to leave it for the weekend. David drove us away in his park service issued Jeep Rubicon. The road was in particularly bad shape. We left so early because we wanted to get the road while it was still frozen. This was a good idea as there were muddy, boggy spots all over the road. David told us stories of pulling out two park vehicles already this winter, where they got stuck trying to access Toroweap. David is a pro, though, as it did not even seem too faze him. We made good time to the ranger cabin known as Tuweep Ranger Station. 
It is hard to describe the Toroweap Valley. Some places are beautiful because of sheer faces and steep precipices. Toroweap was not this way and it was impressive, kinda like Yellowstone, where the area is just so huge and massive in its distance and immensity. It is impossible to take a good picture of this kind of beauty, but you definitely appreciate it. We chilled at the cabin while David got himself packed. By ten-thirty we were traveling the last couple of miles down the road to the start of the Tuckup Trail. I have been longing to do the Tuckup Trail for quite some time. 
While, this weekend would not enable us to take on the whole trail, it would give me a taste of this extremely remote access point to the Grand Canyon. As soon as we got on the trail, Eric realized he forgot his glasses. David and I used the spare time to explore a cave like feature we saw. It was similar to a forming arch when we reached it. I climbed through it and it was nice to be playing on some slickrock once again. By the time we were done, Eric was back and it was time to restart our journey. The first part of the trail is on a long abandoned dirt road. 
This was easy to follow and this trail was incredibly flat. It lead us to our lunch spot with a great viewpoint over to the other side of Big Cove Canyon. I remarked that even though it was so close, it would still be an hour until we were over there. David said two. We were so, so wrong. We followed the fingers of Big Cove Canyon for the rest of the day. Weaving in and out of slickrock bowls, we were enjoying the flatness of the Esplanade, but longing for a quick access point. We added extra time to our route by going to the edge and having to come back. 
It was disconcerting to have to spend so much of our time going the wrong direction. The road gave out not too long after lunch, also, which required some route finding as this trail was not much of a trail. The only structure we saw was probably built by some cowboys that used to use the area years ago. Eric was having some great finds on the day, as he was able to pick up rocks and find hundreds of little shells intact in the limestone that we tried to avoid falling on. We were hoping to make it out to Big Point, but as the day grew shorter and our bodies became more tired, we realized that it was not an attainable goal. 
Instead, we camped near a giant pothole, which we called a lake. I could not imagine this trail in the summer. There would be little water and you would bake. On this warm February day, we did not have those struggles, but did appreciate the pleasant 65 degrees outside. 
When we pitched camp, that temperature began to drop rather quickly. We sat around and ate our dinners, with my backpacking partners eyeing my summer sausage bagels while their food selection involved the peanut butter food group. We did not stay up too long and I got the required 11 hours of sleep when in the backcountry. Feeling refreshed in the morning, we decided to try our luck with continuing toward Big Point. Sooner than later, though, we realized that this was not going to happen for us on this trip. With only two days, it was not an adequate amount of time to see this aesthetic paradise on earth. I was glad that we went though, as I got to see a desert plant that I have never seen before. There was a ton of it in this one section of Big Cove Canyon. Probably it dominated the landscape before being encroached upon by all the non-native species. Even Eric, who works resources, could not identify it. I also got to check out a crescent shaped window in the rocks above a bit closer. We decided to head back and it was a good plan. The way back was spent with varying ideas of the quickest route back. I figured out that the trail seemed to stay right near the cliff band above us. It was easier walking on the slickrock and less cryptos lost their lives, but each of us wanted to avoid as much finger canyon exploring as possible. This lead us in all sorts of different directions, but in the end it seemed as if we might have been able to knock a mile or so off our previous day's roundabout exploring. All in all, I think we put in 20-25 miles on this weekend. We made it back to the road after another day of heavy hiking and to everyone's satisfaction, back to the car. The only remarkable find was Eric's discovery of a cowboy camp in one of the finger canyons. The dates on the wall were from the mid-thirties. We ended the day with a look from the viewpoint. I spent my youth in the Grand Canyon, but still as an adult it was hard for me to deal with the extreme vertical nature of the cliffs of Toroweap. Just a perfect diving board for those few unfortunates that seemed to want to take their final plunge into the Grand Canyon. We spent the evening drinking beer and not moving in the cabin. We got the wood stove cranking so much, that I had a tough time sleeping in my zero degree bag that had kept me so comfortable the night before. We were still up early to challenge the road again, while I got the pleasure of semi-napping in the back of the jeep. The weekend was over Monday morning and I put on my workman's clothes and headed back to work. Still, I really appreciated the weekend and the unique opportunity. It was definitely great to just hang with some friends in the Grand Canyon once again.
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