SHAFER AND WHITE RIM TRAILS
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.
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.