During the early 1950’s a remarkable but hair-raising road known as
Shafer Trail was cut down the face of the cliffs below The Neck to reach
the C Group of uranium claims near the head of Lathrop Canyon. It
branches southward from the park road a mile south of the new entrance,
then descends in a series of switchbacks. The aerial view (fig. 11)
shows the upper trail and The Neck before the park road was graded and
widened, and a view from near The Neck (fig. 16) shows the precipitous
cliffs the trail descends. It follows the general route of an old foot
trail.
[Illustration: SHAFER TRAIL, from just south of The Neck (fig. 1,
fig. 11). Navajo Sandstone is above road at left, Kayenta Formation
forms upper half of cliff below road, and Wingate Sandstone forms
lower, vertical half of cliff; lower part of road is in Chinle
Formation. (Fig. 16)]
Shafer Trail connects with the White Rim Trail, which, as the name
suggests, is built mainly on the White Rim, after which the White Rim
Sandstone was named. The White Rim Trail can be followed northeastward
to join the pavement at Potash, or it can be followed southward along
the Colorado River canyons to Junction Butte, thence northward along
Stillwater and Labyrinth Canyons of the Green River to and beyond the
northern boundary of the park. At Horsethief Bottom, you can leave the
canyon by Horsethief Trail and rejoin the paved road leading northward
to U.S. 163. At Lathrop Canyon, 8 or 10 miles south of where Shafer
Trail meets the White Rim Trail, a branch of the White Rim Trail leads
downward to the Colorado River, where picnic tables and sanitary
facilities are provided. This is used as a lunch stop by some boating
groups.
Although some two-wheel-drive cars or trucks have traversed the White
Rim and Shafer Trails, they may encounter trouble with deep sand,
washouts, or fallen rocks, so four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended.
In the summer these trails should not be attempted without plenty of
water, and two vehicles traveling together provide an added margin of
safety. All vehicles should carry emergency equipment including a
shovel, tow chain or rope, jack, tire tools, and other necessary items.
Geologists and uranium prospectors working along the White Rim Trail
have obtained good drinking water from small springs that flow from the
base of the White Rim Sandstone in many places (Neal Hinrichs, U.S.
Geol. Survey, oral commun., Feb. 1973). After rains, runoff gathers in
large potholes in the White Rim Sandstone in some places and affords
emergency drinking water. Several such potholes filled with water are
shown in figure 17. Some potholes occur also in the Cedar Mesa Sandstone
in the Needles district.