Laura looking up at the spires of the Doll House above Spanish Bottom. Our time in the canoe is rapidly coming to an end.
Day 4 Jasper Canyon to Spanish Bottom, 13 miles, 2 hours 15 minutes.
7:35 am and the sun has not hit the tent yet.
As per usual I was out of the tent about 7:30 am taking in the view and snapping photos. We had a short day today with no stops planned on our way to our final river destination at Spanish Bottom. The plan was to have a relaxing morning at Jasper Canyon which would include some exploring of the canyon and looking for some more Anasazi houses and granaries.
Looking up river. The sun has only made it halfway down the cliff face.
7:50 am and Laura is enjoying a hot coffee and oatmeal.
Our breakfast view.
8:25 am and the sun has almost made it down the cliff face. It will be a little while longer before we are in the sun.
Frosty wondering where their breakfast is.
Time to wash up a bit and scrape the face. Were the shades really necessary? In the sunshine at 9:40 am.
No mirror while shaving.
After watching me clean up it was Frosty’s turn. Those whiskers needed a little trimming after 3 days on the water.
Frosty doing their business before a busy day.
Frosty’s view from the toilet.
Just after 10 am we had the camp all torn down and ready to be loaded into the canoe. Before heading back out onto the river we we headed off to explore Jasper Canyon. Jasper Canyon is a relatively short canyon packs a lot in a small space. A few years back there was a technical route out to the rim. A recent rockslide has made the climb out to be very challenging and not recommended except for experienced climbers with equipment. As we hiked up the canyon we kept our eyes out for a very preserved Moki House.
Laura carefully following the trail through a field of cacti.
Looking up. Almost looks like you could climb out.
The canyon is narrowing.
The waves in the rock were caused by earthquakes prior to the rock becoming solid.
At the end of the canyon.
It is a pretty steep climb out.
Some honeycombing in the rocks. Geologist are not sure what cause the rock to form the honeycomb structures.
Thinly bedded sandstone with an erosional surface between layers.
Love the red rocks, love the lines in the sandstone. Very abrupt erosional surface between the sandstone and the conglomerate on the bottom right.
Looking down the canyon back to the river.
Laura negotiating the trail through the rocks.
The canyon has widened and there is less rubble.
Making a big leap across a very small abyss.
There is a small fort on the plateau which overlooks the river.
Looking out from the canyon to the river. In the distance you can see the Elephant Canyon Formation forming the slope from the river with the Cedar Mesa Sandstone forming the steep cliff at the top.
I knew from the guidebook that there were some well preserved Anasazi houses in the canyon. Similar to our search on Turks Head I just could not locate the houses. I was very frustrated at times. Luckily again Laura was patient and we did finally locate the houses. They were up and out of the way on quite a high ledge.
Very well preserved Anasazi house.
Well made house, with a lintel across the top of the doorway.
Climbing up for a closer view.
Frosty checking out the accommodations.
Frosty going for the big jump off the cliff.My turn to take the big leap.
Just a really well preserved structure.
Looking up at the Anasazi house from the bottom of the canyon. The house really does blend right into the rock.
Frosty getting up close with the wildlife.
We left Jasper Canyon at about 11:40 am. We were not planning on any side trips as we made our way to our final river destination at Spanish Bottom. There were several canyons that offered hiking opportunities but all involved steep hikes to the rim. There was also no Native American structures or art on the rest of our trip that would have necessitated a side trip. I was very surprised at the speed we traveled down the river. I was able to calculate from the time stamp on the photos that it took us just 70 minutest to travel from Stove Canyon to the Confluence a distance of 7 miles making for a speed of 6 miles per hour.
I just thought the rock looked really cool. Back on the river.
2.5 miles into our trip approaching Stove Canyon. There is camping on the bench beside the river. It is quite steep but you can hike out to the rim.
Looking down river to a big wall. Just 5 miles from the confluence.
Lunch time. Still eating fresh food on day 4!
Laura taking a big dig with her paddle. Maybe that is why we went so fast down the river.
Coming up to Water Canyon. There is good camping here and a trail to the rim. The small cliff that rises just above the river becomes very prominent as we pass Water Canyon
The river narrows at the this point just over 3 miles to the confluence. It is still the Honaker Trail Formation at river level but the river has washed away all the debris that covered the the cliff we saw earlier and we now have steep walls rising from the river on both sides.
The river takes a quick turn to the left before making a hard 180 degree turn. Upstream the river was dominated by long lazy corners but just as we approach the confluence the river becomes narrower and we have three 180 degree corners in quick succession.
If you could fight your way passed the tamarisks you should be able to camp here but there are no camping spots listed in the guidebook.
Just a couple miles from The Confluence
Canoe to our left. Can see a small canyon coming into view on the right.
Looking back up river at the canoeist it was a father and son team if I remember correctly.
Powell’s expedition in 1869 got to the rim up this short canyon just 1 mile from The Confluence.
Laura pointing to The Confluence. This is a major milestone in our trip as we leave the Green River and join the Colorado River.
The Colorado River joins from our left.
The camera could not pick up the detail but the rivers were slightly different shades of brown and you could see the border between the two rivers very clearly as the water slowly mixed together.
I liked the reflection of the trees and rocks in the river.
Coming into view of Spanish Bottom and the Doll House on the plateau above. Can see some ripples in the water ahead.
Just as we were about to finish our river trip we came across an unexpected obstacle. Within sight of our destination at Spanish Bottom we came across ripples in the river forming a downstream V shape. I had no idea what the significance of the ripples were so we aimed down the side of the river and held on. The people who we had shared Jasper Canyon with us told us later that one of the canoes did a 180 degree turn as they went through the ripple which I imagined would have been somewhat unnerving. A downstream V indicates unobstructed flow and you are best to pass through the apex of the V so that you are perpendicular to the waves. By going close to the side of the river we hit the waves on an angle which would have pushed our canoe around more. If the V shape is pointing upstream it indicates obstructed flow at the apex of the V, possibly a submerged rock. A boater should navigate away from the apex of a upstream V to avoid contact with the obstruction.
Safely through the ripples. The Doll House coming into view. Spanish Bottom is just below the cliffs on the right.
Now time to find a place to make landfall.
Our dock and private staircase.
I was very happy with where we landed on Spanish Bottom. The first time I camped at Spanish Bottom we camped right at the downstream end. The downstream end of Spanish Bottom has quite a large beach and landing area and is normally a very popular and thus crowded spot. This time I was hopeful to find a more secluded spot to camp. As we approached the top end of Spanish Bottom the group we had shared Jasper Canyon waved us by saying that there was no more room. We stayed close to the shoreline looking for access into Spanish Bottom. About halfway down we found some trees that formed a shady spot on the river and hidden behind the trees was a lovely log staircase up and into Spanish Bottom. We maneuvered the canoe over to the staircase and once tied up securely we headed up the stairs to investigate our home the evening.
The view from our campsite where the trail goes up to the Doll House
Shady spot for our tent.
Laura munching on a apple in the shade. This was really an A+ campsite.
Tex’s Riverways do ask that you attempt to clean out the canoe. I would like to think that we (Laura) did a really good job with the cleaning.
Melting butter is always a good way to start dinner.
Frosty supervising my cooking.
Vegetables, chopped potatoes and sausages, mmmmm great!
The plan was to go to the Doll House for sunrise in the morning like I had done on the Colorado River Trip in 2015. Since it was still early in the evening we decided to hike up to the Doll House so that Laura could get a feel for the route which would help when we hiked up in the morning when it would be dark. It is only a 1 mile (1.6 km) hike up the cliff with an elevation gain of about 1200 ft (375 m) so we figured we had lots of time to make a quick dash up.
We had our little area to ourselves, our campsite was in the tall bright green trees furthest left of centre.
Tent village. Glad we stayed away from the main camp. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. When we descended from Spanish Bottom we could see a large campfire.
Laura making her way up through the rocks. The trail is quite well defined.
Looking down at Spanish Bottom.
Looking east to the La Sal Mountain range. The La Sals rise 8600 ft (2635 m) above the surrounding landscape, hence the snow on top. The La Sals are called loccoliths formed by igneous rock that never made it to the surface. Since once they were completely covered by sedimentary rock and now they tower 8600 ft above the surrounding landscape, over 8600 ft of rock must have been eroded from the landscape to give the La Sals their current elevation. I find this a truly remarkable fact.
Just before we arrived at the Doll House we met rafting group coming down who had hiked out the Confluence Overlook, a good day hike. They had spent a couple days at Spanish Bottom and had taken the opportunity to explore the area. The next day they were headed down river through Cataract Canyon
Old but helpful signage.
There is a display board at the Doll House with some interesting information about the area.
The spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the Doll House and the area known as The Maze in Canyonlands.
The stunning scene looking east from the Doll House.
Red Paintbrushes adding some colour to the landscape.
Classic views from the Dollhouse.
Yellow flowers and biological soil crust. These black mounds are living organisms. In desert environments hikers are asked to stick to existing trails to avoid damaging the living organisms in the crust that can take decades to regenerate after just one errant foot step. To learn more read the NPS article at Biological Soil Crust of Southeast Utah.
Laura working her way down the trail.
The moon is out.
Grasslands and sandstone spires.
Frosty hanging in there.
Getting darker, time to head back.
View over the canyon walls to the La Sals.
The red rocks of Canyonlands.
We have to get back down there.
Still good light for the descent
Laura making her way to the bottom the twilight.
We were back down just after 8 pm. The goal for the morning was a 6 am wake up for the hike up to the Doll House for sunrise so we quickly headed to bed to get some sleep.
