This map (above) shows our overall route.

Click on photos to see larger image.

Last October I had a total left knee replacement, and therefore I missed hiking in Grand Canyon with my friends that season.  And since it has only been 5-1/2 months since the surgery, I was still not ready for a difficult backpack this spring.  But I was itching to get out and test my new knee.  It was still causing me pain when walking down steps, but otherwise it seemed to be doing fine.  So I opted to do a very easy solo hike.  I chose the Kanab Creek Wilderness because the hiking is generally pretty easy, and I could enter via the Jumpup trailhead.  Not only had I never been to this trailhead, but it would provide an easy entrance -- a gradual 1300 feet elevation loss in about 4 miles.  Not only that, but my friend Bert was leading a Sierra Club trip into that area and I thought it would be nice to cross paths with them for one night.  And there were several other friends of mine who would also be on the Sierra Club hike.  They were hiking in from the Sowats Trailhead.

I wanted to do a 5 or 6 day trip, so I planned for 6 but figured I could always cut it a day short.  I always like to do something new on every hike, so in addition of hiking from a new trailhead, I thought I would head to Cottonwood Spring, located in a tributary to Sowats Canyon.  Although I couldn't be sure the spring would be flowing, I did see some water when viewing Google Earth images.   One reason the spring interested me is that there is often Indian rock art around reliable water sources in the area. 

I had to squeeze in this hike between a trip to Carlsbad, California with my daughter (where she would be starting her first job since graduating from Arizona State in December), and a trip I needed to make to Boulder to find new renters for my condo.  After getting back from California, I had only two days before I needed to head off again for Grand Canyon.  On April 2 I drove from my home near Arroyo Seco, New Mexico, to Jacob Lake, Arizona, where I checked into the Jacob Lake Inn.