Horseshoe Bend
Date Walked: 16th July 2009
Distance: 2 miles (3.2km)
Actual Ascent: 164 ft (49m)
Time Taken: 1 hours
Horseshoe bend is close to the town of Page in Northern Arizona, it is a very short walk across the desert from US highway 89 to the rim. There is a small car park beside the road for those seeking to visit the location.
The sand is firm underfoot leaving the car park on a beautiful early morning in July 2009
This being the desert, even on a very short walk you should always carry plenty of water. My shadow shows the additional bottles hanging from my belt and my 'wear it everywhere' Australian bush hat, made by 'Bramah' it will fold neatly into my pocket when not required but flop out to a full wide brimmed hat when needed. So, the Australian hat I bought in England I'm wearing in America
The path meanders along still firm with occasional sandstone slabs, its early morning and still relatively cool
The desert, though seemingly featureless is still an incredibly beautiful place to walk
now the anticipation of the view is beginning to build as I can see the canyon ahead
The rocks are covered in small lizards warming themselves in the morning sun.... do you see him??
My first shot is not the best but does give a glimpse of the incredible 1000ft drop
Having placed the camera on the rocks on a 10 second timer, I had to run around to this outcrop in order to appear all 'windswept and interesting' when the shutter clicked!!
And finally, having wandered around the rocks killing time until almost noon to get rid of the shadows, the incredible beauty of Horseshoe bend is revealed
This is one of the shortest walks I have ever undertaken, but it is also one of the most memorable.