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| Old Hance to Grand View with Rapids, AZ | |
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| | Old Hance to Grand View with Rapids, AZ | | | |
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Old Hance to Grand View with Rapids, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.24 Miles |
6,989 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.24 Miles | 11 Hrs 28 Mns | | 1.39 mph |
| 6,989 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | This is a very cool intense hike taking in a route that is definitely less traveled. The Old Hance trail is steep loose and kind of brushy, but nothing over the top. It was nice to get far enough down canyon to where the brush is minimal.
The hike up to the Tse' An Bida Cave involves some scrambling and a little exposure. The alcove is enormous. The cave goes all the way through the redwall, We just checked out the beginning and signed the register.
From here the hiking became easier as we worked our way down Hance Creek, stopping to filter water at the Tonto crossing, and continued down stream. After a mile or two the canyon tightens up and the going is more challenging and fun. We missed the first bypass and spent quite a bit of time and effort trying to find a way past the first big pouroff.
By the time we reached the bypass it was almost our turn around time. JJ, who was now shirtless and packless, was ranting and raving from atop of a climb around wanting to continue to the river. We scrambled up the steep slope and back down to return to the creek bed.
Once we got to the second bypass we were at our predetermined turn around time. It was warm and we knew we had a long uphill hike to get out of the canyon. JJ, still shirtless and packless, scambled up the steep rocky bypass and started to try to persuade us to continue. After a couple minutes he said he was going to the river and disappeared. 9L decided to start heading back. Dave and I started up the bypass in case we needed to show the authorities where to find the body (JJ).
Once through the second bypass we could see by JJs GPS that we had less than half a mile to get to Sockdolager rapids. The final bypass is a little easier than the first two and you can see the rapids from the top. We worked our way down to the river. Mission accomplished!
Getting back up Hance Creek to the Tonto went fairly quick now that we knew where we were going. 9L left signs for us and talked to folks along the way, so we had a good idea of where he was on his return.
We stopped at Miners/Page Spring, filtered water, and started up to Horseshoe Mesa. From there it is up the Grandview and out. Pretty tough after all the energy we had previuosly expended. Saw Hippy on the way out on her way to Cave of the Domes. Thanks for the shuttle to get us started!
An epic hike with great company. Thanks John9L for setting this one up. Thanks JJ for driving. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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| “Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson |
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