Redwall Cavern

MILE 33

Redwall is one of the better know tourist attractions in the canyon and for good reason. The enormity of the cliff above it and the shape of the sand berm in it's entrance make it look deceptively small from a distance, and although Powell's estimate of 50,000 might be a bit high, it is huge. There are other big alcoves and caves in the Redwall, but this one happens to be right at river level, making it accessible and maybe helping shape it.

For D, this was the one place on the trip where the frisbee and the football could come out - too bad there wasn't one of these every day! I alternated between throwing the disk with him and listening to Greg and Rob swap canyon histories in the shade at the back of the cave. Greg was down here as a teenager during the 1983 flood, when Lake Powell threatened to overflow, and spoke of bringing the boats right into the back of the cavern and of helicopters dropping warnings to camp on high ground. Rob talked about various politicians' belated misgivings about the Glen Canyon dam (and one politician's continued desire to finish the dams that were never completed). The Marble Canyon dam (see next entry) would have made frisbee in Redwall Cavern pretty challenging.