ALL HIKERS
TANNER TRAIL
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DESCRIPTION |
What remains of a
once popular pioneer-era trail goes down the gully immediately east of Lipan
Point. The upper section of the Tanner Trail is narrow, badly eroded,
and can be difficult to follow, especially after a winter storm. The
trail stays on the slopes east of the bottom of the gully through the
Toroweap and switches to the west side at the top of the Coconino.
Rock slides in the Coconino have covered the original trail in places,
forcing hikers to improvise short sections. The trail descends steeply
across the slope west of the bed of the gully nearly all the way to the 75
Mile Creek-Tanner Canyon saddle. A prime Canyon view at the saddle is
the reward for a couple of miles of notably insecure hiking.
The next three miles present the only reasonably
civilized hiking to be found along the entire route. Traversing near
the bottom of the Supai, the trail contours around the base of Escalante and
Cardenas Buttes, goes up to cross a small ridge and descends to the top of
the Redwall. Walk the rim of the limestone north; watching for the
place the trail starts down the Redwall cliff well short of the end of the
developing promontory. The view from the Redwall rim across to the
Palisade of the Desert is exceptional.
The Redwall descent is nasty - steep and loose. A
thin coating of gravel makes some slipping and sliding inevitable and a
serious fall is a real possibility, so take your time. The trail
contours along the base of the Muav to a neat little saddle at the top of
the Tapeats. Ancient faulting has created significant offset within
the Tapeats Formation, so a hiker has to effectively walk through the
Tapeats twice. The Supergroup (Dox Sandstone) appears about 2 miles
above the River. Pay attention to the Dox. The trail chokes down
to about a foot wide and traverses across an angle of repose slope of
eroding red sandstone that falls away for hundreds of feet. The
unrelenting grade of the trail as it drops toward the shoreline puts the
final touches on already weary Canyon hikers.
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