This sequel to the larger companion magnum opus, "Glen Canyon--Lake Powell: The Wrong Damn Place to Build a Dam," the suitably named "Shrine Of The Ages" was indeed a sandstone cathedral in the desert submerged inside what many visitors in those years thought was the most pristine canyon carved by the Colorado River. Deemed by Glen Canyon aficionados a sublime backcountry hike and destination, the Cathedral's idyllic milieu of erosional sculpture was indeed the holy of holies. To describe this chamber's sandstone tableau and environs, the towering back wall was embellished by striated 'desert varnish' (viz., black coating). Closer to the bottom, a makeshift altar of rock protruded from the wall, which was evenly divided by a fissure with a slender veil of water flowing through the middle. At the base, a shallow pool of clear water added to the Cathedral's silence, serenity, and solemnity.
Presented with Glen Canyon's au natural habitat before its estate was unceremoniously chosen for an artificial basin retrofit (viz., Lake Powell), dozens of similar other natural treasures were engulfed by some 500 feet of water. As for the relatively few and fortunate visitors before the lake formed who hiked a sinuous pinched corridor from the Colorado River (about 1.5 miles), most were speechless when they saw this backcountry haunt for the first time—its sandstone sanctuary was that venerable. Whispering their respective echoing comments, it seemed they were inside a colossal cathedral, sans ceiling. Such laudable praise for symbolic imagery was also likely common in those early 'dry years.'
The other part of why the author wrote this book of homage relates to his account and experience. Namely, when the upper sector of Lake Powell's depth diminished due to a prolonged drought that began in the mid-1990s. Consequently, access into Clear Water Canyon (off the Escalante) was possible for a brief window of time (Spring, 2005). He was also one of the fortunate and relatively few hikers on such a coincidental pilgrimage who stood in silence and awe of Nature's masterpiece revealed for the first time since the 1960s.
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