Page, Arizona: South Coyote Buttes, White Pocket (Oct. 16–18, 2016)

The view north from South Coyote Buttes.

Prior to a backpack to Faraway Arch, Joan Hutchinson, Jim and Pam Bradley, and I did some hiking in the South Coyote Buttes (from Cottonwood Cove) and White Pockets (guided by Ron Camp of Dreamland Safari Tours), Buckskin Gulch (guided by Kyle of Grand Circle Tours), and Wiregrass Canyon. Getting to White Pocket involved some dirt road driving in deep sand. I think I could have made it in our Highlander, but I was glad I was not driving.

Our first glimpse of the famous buttes (panorama from two frams).
Navajo sandstone layers.
A pool contained this shrimp.
This boulder has markings that match those on the wall.
Looking down at north end.
Looking north.
Joan and Stan at the Witch’s Tower.
The Control Tower
Delicate sandstone
Joan on the buttes.
Jim in an alcove not far from start.

This sheep panel was very high off the ground. The sand must have been higher when they were made.
White Pocket pool.
Unusual faulting leads to a checkerboard pattern in the striped Navajo sandstone.
Joan at a gully descent called The Wormhole.
Just before a hanging garden.
Some very bold artists made their mark here.
Perhaps one of them fell!
Buckskin walls.
A Jerusalem beetle.
The WIregrass Canyon 0hike starts near Big Water. The only tricky spot is avoiding a pouroff via a cairned route on the left. We went down about 1.5 miles. At this NPS link I found that this area is in Entrada sandstone. It looks a little similar in color to the Entrada on Hole in the Rock Road where there are excellent dinosaur tracks.