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When we awoke this morning it was still a little blustery so we stayed in our tents until about 8:00.  Today was expected to be easy; we were only going to the head of Matkat, just above the Redwall.  We soon ran into several groups of burros who were apparently blaring out a warning to all of their friends of our approach. 

As we passed this way 7 years ago, we looked for Harvey Butchart's route down into the inner gorge of Matkat but didn't see it.  This time we took more time and walked closer to the Redwall rim.  Eventually we found his route which looked like an easy walk-down.  We also looked for Tom Martin's route out on the far side of the canyon, but never saw anything that looked even remotely possible.

We continued on to the head of Matkat and set up camp on top of the Redwall where the lower gorge begins and two upper arms diverge.  It was a beautiful spot with great views and plenty of water.  By sundown the wind had died down and the almost-full moon was out.  From our camp, the route straight down Matkat looked easy.