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<br />I, I <br />,. <br /> <br />r......., '" .. ~ <br />, '.'" <br />...' - -:...;.....~ <br /> <br />rest. Less than Ii. stay more than one day. The <br />average length of stay is about 3 hours, enough time to <br />visit the overlooks and the Visitor Center, and <br />possibly to stop at the concessioner for a snack or <br />souvenir. The resource itself offers limited <br />opportunity for the visitor. Most of the monument is <br />difficult to access, except for the rim drive <br />overlooks. <br /> <br />6. Principle Visitor Uses <br /> <br />The overwhelming visitor use is scenic viewing; all <br />other uses, by comparison, are minor. Other uses <br />include picnicking (mostly local residents), rock <br />climbing (North Rim area), fishing, and hiking the <br />inner canyon. Since both rock climbing and use of the <br />inner canyon require intense staff/visitor interaction <br />in order to provide information, handle registration, <br />and give safety and resource protection instructions, <br />the majority of visitors (day-use, scenic viewers) <br />receive less personal attention than the special-users <br />minority. <br /> <br />E. Facilities and Equipment Analysis <br />1. Non-Historic Roads and Trails <br /> <br />There are 8.4 miles of all-weather, two-lane, paved <br />roads on the South Rim and 7.6 miles of gravel-surfaced <br />road on the North Rim. There are no bridges for <br />vehicles in the monument. Each road system dead-ends <br />in the monument with return loops at the end. <br />Catt1eguards are placed at the entrance boundaries to <br />prevent livestock intrusions. The South Rim Road is in <br />fair condition. In 1986 a portion of approximately <br />0.8-mi1e was repaved and the road re-striped. The <br />major maintenance problem is a result of frost damage <br />in winter. There are areas where water percolates <br />beneath the road surface and breaks up the <br />pavement. Usually a week of work in the spring is <br />sufficient to make repairs and the road remains in fair <br />condition throughout the peak use period. <br /> <br />The condition of the North Rim Road is often determined <br />by precipitation. If the year is normal or dry, the <br />road is in excellent condition. In unusually wet <br />years, during visitor-use season (the road is closed to <br />traffic after first snow until melt in spring), the <br />natural adobe soils underlying the road retain water, <br />and rutting and loss of crown configuration require <br />extensive re-grading. The monument does not have the <br /> <br />17 <br />