Walnut Canyon National Monument, Saturday, March 12, 2005

Saturday we took a trip to Flagstaff, about 2 hours north of Phoenix. We decided to go to Walnut Canyon, about 5 miles east of Flagstaff along I-40, while we were there.
The canyon was home to the Sinagua (meaning "without water") people about 800 years ago. They built their homes in the side of the canyon walls, climbing up to farm on the surface, and down to get water from Walnut Creek.
The tour of the monument is a self-guided walking tour that takes visitors on the 0.9 mile Island trail past many cliff dwelling rooms. At first look, this trail doesn't seem like any great physical challenge. But, consider that the trail takes you down 240 stairs that make a 185 foot descent into the canyon starting at an elevation of 6690. The air is much thinner at this elevation, so the hard part about making the climb out is catching your breath. Also consider that I am afraid of heights and that there were some parts of the trail that did not have a railing. EEK! After making it back to the top, we went on a second 0.7 mile trail on the rim of the canyon. This one was mostly flat, and much easier. It was a nice walk through the pine forest and past a couple more ruins, while giving a nice view of the canyon and pine forests beyond it.