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Has anyone stayed at Horn Creek camp site in the Gr Cyn? It's located 2.5 miles W of Indian Garden. I'd like to know what the site is like, e.g. tree coverage? reasonable hike to the river and back? How's the 2.5 miles from IG? Any photos posted on HAZ?

I've hiked through there twice, can't really remember what the tree cover was like. It is was an easy couple miles over to Indian Gardens.

One thing that you may want to consider is that they say the water has/had uranium in it from the old mine above Horn Creek. Small traces left apparently and I think you would have to live there for life before you were affected, but hey, some people don't want to take that chance.

The only times I've been through there have been in Winter and the Creek was flowing both times. As far as hiking to the river and back, do you mean down Horn's drainage? I didn't think that went to the river as Monument or Hermit do, at least w/o rock climbing. I could be wrong though. So to hike from Horn over to Bright Angel Trail and down to the river and back that would be a long hot day this time of year.

The only thing I would use Horn Creek for is if Indian Gardens is booked up or if you were doing a longer loop hike I guess.

-TIM-

Thanks for the info about Horn Creek. We'll be sure not to drink the water! I'm hoping to get permits for late Oct which still may be quite hot. The backcountry office directs you to the HC camp site if Indian Garden is booked. They say it's nice since there's only one site w/ max 6. I'm taking young teens and would like to be near water...hence Br Angel Tr. Thank you!

The Horn site has but 1 tree.
The water is fine to drink in small doses - I do all the time, and I'm not glowing yet.
The hike to the river is arduous and does not follow the drainage. I would recommend against it for less than tried and true, off-trail, Canyon hikers.
You might consider a Plateau Point sunset hike......
One thing to consider..... if you get the Horn site you will have it to yourselves, whereas @ I.G. you'll be "camping" with about 100 friends.

Have fun & be safe.

kurt

OK Kurt, I see that you've drank the water at Horn Creek quite a few times, and that explains a lot to me

I was through there a couple of weeks ago. There was very little water in Horn Ck. There is a tree and a camp site next to the creek.

That is along the Tonto Trail, right? How strenous would it be to hike from there out to the rim at the Hermit's trailhead in one day?

It's 16.7 miles from Horn Creek to Hermits Rest via the Hermit Trail. It's certainly been done before.

That Tonto Loop you are talking about is super. I guess there are lots of ways you can do it. You can hike down Bright Angel and out Hermit or the other way around. You can camp in established sites such as Indian Garden, Monument Creek and Hermit Camp, or along the Tonto Trail in places such as Horn Creek, Salt Creek, Cedar Spring. With two young teens, though, you'd want more than one night to do the loop. We took three nights to do it, and there were a couple of much older people, ages 60 and 70, who thought even that was sort of hard. We started at BA and camped in the three established sites, came out Hermit. Also hiked to the river at Hermit for a dayhike. It was a very fun four days, but I think next time I would camp in the non-established sites--fewer folks. Not that it was very crowded. There was over a foot of snow up on the rim, which may have discouraged some would-be hikers!

By the way, my friend who had the permit is not much for studying maps. When we got to Indian Garden she didn't realize you take the Plateau Point trail in order to travel west on the Tonto Trail. At that time, three years ago, there was NO SIGN at Indian Garden to give you that information. The sign said only "Plateau Point Trail." Nothing about Tonto West. She thought you had to continue down the BA trail to where Tonto Trail comes in from the east--she thought it went to the west at that point also. Wrong! I tried to tell her, I was in front and was heading toward Plateau Point Trail, but she wouldn't listen, and called me back, and then we all traipsed down the BA a ways until she could see for herself that the Tonto does NOT form a four-way intersection below Indian Garden. To long-time Canyon hikers this may seem so obvious! But for someone new to the area it didn't seem so obvious. So we had to hike back up the BA to Indian Garden again, and take the signed trail toward Plateau Point. Along there we soon found the Tonto Trail heading west.

azbackpackr wrote:By the way, my friend who had the permit is not much for studying maps. When we got to Indian Garden she didn't realize you take the Plateau Point trail in order to travel west on the Tonto Trail. At that time, three years ago, there was NO SIGN at Indian Garden to give you that information. The sign said only "Plateau Point Trail." Nothing about Tonto West.

That's why I'm happy to endure the touron ridicule for being the only guy they saw that day carrying a map in the Grand Canyon. "You don't need it. There are signs everywhere." Yeah, right! Where's the sign that says "If you see this sign, you went too far".