Colorado River: Corona Arch

October 20, 2015

Day 2

View from the island of Wall Street to the left and the Portal in the distance.

The next morning we awoke to the sound of traffic rushing up and down Potash Road, people driving to and from the potash plant. It rained the previous night, and yet, there were still crazy climbers attempting to scale the sandstone Wall Street. Deer and raccoon tracks were all over the island. We put in and then took out just before Gold Bar campground to hike to Corona Arch. At the trailhead, the wind picked up and it began to pour. We made a run for the campground and ducked under a pavilion with a group of people from Colorado. They were running a group for LA youth, in which they could hike at Arches, raft the river, or volunteer to clean up. One of the workers was a Hayduke and AT hiker, trail name "Aspen", who wants to hike the PCT, CDT, PNT, and the Te Araroa. She got plenty of insight from Freebird on all of those trails. She had an infectious laugh and smile and was a joy to be around. She was thrilled to be meeting fellow long-distance hikers as well. Lightning was striking all around us and flash flood waterfalls plunging in every direction. When the storm subsided, a rainbow appeared. We walked back to the trailhead and hiked to Corona and Bowtie Arches. At sunset we put in again and floated past the hundreds of teenagers who were now eating dinner. One of them wanted to toss a brownie to us but we were gone before he could. Around the bend we found a campsite on a mud flat which thankfully worked for the night but wasn't the wisest choice because we started to sink. The tent had to be moved once. It rained yet again all night. Throughout our sleep we could hear a beaver smacking his tail, trying to get us to leave. It could try as hard as it wanted to scare us, but we were staying put!

Pictures from that day:

Rain drops on the Explorer 300.

A climber attempting Wall Street after the rain.

Taking a nap.

Parking the rafts at a beach near Gold Bar.

Watching the storm from beneath a pavilion at Gold Bar campground.

Waterfalls everywhere!

Gold Bar campground as seen from the Corona Arch trail.

The historic railroad to Potash plant, once used for uranium mining.

Water still flowing from the flash flood across the trail.

Corona Arch.

Bowtie Arch.

Hundreds of rock cairns.

A waterfall still flowing near Potash Road, on our way back to the rafts.

Sunset float.