This is my first triplog entry so sorry if it's clunky. First GC hike of the year. Weather was great, although had high winds on the 2nd day. 1st camp at Horn Creek. Water is supposed to have high radiation levels, but it wasn't glowing so hard to tell (humor). We didn't drink it. Next camp was Monument Creek. Spent 2 nights here and it was fabulous. A lot to explore, not too many people, had trickling water, and the hike to Colorado river was easy. Hiked out the Hermit Trail. Left camp at 6 am and we were out by 1 pm. Beautiful hike out.

Wildflowers
Some cactus were blooming but it was infrequent. Brittle bushes weren't quite out yet.

My hats off to Denny for putting this together. When you try to assemble a larger group, it's like herding turtles. (A job he's highly qualified to do)
He was busy arranging a shuttle up until 10 minutes before he went to bed.

Denny's on a mission to complete the entire Tonto Trail. With this section, I've completed the Tanner to Hermit portion with him.

We started on the New Hance Trail at 8am on a chilly morning. It didn't take long to warm up though. New Hance is one steep uneven mutha. My knees were barking up a storm. I would have lost the bet if someone would have told me that you actually gain 400' of AEG while going down this one. Staying upright and taking in the views while hiking, becomes tough on this one.
This section was slower going than we expected. It was 7 miles to the river.
https://youtu.be/o8 ... 8bIU

We ate lunch at the New Hance Rapids in front of a clear flowing Colorado River.
https://youtube.com ... 2eDI

Next we were on the Tonto Trail, We'd be on this for 10 miles. It got a little warm on a short portion by the river, but then the clouds and breeze came back and it was perfect. I really enjoyed this section of the Tonto.
We all topped off our water at New Hance Creek for the slog out.

Now on Grandview Trail, the fun begins. It was slow going for me. I was gassed. I had about an hour with the headlamp on to finish.

Denny, thanks for setting this up, driving and arranging for perfect weather.
Good hiking with Dave and Preston again.
Great meeting Hippy's Friend Frank.
We had some interesting conversations.

Claire and I headed back to the Grand Canyon for a nice overnighter down the Hermit Trail. We spent the night in Monument Creek and had a fun afternoon heading down to Granite Rapid and exploring the narrows by camp. We hiked out Sunday morning to beat the heat.

We drove up on Friday night and camped in the national forest west of Tusayan. This let us take our time on Saturday morning. We made a quick stop to Maswik for a light breakfast and then drove to Hermits Rest where we started hiking around 9:45am. The first few miles down Hermit make a steep drop. We made steady progress and hit the Supai where you make a long traverse. The going was moderate as the temps climbed while the sun beamed down. Shade was a commodity. Before long we hit the Cathedral Stairs and dropped to the Tonto. From there we headed for Monument Creek where we set up camp in the penthouse site.

After we had camp set up, Claire & I went for a day hike down canyon towards Granite Rapid. The going is very easy as we wind down canyon in and out of shade. Soon after we hit the Colorado River and headed for Granite Rapids. This rapid is a beast and I really enjoy admiring it from shore! It must be a thrill for river runners! After we had our fill we headed up river along the shore to check for backpackers or rafters. We were shocked to find the area completely vacant! My first two times here had multiple groups including rafters. The solitude here is a real treat. We spent time relaxing in the shade and admiring the views. I took some time to filter Colorado River water which was flowing green and clear... very easy for filtering.

We eventually turned around and headed back for camp. The return flew by and once there we decided to drop down through the narrows. It's short and relatively easy. We both wanted to keep our feet dry so we took our time as we worked our way down. This is a really fun area as we scrambled and stemmed to keep dry. I stepped in water a few times but my feet were dry overall. We had a blast and joked about going down a second time.

We settled in for a clear evening with pleasant temps. Monument Creek was filled with four small groups spread out. We have the penthouse site. This is the group site so make sure there aren't any large groups before taking this site. We enjoyed our dehydrated dinners and admired the stars. A few satellites flew over but no shooting stars. The overnight temps were very comfy as we both slept well. I love these pleasant nights in the Canyon!

Our day two started early as we wanted to beat the heat on the hike out. We broke down camp and had breakfast and hit the trail around 7:45am. The going went well on the hike out. There was a mix of shade and sunlight along the Tonto. We had all shade for the climb up Cathedral Stairs which really helped. We continued on along the Supai Traverse and took a break about a mile before the Santa Maria Spring. From there it was the typical grind up the Hermit Trail. Once up top we stopped at Hermits Rest for a cookie sandwich and soda. Another solid trip complete!

I really enjoy the camps off Hermits Rest. With this hike I have spent at least one night at all the major camps: Boucher, Hermits Camp, Hermits Rapid, Granite Rapids & now Monument Creek. These are perfect options for those wanting to get off the corridor trails and see another part of the Grand Canyon. Go to Boucher last.

This was my first time on the Grandview trail. I did not have route scout going (this was my pre-route scout life), so I'm not quite sure of the total mileage for this trip.


Friday: Arrived at Grandview Point at last light on Friday evening. Hiked to Cottonwood Creek in the dark and noticed many places where my high beam shown off the side of the path in to total darkness. Don't fall!
The hike down only took three hours.

Saturday: Day hike from Cottonwood Creek down to the Tonto trail. We headed West and hit the Old Grandview Trail. My buddy Ben packed his large-format film camera and gear down there...
He's a professional so it must have been worth it We at lunch on the banks of the Mighty Colorado.

Unfortunately for Ben, he started to feel super sick on the hike back up from the River, but somehow managed to get his heavy camera bag and himself off the Old Grandview without any of us sharing his gear.
When we arrived back at the junction of Cottonwood Creek and the Tonto Trail, the rest of our crew headed back to our campsite where we had left our gear that morning. I hit up the Cottonwood Creek narrows. It's nice down there.

Sunday: Got an early start and explored all the cool stuff on Horseshoe Mesa, then took our time back up the Grandview. Stopped for Diablo Burgers in Flag because that's a necessity.

Hiking the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado River and back has been on my bucket list since I was a teenager (some 45 years ago) and I finally fulfilled that dream hiking with members of the Arizona Backpacking Club headed by Clyde Kilgore and Peter Pilat and 7 others.

We arrived on Friday, March 11th car-camping at the Mather Campground. There were at least 30 elk roaming around the campground and throughout the Grand Canyon Village area. Crazy. After we set up camp, we took a short hike down the Hermit Trail deviating off trail to a site called the "Four Sisters." Clyde discovered this place years ago and wanted to share this little treasure with the group. We hiked to four natural arches -- more like bridges -- that very few people know about but yet is close to a heavily traveled trail (Hermit Trail). The first night at Mather Campground it started snowing around 2:30 a.m. and temperatures in the 20's. I was toasty warm in my tent cot bunker but waking up with 4 inches of snow on top of it made packing it up a bit of a challenge.

Saturday, March 12th -- We ate a good breakfast at Maswik Lodge and then donned our backpacks, strapped on our micro spikes, braved the bitter cold wind on top of the rim and down the slippery Bright Angel Trail we went. We stopped along the way to view various pictographs that many people miss while hiking on the Bright Angel. We took our time and stopped at both the 1 1/2 and 3-mile rest stops. It wasn't until the 3-mile rest stop that we took off our micro spikes. It was an exhilarating hike down to Indian Gardens where we set up camp for two nights.

After setting up our IG camp, we took a short hike on the Tonto trail to a point west of the Plateau Point to the edge of the inner gorge--a point less traveled and unlike Plateau Point, this point had no guard rails. There we discovered several cairns and benchmarks and fantastic views in all directions especially of the Colorado River.

We came back to camp, made dinner and watched the sunset from the camp ranger's porch sharing my flask of "Fireball" with the gang. We were all in bed by 7:30 p.m. and the choir of snores commenced. I slept fantastically.

Sunday, March 13th -- I've been looking forward to our hike to the river and Phantom Ranch. The weather was perfect! On the way down to Phantom Ranch, we stopped (off trail) to a Native American Ruin on the edge of Plateau Point across Garden Creek from the Bright Angel Trail. The cliff dwelling and granaries were a treat to see. It always amazes me that these dwellings stand the test of time and to imagine life back then. After experiencing the Devil's Corkscrew at the point where Garden Creek flows into Pipe Creek, we went off trail again to see stepped waterfalls. Most people on the Bright Angel Trail miss this hidden wonder of the canyon. I climbed on some tricky ledges and footings to get to the waterfall but it was worth the effort.

We hiked to the river to see 25 young folks in shorts and tank tops playing on the beach of the Colorado River. They were on a planned "life experience" trip and you could tell they all appreciated the beauty and magnificence of this magical place called the Grand Canyon. It was a joy watching these teenagers. I talked one of my fellow backpackers to dip his feet in the river with me. The rest of the group would not because their feet were all taped up from blisters. The water was definitely cold but it sure felt nice.

We took the River Trail to Phantom Ranch. I drank two expensive lemony lemonades and one beer. So Good! We spent an hour at the Ranch then hiked back up the River Trail and Bright Angel to Indian Garden, but Clyde, once again, had another option for us. Four of us opted to experience the upper portion of the Old Devil's Corkscrew skipping the section of the Bright Angel Trail along Garden Creek and connecting with the Tonto Trail below IG. It was definitely off trail and we got to see more cliff dwellings and granaries.

We got back at camp, had dinner and was in bed by 7:30 p.m. It was a windy night and I'm not talking about the snoring this time.

Monday, March 14th -- Up by 5:30 a.m., had a quick breakfast, packed up and everyone got to hike out at their own pace with the caveat that the 2nd to the last person stayed with the last person. It took me 3 hours and 15 minutes to hike up the Bright Angel Trail. It was tough! I knew it would be and I was prepared for it, but it was all I could do to keep moving one foot in front of the other. I took 10-minute breaks at the 3-mile rest stop and the 1 1/2 mile rest stop. There was a train of people hiking down the Bright Angel Trail (Spring Break tourists) all looking at me with my big backpack thanking God it was not them. I felt proud of myself and exhilarated that I made it to the Bright Angel Lodge meeting up with the group without puking my guts out. Yeah!

After having a beer at the Bright Angel Bar, we all went for Mexican Food in Tusayan and then all departed home except for me and one other gal who spent another night at Mather campground because she knew she did not want to drive home to Yuma after hiking out of the Grand Canyon. I stayed the night at the Best Western and enjoyed one of the best showers I've ever had! I did not want to drive home either.

Tuesday, March 15 -- Had a big breakfast at the Best Western and then traveled to Red Mountain Geological area in the Coconino National Forest. I've never been there before. This short 2.6-mile hike was worth the detour. This cinder cone, estimated to be over 1 million years old, rises 1,000 feet above the plateau to 7,960 feet. Very unique rock formation and features.

While back on the road heading home to Phoenix, I get a call that my Mother-in-Law just got out of surgery from having her gall bladder removed and that I will be flying out to help her with her recovery for a few weeks. Hence the delay in my trip report. I will post photos soon.

We decided to head back to the Grand Canyon for Thanksgiving weekend and got lucky with some Cottonwood Creek permits off the Grandview Trail. We spent three days below the rim and had a sweet hike down the Old Grandview Trail.

We left Phoenix on Friday morning and drove up to the Grand Canyon and started hiking around 11:30am. We made quick time down the Grandview Trail and descended the west side to Cottonwood Creek. We selected a campsite and then spent some time day hiking around the area. We knew it would get dark early so we returned to camp where we ate dinner and hydrated. It was dark by 6pm and got cold soon after. We spent the evening in the tent in our sleeping bags. I have a new zero degree bag and was very comfy throughout the cold night.

Day two started slow for us. We took our time and had breakfast and coffee. We left camp after 10am and headed west on the Tonto for the Old Grandview Trail. The hike was only a few miles and we easily found the large cairn signaling the start. From there we made the descent and were happy to see an established route. As we descended through the Tapeats Break we noticed three guys below us making their way down the route too. We continued on.

The Old Grandview Route has the feel of a roller coaster. It's steep and then levels off and then steep again through a chute followed by a long steep and loose descent through a rockfall ending at the river. The route was a joy and easy to follow. We both took extra special care not to knock any rocks loose because of the group below us. We took our time and eventually reached the beach. The three guys were from Flagstaff and we chatted for a bit. We mostly admired this special place along the river. The views were breathtaking even though you can't see far. We didn't mind.

After our break Claire and I made the climb out. Again we took our time and were very careful with our footing. The going was slow but steady. Both of us made it up no problem. This route was such a joy and I'm glad we spent the time to see it through. Afterward we headed about a mile west to a lookout where we took some pics above the river. From there we returned to camp and settled in for the night.

We woke on day three and broke down camp and filtered more water. From there we made the hike back to the rim. We took a break on Horseshoe Mesa and a few more short breaks along the hike up. The top of the trail was snowy with some ice but was not an issue. We topped out and then made the return to Phoenix with a stop at NiMarco's for some Golden BBQ Wings!

This was another memorable trip to the Grand Canyon. The Old Grandview Route is a lot of fun and is definitely worth checking out. It's quite the ride!

I was finally able to do something of subsistence in the Grand Canyon. A big thanks to 9L who designed a nearly perfect initial 5 day excursion into the Grand Canyon. This time of year is not the easiest to plan with the lack of water and high temperatures, so our options were a little limited. Nevertheless, we came up with a plan that included starting at Hermit's Rest, taking Hermit Trail to Boucher Trail and then to my home for two nights along the Colorado River near Boucher Rapids. From there it was Hermit's Creek, then Monument Creek and on the final day the Tonto East from Monument Creek to Bright Angel and out.

Quick Anecdote: We had a crotchety SGT in our platoon during my last deployment to Afghanistan. Typical old guy, deployed like four times, woke up at three every day, always grumpy etc anyways, he would always compare me to the young mouthy guy from Biloxi Blues. So every now and then when it was a moment know one was thinking about laughing I would say SGT Blank, "man its hot today, its like Africa hot," and he would reluctantly chuckle. How does this relate to the Grand Canyon? Well just a heads up, "The Canyon is hot, like Africa hot right now!" I found myself repeating that phrase in my head several times over my five days in the bottom of the Canyon and in the absence of another hiker it was just enough to usually make me chuckle.

I drove up on Friday June 6th. I treated myself to some great Thai food in Williams of all places! I am a huge Thai fan and I give this place two thumbs up, Dara Thai Cafe worth a stop for sure. I got to the Canyon when they were still charging admission, but I told the lady of my plans and she just let me in for free and gave me permission to sleep in BCO parking lot, so that worked out just about perfect, gotta love it when things fall together like that. Only problem was the Canyon was bumping and that coupled with a little anxiety literally meant I got about 35 total minutes of sleep. No worries though to echo the words of one of my over-caffeinated drill sergeants, "sleep is a crutch for the weak." That would have to be my motto on day one as my first real intro into the Grand Canyon would be Boucher Trail.

Day 1:

Made first shuttle to Hermit's Rest, 4:30 a.m. Was boots on trail by about a quarter after five, skipped my intended carb loaded breakfast in lieu of 8-9 hour old Thai food that had been sitting in my car all night, turned out to be about only bad decision of trip. Stepped off with over 160 ounces of fluid, visited Dripping Springs, saw no one, loved the mild challenge of Boucher, got annoyed quickly by helicopter traffic and eventually had feet in Colorado River by 11:30 a.m. Tried to eat a little lunch, then literally spent about 4-5 hours in some of worst stomach pain ever. Cant figure out if it was mild dehydration, the Thai Food, first day acclimating to the oven or what, but was literally out of commission lying next to Boucher Rapids in a little grotto of trees until nearly six in the evening.

Day 1 Tally's: 11.7 miles, 5:13 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Including frozen Gatorade carried nearly 170 oz, used about 80 oz of water and half of Gatorade to reach river.

Day 2: Slept in late. Woke up to find that my picturesque camp site had turned into Kuwait over night and nearly buried me in sand inside of my own tent sans rain fly of course. Lesson learned scorching hot canyons equal thermals and high winds at night leading to lots of blowing sand! My ambitions were a little curtailed by late start but stepped on the Tonto and headed West to Slate Creek, made a couple half-hearted and very cautious attempts at entering the Slate Creek drainage and eventually making my way to Crystal Rapids. I think I know how it can be done, but was not feeling overly adventurous on second day solo in back country and five miles from camp, so I headed back to camp with Slate Creek being my furthest advance west in Canyon now. Did finally get braver and hit up what I thought were some very promising over hangs and caves on way back, but found nothing. Later that evening I read in Spangler's hiking guide that she had actually attempted to drop down into Slate Creek on one of her trips but was probably turned back by the same impassable pour over that I hit in one of the eastern "finger-like" side drainages. I guess if proper side drainage is chosen one can enter Slate, with the attraction being to view Crystal Rapids. I was certainly on the right track, just lacked full commitment I guess and my private beach along the Colorado was calling.

Day 2 Tally's: 10.8 miles :started late 6:33 was back to camp just after noon.

Day 3: Went from Boucher Rapids camp to Hermit's Creek area. There were two other groups there, loved Hermit's Creek, rapids were great, saw a herd of Big Horn, lounged around pool area, day was only slightly diminished by man in HAZMAT suit cleaning the restroom all day. Hermit's Creek was by far the highlight of the trip.

Day 3 Tally's: 10.3 miles, left Boucher Rapids 5:30 a.m arrived Hermits Creek around 9 hiked to rapids and back and a little upstream exploration, lots of rest and relaxation around creek.

Day 4: Easy hike to Monument Creek, left late in morning had no need to rush. Forest service employee let me take a little off my load by allowing me to put trash in barrel on pallet that was being flown out by helicopter later in day. Was fully prepared to pack it all out, but could not turn down opportunity to get rid of three days worth of mountain house packages, and snack wrappers Explored the narrows of Monument Creek, real cool! Hiked down to Granite Rapids, watched a few boats go through, prepped gear and made final preparations for longest day yet to come.

Day 4 Tally's: 7.2 miles. Lost a bag of Peach O's to desert Sun, completely liquefied them inside baggie, making them inedible, believe me I tried, it was a very sad discovery

Day 5: Started early, in fact, very early left camp at 3:34 a.m. Plan was to use the generous light from moon, however, there was a slight problem with that, as moon had set before I even stepped off, alas, it would be a head lamp hike after all, not one lit by the moon. Even with following it for the first time and following the first portions of it in complete darkness, Tonto East proved to be a race track and I was at Indian Gardens around 8.

I took a short break and then prepared to take the United Nation's walk up the Bright Angel. Everyone knows the Bright Angel is what it is, so I just appreciated it for its awesome grade and well kept trail.

Day 5 Tally's: 14.9 miles, left camp 3:34 a.m. was on South Rim and walking to BCO lot by 10:20 a.m.

Final Notes and Observations:

My camp along the Colorado had a certain stranded desert island appeal to it. I certainly was not swimming across the Colorado and with cliffs to my back, lots of AEG, and a limited shore line my world for two days was pretty much relegated to about a 45 meter white sand stretch of beach.

One of the guide books I read said something on the lines of, "it is impossible to hike in the Grand Canyon and not become at least an amateur geologist." I think there is certainly some merit in that statement, I found myself pondering rock stuff more than probably at any previous moment in my life. A truly fascinating place...

Lessons Learned: Throw out all preconceived notions about what constitutes an early start when hiking in the Canyon during warm months. Anything after six better not have far to go, 5-5:30 solid start time, 4-5 better, anything before 4 ideal for long days.

Kidnapped my buddy Taylor to go on this trip with me, he'd never camped at the river before.

I prefer hiking down Grandview and I remember New Hance was SUPER easy hiking down, knew this trip would be cake!!

We left at 7am due to our ride to Grandview sleeping in, oops.got to the TH round 730,
The hike down GV was cake, made it to Horseshoe Mesa in just over an hour. Stopped to visit the cookhouse and explore the mines then we cruised...more like slid, down the Page Spring trail and took a short break at Hance Creek.

It was already hotter than hades down there by 10am when we cruised the Tonto. We had a mile left to the river when I realized it was Noon on the Tonto in June... "Who does that!?"we said in unison at one point.

It was deadly hot but we had hats, tons of water, at least 3L each plus an extra nalgene (topped off a half liter or so at Hance creek) and we both wore moisture wicking long sleeved shirts. We were both down to half a liter of water by the time we reached Hance Rapids, which is, I think, perfect!

Reached the river well before one in the afternoon, we crushed that trail pretty nicely considering the heat! Spent about 12 hours at the river, we'd picked out a great camp spot about 25ft from the river and a little shallow backeddy, about 2ft deep, just enough to wallow in!
We'd planned to actually camp overnight but the Canyon had other plans!!

We settled in, under the stars, on top of s tarp and super lightweight blanket...then the wind picked up (as usual) and the roar of the rapids all but ceased! I went to add a nalgene to our water container corral in the back eddy, the water had dropped a good 9 inches...ugh. No cold water for our hike out...

Wind got stronger. A tree actually snapped in half, huge clouds of sand and leaves flew from every direction. We wrapped bandanas around our faces and hastily turned my tarp into a tent with rocks, shoelaces, paracord and trekking poles.

Then we squeezed in tight, back to back careful not to hit the rocks that held the trekking poles upright in the sand.
The wind lulled us to sleep alongside the muted groan that was Hance Rapids and 45 minutes later I awoke...

With a burning hot, icy cold, stinging, tingling, numb sensation on my left wrist...

You've gotta be kidding me was my first thought. I just got stung 3 times by a little bark scorpion. Really??!! Being awakened by a scorpion in your bed at 1am isn't the greatest wakeup call but whatevs .

We shook everything out, packed up, dunked my arm in the river then hiked out, leaving our riverside campsite around 2am.

New Hance is easy going up. The trail, for me, was pretty tame, obvious to follow in the dark. The longest most annoying part (or so it seemed, could've been lack of sleep) was above the Red wall, the Supai layer felt like it took hours!! (In reality we were moving up the trail for 3 1/2 hours) we stopped at the camp above the red wall and slept for a good 45min then continued on. We made it to the TH at sunrise. Perfect timing!

New Hance was an easy hike but I can imagine hiking out in the heat of the sun in June would not be pleasant!

We then thumbed a ride back to the village from the first car that we saw, score! The drive was a nurse and insisted I let her take us to the clinic for my scorpion stings haha

Despite all the random mishaps the trip was great, red canyon is stunning as always and I discovered I'd rather hike DOWN GV and UP NH from now on!
Haven't tried it? Do it! Its worth it.

Late night excursions led to 4 hours and a surprise happy hour at Phantom followed by a pre-sunrise climb out via miners and skeleton pt rt.

Lemmy lemonade and mango rum = amazing!

There were 4 of us from the rim, 2 guys had never taken the off trail chunks, they loved it. On our way back "upstairs" two guys from Phantom joined our crew.

We were out by 6am and I had just enough time to eat and shower before hopping on the Dixie to ride to work, I love my life!

My favorite part of this chaos was pointing out the unconformity in the rock layers just below the Tapeats break!

Another solo trek down to the river. Didn't stop by Phantom this time, didn't want to be late for dinner with the crew at El Tovar.

Saw 6 bighorns below the Tapeats break, running right along the route I was heading to. Such magnificent creatures!!!

Noticed a seep, spring type thing down in a drainage west of the break, I'll be taking a few coworkers out that way with me soon.

Skeleton Point Route was super washed out this time around, we got a bit of rain few weeks ago maybe that and the tiny bit of snow over the winter caused some extra erosion.

Getting warmer!!! in the upper 80s near the river! Whoo! Summer!