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Show j :. V '. , . ; . --v. fc t , s ; . i r . f ; -;""; L"-, .,. : A L - vj - - ,."1v--r - 3 v . - " . , - nr-l( n,aJ"'" Tr ? -"-'- v , W V- , J - V-- J I ,1.,-. . x,.,- - : ' -s-3L. r-"I1 L - , . - - .-. -.--- . ..- .. -r . , :'- - - . ...:.. ?t.v- S .' .,x.-'.- '." 5 H - , ; - - ' v - - ws- N. ' - . . - - t -, '.s --r"f r-.'. i.:... ..5-fA-- t.. Jji.,?..v....- ,n . V-.'l.-... ;'.tO7 mi.rt' 'r tS.' :J Jackson Hole is an abandoned loop of the Colorado River just five map-miles from Moab. The only land trail dwn into Jackson Hole, ' vMoab's own backyard "rincon," begins on the river sde, of Hurrah Pass. The trail has seen so little use in the last few years that it is lackson Hole is Moab's Special Canyon Feature . . A Bia "Rincon" Riqht Smack in Our Own Back Yard Js:" f .C V'',' vlvjr By Fran Barnes Jackson Hole is the name of a recreation area in Wyoming. Wyo-ming. Jackson Hole is also the name of a spectaular geological geo-logical anomaly within five miles of Moab, one that is seldom seen and even more rarely appreciated for what it is. Study just any map of Lake Powell, and you will find on it, prominently noted, a place called The Rincon. Study The Rincon on the spot and you will see what happened when the meandering, looping Colo-. Colo-. rado River finally cut through a rock wall, made a new channel for itself, and abandoned aban-doned a big gooseneck loop in its former course. "Rincon" in Spanish (pronounced (pro-nounced "reen-cone") means "corner" or "remote or isolated is-olated place," and this aptly describes the deep-cut canyon can-yon that such rivercourse changes leave. Lake Powell's "Rincon" is interesting in that in the center of the abandoned ab-andoned loop is a high, castle-like plateau of sandstone with vertical walls of Win-gate Win-gate topped off by rounded ,' t - - , - . - , -1 r- . u,tJ , l- . ' , ' - . " . . . . . . , , , . , V -it, v ' , - v . - ,v , " j ' , . " - 'j ' i r ? , - - -' - 1 - The huge "castle" of Wingate and Navajo Na-vajo sandstone that stands in the center cen-ter of Jackson Hole's rincon is surrounded sur-rounded by countless tons of ancient, rounded river gravel. Rock specimens 5 can be found here from the entire area that the Colorado and its tributaries difficult to find and follow in many cases. Jackson Hole is directly across the. river from the potash plant, but is not apparent from TJtah 279 or the truck trail on the Potash side of the river. drain, upstream of Moab, making it a rockhound paradise. A trail that is barely passable to trail cycles and dune buggies, travels the high rim that surrounds sur-rounds the rincon, affording an excellent excel-lent overall view of this geological curi-ousity, curi-ousity, Ij domes of NavajQ slickrock. This immense "castle" is the apex of a miles-long anticline with all the surrounding rock strata sloping upward, pointing point-ing toward, that isolated, abandoned ab-andoned but still proud castle. But you need not travel to Lake Powell to see a Colorado Colo-rado River Rincon, nor lo marvel at a tall castle on ancient an-cient rock left abandoned, for- , gotten when . the fickle river found a shorter path, to the distant sea. ' . Only Five Miles Moab has its owii rincon , and its own gigantic castle, ' just five miles away from town, in a place called Jackson Jack-son Hole. Of course, those "Five mile" are straight-lin.r map miles. Getting to Jackson Jack-son Hole is not quite so quick and easy, a fact that has kept the area well hidden from casual cas-ual visitors, and very seldom seen by local residents.. Jackson Hole, Moab's Rincon, Rin-con, is just across the Colorado Colo-rado River from the big TGS potash mill, about 15 miles down river by paved Utah 279 from U.S. 163. From that side of the river, however, the rincon is not apparent. Jackson Jack-son Hole cannot be . seen easily . There are several ways lo see Jackson Hole, Moab's rincon. The easiest is by air. but this only gives you a bird's eye view, an impreson-al, impreson-al, tantalizing glimpse of an area that deserves more care ful scrutiny. For a more satisfying, but still somewhat frustrating look at this unusual geological anomaly, drive a trail cycle or dune buggy down Cane Creek Boulevard, then up the Cane Creek Canyon narrows. A little more than a mile from the Colorado, take a jeep trail down into and across the creek bottom, then up and out on the other side. A four wheel drive vehicle cannot make the first few yards of the trail beyond the creek, without considerable trail work and winching. Use A Map By following this long-abandoned much deteriorated trail, using a . topographic map as a guide, it is possible possi-ble to reach and travel around the very rim of Jackson Hole's rincon, and ' thus obtain ob-tain a magnificant view of the isolated river gooseneck and its central castle of rock. But, as with flying, this long view of Jackson Hole offers no intimate look, and is thus frustrating. And Jackson Hole Las much t offer those w; go to the trouble of exploring it in detail. Now, this must be done on foot, even though in the heyday hey-day of mineral exploration in this region there was a truck trail that traveled around the rincon loop. Today, you can reach the rincon by boat via the river, or by taking this old trail as far as possible, then hiking when the going gets-too gets-too rough for your "off-road vehicle. - To reach Jackson Hole by land, drive into Cane- Creek Canyon, continue up and over ov-er Hurrah Pass, then on down toward the Colorado River. As you approach the river after af-ter descending the large alluvial allu-vial slope, watch for a trail branch that turns right , through a cattle gate and enters en-ters a narrow little canyon. Follow this progressively trail as it heads upriver through weirdly eroded and colored Cutler and Rico formations for-mations toward Jackson Hole. With careful driving and a good off-road vehicle you should get almost to the base of the rincon's central "castle" "cas-tle" before it is necessary to hike. But as you stop here and step out to survey this towering tower-ing marvel, not the strange landscape before you. Geological Jig-Saw Around the base of the "cas-tlte," "cas-tlte," the Chinle, Moenkopi. Cutler and Rico formations are native, but these are mostly obscured by a still-lingering still-lingering overburden of an- cient, rounded river gravel left there remote ages ajgo. when the river changed its course. ( , Since this long-ag9 event, the river has carved its entire en-tire channel deeper, leaving the rincon high and dry, but fitful water erosion has carved carv-ed labyrinthine gullies into the abandoned gravel .clear to bedrock in many places. But this only emphasizes still further the strange contrast between the predominant native na-tive sandstone, and the megatons meg-atons of water-rounded harder rocks and gravel that floor this ancient riverbottom. For rock hounds, photographers, photo-graphers, naturalists and amateur am-ateur geologists, a hike around the rincon is endlessly endless-ly fascinating. Its gravel contains rock from all the lands upstream that are drained by the Colorado and its tributaries. The Chinle formation offers its usual variety of mineral specimens' and certain layers of the Rico formation are thick with ancient an-cient sea life fossils. All the formations, from the Navajo against the high skyline to the riverbank Rico, conspires to produce ten thousand thousand photogenic scenes ,and the lush river-bank river-bank vegetation shelters a whole unique ecosystem of life for the naturalist to study. Indeed, Jackson Hole offers of-fers something for everyone, but particularly those who will take the time and effort to explore it on foot, so that all of its secrets, massive and tiny, obvious and inobvious, simple and complex, can be ' seen as enly a hiker can see them closely, personally, intimately, with nothing to interfere or distract. |