I went to the Flat Top near town to climb the cliff through a crack. There are many things to see here. When viewed from town it looks like the land above this cliff is flat. It really slopes down from above at a low angle.

It used to be farther from town but now there are houses near the foothills and a paved 4-lane road. In the old days this was a popular hiking area. The are some “party places” here but I think the town is too close for that now.

Years ago I hiked here with some friends and found a way to climb up through a crack. There are many ways to get on top but not from the front face so discovering one was good. This picture shows the routes I would consider today. I walked from the road along the yellow path to the canyon.  I  climbed a crevice where the yellow line is dashed  to reach the area above the canyon and then continued along the yellow line.

The crack is where the white line is. The route discovered before follows the red line up the slope below the cliff up to its base. There is a way to get on a ledge there where the upper part of the red line is. The ledge leads to the bottom of the crack.

This time I would try to climb cracks where the green line is to get on the ledge near the crack.

As I walked in the flat land before the foothills I saw a raven on a fence post. It stayed and watched me until I was about 10 feet from it. Then it flew to the ground, still about 10 feet, and then flew away. That encounter reminded me of Odin’s ravens.

These pools are on the canyon floor. I think the canyon walls are about 90 feet high but I have no measurements to base that on.

Water drips from springs above the canyon. These formations are from erosion and build up of minerals. There is a pool at the back of the canyon above this cliff. This cliff is around 12 feet tall.

This is the crevice on the north wall that I will climb to get above the canyon. It looks steep but the slope is about 45 degrees. There is a cave at the top.

This is the pool at the back of the canyon viewed from the south. It is about 10 feet wide. There were footprints and some trash.

Visitors wrote their names behind the pool.

I climbed up the crevice. It is like going up stairs except for one area where there is a 5 foot tall vertical part guarded by a Spanish dagger yucca. This spiral fossil is in a rock in the crevice. It is about 4 or 5 inches across.

Here is the cave at the top. It is 10 or 15 feet deep. Turn to the left and you’ll see the part that leads out of the crevice.

This view is looking out of the crevice. It is 3 to 5 feet wide along the bottom. The picture was taken that afternoon on the way back down.

Now I am above the canyon. There are many different plants here.

This sotol plant is about 3 feet in diameter.

An agave, or century plant, about 10 to 12 inches across.

An ocotillo plant. 8 to 10 feet tall. They have green leaves along the branches and red flowers on the tops in the Summer.

Several varieties of cactus, a Spanish dagger yucca, and a creosote bush.

This shell fossil is 1 to 1.5 inches across. Some shell fossils are convex like this one. I think they are the fossilized imprint of a shell. Interesting rocks too.

Springs provide the water that drips into the cayon. Salt cedars grow near the water. I wonder if this color is from minerals or microbes. I only saw this color in this pool.

Some of the water comes from this cave. It is about 1.5 feet tall.

I walked from the springs above the canyon up a low slope and over a flat area with large boulders to the Flat Top. I rested and had lunch in the shade of a boulder. Then I went up the steep slope before the cliff. Now I am at the green line shown before. I think the cliff is 80 to 90 feet high.

The prickly pear cactus is on the ledge near the crack that can be climbed to the top. The crack is about 3 feet wide. The crack also has a cave at the top. In this case the cave has slabs of rock as a roof. There is a hole in the roof to climb through and onto the top.

As on previous visits, I could not climb the lower crack since a rock blocked the way. A skilled climber would probably find it easy. I was here alone too so only minimal risk was acceptable. Another crack, to the right, leading to the ledge was not passable. I decided not to follow the known (red) path to the ledge and started back.

These fossils are at the base of the cliff. The one embedded in a rock is 2.5 to 3 inches long. The round end of another is also in that rock. I saw a piece of the thick one, just less than 1/2 inch thick, between rocks and then found more pieces. I often find rocks full of these. Sometimes I find a layer of rock with them.

I found these on the slope near the cliff. Here is a shell fossil in a geode! This one has a convex surface. 2 to 2.5 inches wide. The spiral one is around 4 inches wide.

The desert will bloom soon. This cholla cactus already has blooms.

A piece of marble about 3.5 feet long.

From here I went back along the way I came in. I must return and complete the climb.