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| Backpack | 42.10 Miles |
5,615 AEG |
| | Backpack | 42.10 Miles | 6 Days | | |
| 5,615 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Day 1
Down Hermit Trail to Hermit Creek. Passed a trail crew on their way up from working on Hermit Trail, which had altered the trail quite a bit since I was last down it. The rock slides had been mostly removed using rock bars. This left some of the areas covered with very loose soil, but this will soon be compacted by hikers. Once at Hermit Creek, I noted 2 empty whiskey bottles near the bathroom that would come to haunt me soon enough...
Day 2
Across the Tonto Trail from Hermit Creek to Boucher Creek. Some really great views of the Colorado along this part of the Tonto, including a look straight down onto Hermit Rapids. Two female bighorns sprang out from behind a rock outcropping as I hiked by. One stopped and watched me for about 30 seconds before they both ran off - sweet! Set up camp near Boucher Creek and relaxed.
Favorite overhead quote: "It's been 7 hours! I just want to sit down and cry!"
Day 3
Back across the Tonto Trail from Boucher Creek to Hermit Creek. Before heading out of Boucher, I noticed a couple of ravens hanging out nearby. Then they spotted me. Likely, they steal snacks from folk's backpacks (or get hand-outs), so they followed me along the trail until I climbed up out of the drainage. After setting up back at Hermit Creek, I hiked down to the rapids. They had looked so small from above on the Tonto, but were impressive and intimidating up close.
Day 4
A short stint across the Tonto Trail from Hermit Creek to Monument Creek today. Unfortunately, the whiskey bottles were still there when leaving Hermit, so I had to make room for them in my pack - jerks! Quick hike day, after setting up camp at Monument Creek I headed down to Granite Rapids. The Colorado was very muddy compared to what it had been the day before at Hermit Rapids. Back at camp, I hung out with a friendly tarantula and enjoyed a leisurely evening.
Day 5
After the large group left at 5:30am, Monument Creek fell into silence other than the sound of rushing water. I decided this was a sign I should sleep in.  Weather stayed great for the hike to Indian Garden, but the wind and clouds started moving in shortly thereafter. Rain started around 5:30 and continued all night. Based on the commotion at various times, it seemed I was one of the only people in the campground who stayed dry all night.
Day 6
The rain finally stopped around 3:30am, and the morning sun revealed freshly fallen snow on the rims. Hoping some of the snow and trail ice would melt, I delayed starting the hike out until 9:45. On the plus side, this gave me plenty of time to fully dry my tent before packing it. On the down side, the later it got, the more the temperature dropped. After some hot drinks, I had a fine hike out. Lots of mud puddles on trail and after the 1.5 mile rest house, the mud slowly turned to slush, then to ice on the last few switchbacks. On the rim, the trees were covered with a layer of ice and snow - beautiful! All the tourists looked cold, while I was a bit sweaty from my hike out.
Good time. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Cedar Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | Bedrock pool contained 1-2 L of water. Any more would be very difficult and time-consuming to collect. |
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Santa Maria Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Metal box full to overflowing and water running from pipe at a good rate. | | _____________________
| "Let it ride / Let it roll / Let it go" |
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