KDT001
Location: 37.115234375, -111.023498535156
At W wall of Driftwood Canyon, scan for steps chiseled into smooth, almost vertical sandstone. These stairs once led down to a mining camp near the river; known as Klondike Bar, it's now 400-plus feet under water.
KDT002
Location: 37.1155586242676, -111.024200439453
To climb the 300 feet of steps revealed by the drought, scramble up the sloping slickrock from your boat. Pioneered in the 1890s after James Merrick and Ernest Mitchell gave birth to the San Juan River gold rush, this mile-long trail follows the footfalls of pack animals that hauled ore and goods from the Colorado River to the canyon rim up 1,500 feet of precipitous terrain.
KDT003
Location: 37.116138458252, -111.02799987793
Reach a cairn marking Carmel Bench, a bed of maroon sandstone. Here, the path left the canyon proper and snaked 20 miles around Navajo Point to Hole-in-the-Rock Road; return to your boat or scramble into Driftwood's deep recesses, where a slot full of boulder problems awaits.
Entrance to trailhead
Location: 37.1153030395508, -111.023597717285
Just inside Driftwood Canyon is an inlet leading to the Klondike Trail. ©Grant Palmer
Ferrying hikers out of the inlet
Location: 37.1155853271484, -111.023544311523
Only small, manueverable craft like a jetski can reach the trailhead. ©Dale Diulus
Klondike Trail Video Clip
Location: 37.1159934997559, -111.027732849121
A montage from the historic miner's trail newly revealed by the receding waters of Lake Powell. ©Grant Palmer and Andrew Matranga
Miner's Steps Up Close
Location: 37.116096496582, -111.025489807129
Leading high above the Old Colorado River, these steps were created so mules could haul gold to Hole-in-the-Rock Road and markets in Escalante, Utah. ©Grant Palmer
Climbing in the footsteps of miners
Location: 37.1157341003418, -111.024604797363
A BACKPACKER scout team ascends the century-old pack mule trail for views from atop the slickrock domes framing Driftwood Canyon. ©Grant Palmer
Slickrock panorama
Location: 37.1161994934082, -111.027931213379
View of the domed landsacpe above the Lake Powell. ©Grant Palmer
Paddling Diftwood Canyon
Location: 37.1159324645996, -111.023490905762
A lone kayaker skims the still, early-morning waters of Lake Powell en route to a stellar slot canyon hike in Driftwood Canyon. ©Grant Palmer
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