Canyon Day Ten

On day ten, our rest day, we visited “The Patio” of Deer Creek and Deer Creek Falls. To get there, we ferried with the kayak and a river raft out of the eddy at camp, river left, across the top of the riffle below the creek entrance to land at the creek on river right.

Next to the river, the creek falls in a narrow cascade of over one hundred feet. At the bottom, the air carried down by the friction of the water blows out from the wall, loaded with spray and mist.

A trail leads to the gorge above the falls and then inside of it. The water has eroded a smooth, serpentine passage in the rock. The trail narrows to a shelf. In one place it is necessary to grip a ledge and side-step along the trail above a precipitous fall into the gorge and stream below.

The brave are rewarded with an eden of little cascades, green trees and plants, and a great patio of shaded rock. A few of us brought snacks and remained in this eden for hours simply absorbing the spirit of the place.

Further up the trail from the patio, Faerthen found and documented an agave plant. She reported that the plant, Grand Canyon Agave (Agave phillipsiana) is critically endangered and rare to find. Archaeologists speculate that the Native Americans cultivated them for food, since they are usually found near ancient habitation sites. Faerthen’s photo-documented observation was the first for this plant to be shared on the identification guide, iNaturalist.

Find photos made on day ten of our GC river raft adventure at Canyon Day Ten Gallery