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Once we got
across, we hiked a short ways down canyon to where an
almost vertical intrusion (dike) required either a
steep climb up and over, or a 15 to 20 foot wade through water of
unknown depth. Ben managed to climb just above the water,
while I chose to wade. It turned out that the water was only
about 12 inches deep.
Once past this obstacle, we
needed to hike along the River for about 3/4 mile to where Hance had
built a trail to his mines in Asbestos Canyon. The hiking
along the River was typical talus and catclaw. But about half
way to the trail we crossed a small stream and spring where we
picked up about a gallon of water each. We weren't sure
whether there would be potable water in Asbestos.
The trail follows a rising
ramp of tilted Supergroup layers. Although washed out in
several places, and vague in others, it is generally
pretty good, especially considering that is was
abandoned over a century ago. As the trail approaches Asbestos
Canyon, several of Hance's mines appear. The trail goes
beneath the largest one, then turns the corner and into Asbestos.
Here there is an interesting flat area with lots of asbestos and
mining equipment laying around.
The trail reaches the
bottom of Asbestos Canyon about a hundred yards above a huge pouroff.
Here there were a few seeps and pools. The water was a little
salty, but we didn't need a lot of it because we had carried so much
from the spring below.
This was another day of
perfect weather. I again listed to more of my audio book.
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