Traversing Unexplored Gorges

TRAVERSING UNEXPLORED GORGES By Edward H. Anderson Southern Utah is a wonderful country, undeveloped, and largely unknown and unexplored. New interest, however, is coming to life in its development. This year also has seen new efforts at discovery. A group of thirteen young men of Cedar City, recently spent two and a-half days in an untraversed gorge leading into Zion Canyon, Top, Showing the first camp at dinner of the thirteen huskies who explored the North Fork of Zion Canyon. Below, The company at the grave of Allen Smith at the head of the North Fork Gorge. Virgin River.

12S IMPROVEMENT ERA about ten miles above the Union Pacific Hotel and camp. Things are coming into their own down in Southern Utah. There is an awaken- ing to the marvelous beauties as well as to the grandly terrible natural formations of the country thereabouts, that are attracting more and more attention at home and abroad. Not only its natural beauties are being exploited, but also Southern Utah will some day surprise us by its contribution of natural resources in mineral, forest and field, not to mention the inscriptions of ancient races who have carved their crude'historieg in the rocks and left their dead in the numerous moun- tain caves. To those who have stood on the summit of Cedar Canyon and have gazed with wonder from the great plateau of mountain tops lead- Left, Ruins of the Allen Smith ranch home. Right, Ned Walker's ranch. Around this place the explorers found old threshers and farming machinery. Ned Walker is still living in Cedar City, but sheep herders 'occupy the old ranch. ing south to the unparalleled marvels of the great and wondrous gorge known as Zion Canyon, the story of the recent trip of these thirteen young men of Cedar City proves marvelously interesting. The names of these explorers, who took two or three days off from their regular work and traveled over these same mountain tops and gorges, are as follows: Moroni J. Urie, Superintendent of the Y. M. M. I. A. of the Parowan stakes; F. C, Braithwaite, scout- master; Arthur Morris, Cleo Dix, Frank Petty, Will Flannigan, guide; Arthur Fife, J. Howard Maughn, of the Branch Agricultural College historians; Sam F. Leigh, Wilford Fife, I. T. Nelson, Lamar Graff and Virgine Simkins. A new and wonderful government road meanders eight or ten thousand feet into the air to the summit of Cedar Breaks. A variety of climate is encountered. The Cedar valley is fresh with the grains and vegetation in late June. But just a comparatively few miles south of Cedar, below the Black Ridge, the grains were harvested and the peaches were being assorted and shipped. But, on the summit of Cedar Breaks, at this time, the aspens were just coming out in leaf,

TRAVERSING UNEXPLORED GORGES 129 and drifts of snow in the thickly wooded places were slowly vanish- ing under the mid-summer sun. But this is on the beaten track;. The company of thirteen spent three days, two months later, in August 21-24, 1925, in passing over Top, Making their way, in water up to their hips, down the North Fork of Virgin river, Zion Canyon. Below, Making their way down North Fork, Zion Canyon. unbeaten paths lying on the south of the wonderful government high- way. They claim they were the first whije people of record to pene- trate the North Fork of Zion Canyon and some of its side canyons. From Cedar Canyon thirty-five miles to the head of Dry Valley

130 IMPROVEMENT ERA they proceeded. A truck carried their supplies. At Dry Valley, they secured a wagon for this purpose and traveled some fifteen miles to Ned Walker's ranch, the story of which, and its inmates, is a thrilling tale by itself. From this ranch to the beginning of the gorge of the North Fork, is a distance of five miles, and from this point, it is from eight to ten miles to where North Fork merges into Zion Canyon, about ten miles above the narrows, or about eleven miles above the new Union Pacific camp. At the head of this North Fork gorge they stopped at the grave of Allen Smith, a pioneer who settled here in early days, and whose career and that of his family, is one of the thrilling tales of the moun- tains— a novel in itself. They found the growth of vegetation on the tops of the moun- tains glorious to behold. Great fields of black and red raspberries, beautiful mountain flowers, trees and shrubbery of different kinds, greeted the travelers everywhere. On entering the' gorge, they were compelled to wade the river nearly all the wav. each man carrying his provision pack of thirty - five pounds on his back. The North Fork is a side canyon of Zion Canyon, and carries about one-third of the waters of the Virgin River. The gorge is so narrow that there is no place except for the river. ■ / 'at- , M Left, Ordervilk Gulch. A side sanyon of North Fork in which the company was forced to swim in four particular places. Right, The company seen wading down the North Fork Canyon.

TRAVERSING UNEXPLORED GORGES 131 The company had to wade practically all the way. The river bottom in places contained deep holes through which the company had to swim. One of the party was an expert swimmer, hence pioneered the road and piloted the way, searching out the depths. Side gorges were numerous and these were often so narrow that the men'9 out- stretching hands touched both sides of the gorge. The perpendicular walls of solid rock rearing fifteen hundred to two thousand feet into the air. One side gorge which they entered they named, "Spiral Gorge" owing to a spiral formed in the solid rock by the waters1 from the storms and melting snows,. Into this gorge no human being had ever gone before. Reaching the rock above, they climbed upon it as shown in the picture, by placing their feet on one side and their hands on the other, thus raising them- selves to the landing above as rep- resented in the remarkable picture. They entered another side canyon which we will identify as "Orderville Gulch." This they penetrated one and one-half miles. The stream here is not as large as in the North Fork itself, but the water is clear and beautiful. There are also more deep holes in the bed of the stream, and in four places they found holes, reaching to each side of the precipitous walls, so deep that they were forced to swim. At different in- tervals there are places where, dur- ing flood water and rain, little streams form beautiful water-falls which go tumbling down hun- dreds of feet to join in the narrow gorge and unitedly swelling the A remarkable climb. Feet against one wall Waters of the Virgin River. The and hands against the other, in the danger in the gorge during a storm Spiral Gorge branch of the North Fork. may wdl be ;maginc(l as the water rises to a great height between the narrow walls and sweeps through the gorge with a thunderous roar. In one of the canyons a single stone mololith rises high into space in the center of the gorge, forming a wonderful sight. The company emerged into the main Zion Canyon above the narrows, about ten miles, leaving the gorge and its side canyons, with an experience that gave a thrill every moment of the time. Super- intendent Urie in speaking of the outing said they had determined to try it over again next summer and add new canyons and gorges

132 IMPROVEMENT ERA to their exploration. The writer was invited to join them in the trip, but after having heard of their experiences on this outing, he courteously declined. Left, The side canyon of the North Fork. Note the narrowness of the gorge. Right, The one-stone monolith in the side gorge of North Fork. The Heart's Voice Says: If we put our best into our every day life, only the best will come back to us. To be happy and maintain a kindly spirit towards our neighbors, we must think sunshiny, generous thoughts. We fashion our own world. Men will be as we expect them to be. So it behooves us to keep our vision on God. Let us forget the troubles of yesterday; let us put all our energy into today; it may be the only day that we will ever have. We need not climb over our neighbor's fence for beauty. Around our own doorstep blooms flowers of love and justice, if we but look through our glasses of understanding. We do not know anything of life until we have learned that only by sharing our pleasures with others can we ourselves be happy. — D. G. Retsloff.