First woman to visit Rainbow Bridge

by Sally Jack
Contributing writer
One hundred years ago, on July 13, 1924, a 13-year-old girl named Maggie Johnson, of Blanding, became the first Utah woman known to visit Rainbow Bridge and sign the register at Rainbow Bridge National Monument.
Maggie traveled to the bridge as part of a pack trip expedition that included seven horses, four mules and five people.
It took the group 21 days to make the round trip by horse over slick-rock and rough trails through the “badlands” of southern Utah and northern Arizona to the new national monument at the base of Navajo Mountain.
Maggie’s father, Zeke Johnson, was a trusted and well-known guide who also served as the first curator/custodian of Natural Bridges National Monument, (established in 1908).
In the summer of 1924, Mulford S. Wade and his wife Ethel, of Alhambra, CA, hired Zeke to serve as their guide on an expedition to see the beauty of Rainbow Bridge for themselves, as well as the three natural arches in the newly established National Parks.
For propriety’s sake, Zeke’s daughter Maggie was invited to come along to serve as a female companion and chaperone for Mrs. Wade, in what was usually an all-men group.
Recalling this early trip Maggie said, “I went on a pack trip with Dad. We were gone 21 days, going to the Rainbow Bridge and back. I helped with the cooking and dishwashing and cleaning. I also served as the chaperone.
“I think I was probably the first white woman who ever saw the Rainbow Bridge. My brother Junior was on this trip as a horse wrangler. Dad was good natured, and I enjoyed the two trips I took with him.”
Standing at a height of 290 feet, Rainbow Bridge is almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It stretches 275 feet from side to side, and the top of the arch is 42 feet thick and 30 feet wide. It is one of the largest bridges of its kind in the world.
The existence of Rainbow Bridge was publicized to the outside world in 1909 after two separate exploration parties (who eventually combined efforts) were guided to this natural wonder by Native Americans Jim Mike and Nasja Begay.
The next year, on May 30, 1910 (one year before Maggie was born), President William Howard Taft created Rainbow Bridge National Monument to preserve this “extraordinary bridge, having an arch which is in form and appearance much like a rainbow, and which is of great scientific interest as an example of eccentric stream erosion.”
Until the building of Glen Canyon Dam and the resulting formation of Lake Powell, the only way visitors had of reaching the bridge was by horse, hiking, or multi-day rafting on the Colorado River followed by a seven mile hike up the canyon.
For many years Rainbow Bridge was “one of the most isolated and hard to reach units of the National Park Service.”
Still, many interested parties would make the arduous trek to see the amazing bridge including former U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1913, and famous author Zane Grey, who subsequently wrote a book titled “Rainbow Trail,” using Rainbow Bridge National Monument as the setting.
In 1923, Rainbow Bridge was featured in the February issue of National Geographic, and in 1924, young Miss Maggie Johnson [Lyman] saw Rainbow Bridge for the first time.
One Hundred Years Later
Exactly one hundred years later, on July 13, 1924, some of Maggie’s descendants made the trek to Rainbow Bridge to commemorate Maggie Johnson Lyman’s first visit so long ago.
Members of the family took the four-hour round trip by boat from Halls Crossing to Rainbow Bridge, and then hiked about a mile to the bridge itself.
Maggie’s grandson, Darren Lyman Hunt said, “It was a long, HOT day! I can only imagine making the 21-day horse pack trip like Grandma did! Wow! But what an epic day!”
At 80 years old, Maggie’s daughter, Katherine Shumway, made her first visit to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. It was a special day for her as she hiked the trail in her mother Maggie’s footsteps and saw Rainbow Bridge for the first time.
At the bridge, Kyle Lyman read a history about Zeke Johnson and his daughter Maggie.
As a tribute to Grandma Maggie’s historical trip, Alan Brown played an original song on a Native American flute, and Valerie Hunt-Brown led the group in singing the Song of White Mesa.
The music touched the hearts of Maggie’s descendants, making it an emotional experience for all who were able to be there.