Grand Canyon Openings for 5 night backpack

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Feb 10 2003 10:08 pm

I have 1-2 open spots on Grand Canyon Backpacking Permit

Mar 23-Mar28th 2003

Plan:

Day 1: Tanner Trail to Tanner Rapids. Camp at Tanner Rapids (7.6 miles)
Day 2: Beamer Trail to Palisades (3.5 - 5 miles) Camp at Palisades
Day3: Day trip to Little Colorado Confluence (12 miles roundtrip) Camp at Palisades
Day 4: Back to Tanner Rapids Camp at Rapids(3.5 - 5 miles)
Day 5: Hike out Tanner Trail to 75 mile Saddle. Camp at Saddle
Day 6: Hike out rest of Tanner (~3.5 miles)

Slots are open to people with backcountry experience in GrandCanyon or other comparable backcountry experience. We will be taking our time & enjoying GrandCanyon.....

If you are interested ....Leave me a message

GTG_AZH · Post by **GTG_AZH** » Feb 10 2003 10:31 pm

So tempting, so tempting.

We're going the first of the month.

GTG

Sredfield · Post by **Sredfield** » Feb 10 2003 11:35 pm

We (17) are doing Thunder River and Deer Creek in April. Enjoy!

arizonaheat · Post by **arizonaheat** » Feb 11 2003 5:55 am

Desertgirl, you are making me lick my lips. I would like to discuss this more with u this weekend at Reavis. It sounds very tempting. Last time I was down there we did Tanner-Beamer-out Grandview via Escalante Route .

MaryPhyl · Post by **MaryPhyl** » Feb 11 2003 10:59 am

Sounds like a great trip. Methinks Tanner to the river is longer than 7.5 miles. It is a kick your fanny trail on the way down. http://kaibab.org/gc/bc/gc_tr_ta.htm

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Feb 11 2003 12:15 pm

I have seen Tanner listed anywhere between 7-11 miles...so best to be fore-warned.

Regardless ...It is hard miles. And you have to climb out too :0(

Sredfield · Post by **Sredfield** » Feb 11 2003 1:08 pm

Tanner/Beamer was my second Canyon experience. I remember sweat coming off my nose and falling in the snow. On the way down I was suffering and had stopped for a rest when we heard voices. Soon two very in-shape young ladies came UP the trail, chattering away like oxygen deprivation was never even an issue, and moved on up the trail with hardly noticing us suffering.

Sredfield · Post by **Sredfield** » Feb 11 2003 1:10 pm

desertgirl wrote:I have 1/2 open spots on Grand Canyon Backpacking Permit

I'd like to meet the person who takes that half a slot. Tell us how you make that work, ok?

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Feb 11 2003 1:30 pm

Srefield,,

Ok you got me ...its fixed 1-2. But on the other hand some one who is willing to carry food & water without consuming it could fill the 1/2 spot....

arizonaheat · Post by **arizonaheat** » Feb 11 2003 3:43 pm

I've done Tanner to the River in one shot and it sure felt like 11 to me. 7.5 is way off base, but I have seen around 9 or so on topo software, but that doesn't take in all those switchbacks that first 3/4 mile. LOL

montezumawell · Post by **montezumawell** » Feb 11 2003 8:23 pm

No matter who says what. No matter what guide book you read. No matter HOW the NPS Back Country Rangers describe it. No matter what. Just remember one thing: The Tanner IS Brutal!
Whew! And how!

My second experience there was one no one can top. It happened in March 1982. It is a long story--too long to retell here. But here is the synopsis. I paddled an old Holloform kayak alone from Cameron to the Little Colorado Confluence. I was supposed to meet an NPS Training Trip there.
They were not there. I slept in the Beamer Cabin in a howling windstorm strong enough to rip the whiskers out of my face. The next day, the NPS trip STILL wasn't there. I knew I had a friend coming in at the Tanner so I said, "What the Heck?" and set forth without a permit out on what NPS-types call "The Mainstem." Sure enough I paddled up to the Tanner Beach and there she was, Coronas in hand.

I put on my Hawaiian shirt and we partied. Meantime, some real HIGH UP types were hiking in to meet the NPS-Training trip. Sure enough, the Uniforms arrived at the beach about the same time the slower-than-normal NPS boats showed up. Whoops! BUSTED!

So I was surrounded by all these Type A guys in the "regulation NPS." They were going to arrest me on the spot. Call in a helicopter and make me pay to have all my kayak stuff heli-hooked outta there. Somehow, I called into question Paul Newman's "Cool Hand Luke" and reiterated that we simply had a "failure to communicate!" It worked. But not without a so-called "compromise."

They agreed not to arrest me. They agreed not to impound my boat. (They DID haul the boat out and ddeliver it back to Flagstaff.) HOWEVER. And this is a real BIG HOWEVER! They would agree to do that, if and ONLY if, I agreed to hike all the REST of my kayak gear up and out of the Tanner Trail under my own power.

Uh....

OK, sure, why not?

So, I actually hiked up the Tanner Trail in wet suit booties carrying float bags, life jacket, spray skirt, paddle, helmet PLUS ALL the related self-support kayaking gear you can imagine.

Trust me. If ever there is a word to describe and define "grueling," I have only to think back on that single day's experience. NOTHING in my hiking experience has, or hopefully ever WILL, come close to that one.

I have a lot of other Tanner stories but that single one is my "personal best." Occasionally, Susun and I go back there and hike aways down the trail to sit on a rock shelf somewhere and contemplate ourselves. I firmly believe the Tanner is one of several places where people "measure up" to the Grand Canyon.

My late friend, George Mancuso, thought a lot of that place, too.

So please, if you actually get to go to the Confluence, do us all the honor of having a moment of silence for his remains and the awful, frightful death he suffered nearby.

There is power there. Don't forget it. Respect it. Honor it. Cherish it. It IS your friend!

You WILL have a GREAT time on the Tanner! Remember: The Tanner IS your friend!

J&S

arizonaheat · Post by **arizonaheat** » Feb 12 2003 5:52 am

What we have here is failure to communicate'

Wow, what an experience that must have been. I can't imagine lugging all that gear up that brutal trail.

I certainly agree that the Tanner is truly a magical place. Next time I'm down there I will certainly remember your friend.

From your writings, I can tell we share the same opinions on the type A personality types you describe.

I better leave it at that or I,m bound to offend someone or get myself in trouble.

jimserio · Post by **jimserio** » Mar 12 2003 10:38 am

Ahh, memories of Tanner.

It was the summer of 1996. My very first hike in the canyon. My first "real" hike. I didn't want to do the "sissy" corridor trails. I wanted a real trail. A man's trail! Not only was I going on one of the more difficult rated trails, but I was going solo.

I did all of the research. I pestered Bob Ribokas (http://www.kaibab.org) with numerous emails. Was the trail hard? Did you see any snakes? How far should I go? How much water do I need? I had my Trails Illustrated map and backcountry permit. I was set! I must have had about 60 pounds of gear on my back. A heavy backpack, a heavy tent, a heavy bag, a Thermorest pad/chair. All rented. And about 7 days of freeze-dried food. A true trail virgin.

I had planned for 5 days. 1 day down to the river with a dayhike along the Beamer to the Lil' Co and another dayhike along the Escalante. The next to last day would be reserved for r&r.

The trail is long. It's certainly longer than 7.6 miles. The TU map lists it at 9. I think it's more like 11. It just goes on and on and on... And just when you think you're there and your knees and ankes are sore, you hit it! Asinine Hill. You know it when you get there. A long stretch of straight downhill. No switchbacks. No place to stop and sit. No end in sight.

I made it though. Tired, weak, not without blisters. I ended up spending the next 4 days hanging out at the beach, watching the rafters go by. Talking to fellow hiker. Heading back out, I had to offload a ton (really) of food on some hikers heading down. I was so tired, I contemplated leaving behind the tent. But in the end I made it.

I hold fond memories of the Tanner and everytime I plan a GC hike I can't help but want to include it as part of the trip.

Hmmm. March 28? I never did make it to the Lil' Co ;-)

Jim

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Mar 18 2003 1:23 pm

Did a quick hike down Tanner on Sunday to check out the trail conditions....Made it in about 1 mile or so before it started raining too hard & I elected to cache my H2O and hike out & head home....The views were magnificient, peaks playing Hide N' Seek in the clouds, when the sun did shine the canyon colors were vivid -- thanks to the rain & wet dirt! Trail conditions were fair -- snow & ice for 3/4 mile (crampons helped a lot). Once the trail reaches past 3/4 mile the trail clraes of ice & snow & is quite easy to follow all the way.

Looking forward to it all this coming week!!!!

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Mar 31 2003 8:46 am

I am back from Grandcanyon after a week of great hiking....The weather was perfect, the river muddy and cold and vistas incredibly clear and excellent company .... Was able to complete the planned trip...yippee!!!

We were able to beg a ride (food,beer & soda too!) with rafters from Beamer Cabin ( Little Colorado Confluence) to our camp at Palisades! The Little Colorado was running quite high so all we had was water thick with heavy silt -- no turquoise pools....but the hike up to Beamer's Cabin was great. We ran into a lost hiker (did our part in helping him keep warm & fed!)

This was an easy paced trip with much time for exploration ( Beamer Cabin, Tanner Cabin, Tanner mines and wildflowers blooming in all the drainages ) and contemplation. :-)

Thanks for all the information I got on this site ...it just made the trip all that much better!

My next quest: Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop inlate Oct and Clearcreek in Dec!

MaryPhyl · Post by **MaryPhyl** » Apr 05 2003 10:05 am

I opened this thread to see how you did. Sounds like you had a good hike. I too have been in the canyon this last month--nothing as strenuous as yours. I went down the South Kaibab and did some off trail stuff. Then we went down a route to South Canyon. Last weekend we took our ten year old granddaughter on her first canyon hike down Grandview to Hance Creek. The child is a born hiker--we were pleased! On the way out a friend who had hiked down to meet us took a wrong step and broke her lower leg bones--hurts just to think about it. She got short hauled out--we watched the copter. Next week we are off to do a Thunder River Deer Creek trip with Sredfield and other friends--weather looks good for that one.

desertgirl · Post by **desertgirl** » Apr 06 2003 10:27 am

I wish I could go with you all on Thunder river trip but I will be flying out to go hike in Nepal on the 12th. When I get back I can decide If GC is better.....my initial bets are I will like GC better but you never know. I know one thing I will miss is the solitude that GC offers especially off the main corridor trails.

Please post of you adventures on Thrunder River. I am hoping to do this late Spet-Early Oct 2003. any information will only go towards a better trip......

Happy trail to you on your trip

Grand Canyon Openings for 5 night backpack

Grand Canyon Openings for 5 night backpack

oh boy

Tanner -- How long ?

Re: Grand Canyon Openings for 5 night backpack

1/2 an opening

Tanner IS Brutal

Tanner tough? Nah ;-)

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