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| Hiking | 19.60 Miles |
6,660 AEG |
| | Hiking | 19.60 Miles | 10 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.61 mph |
| 6,660 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 23 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Our original plan was to spend three days backpacking the North Bass Trail. We literally changed our plan right before the start of our trek due to the weather. We would day hike to Shinumo Creek and then return to the rim. This will be a lot but is better than getting caught in a flash flood.
We drove up on Thursday night and almost hit a black cow standing in the middle of Hwy 67. That was scary! We hit the dirt road (FR22) soon after and made the 19.5 mile drive to Swamp Point. This road is in great condition and was very smooth going all the way to trailhead. It looks like it was graded recently. You can make it in a sedan but I would recommend high clearance. We arrived at Swamp Point around 11pm and car camped. The drive took six plus hours from Phoenix.
We woke on Friday morning and started prepping for the backpack. The skies were clear and the weather pleasant. While getting ready Chumley turned on his NOAA Weather Radio and we listened to the weather report for southern Utah. They said there was a 90% chance of precipitation on Saturday with rain & thunderstorms in the morning, afternoon and evening. They specifically mentioned flash floods. After some quick soul searching we both agreed to alter our plan and day hike. From this moment we had to change gears with our packing. It took about thirty minutes to get situated and we hit the trail around 8:30am, a relatively late start for a day hike.
We dropped off the rim and made our way to the Muav Saddle. There are a handful of long switchbacks that lead down. We made the quick detour to Teddy’s Cabin and then continued hiking down into Muav Canyon. The top two miles are relatively easy to follow as we descended 2,000 ft. The trail is steep and overgrown in places but not an issue. We knew we could hike up this in darkness. From there we reached the creek bed and continued down. Our going slowed as we navigated heavy foliage and worked to keep our feet dry. I really enjoyed this section but it was a lot of work.
Things open up as we traversed the Supai. We saw there was a natural bridge to the east side but decided to hit it later if we had time (we didn’t). We continued on and enjoyed the view down the Redwall. After a mile we reached the top of the Redwall descent and started down. This is an amazing section although steep and loose. It’s relatively short and we were in the bottom of the canyon soon after. Once again the bottom is overgrown and slow going. This sucked up more energy as we worked our way down the creek bed. There were pockets of water roughly a mile below the break. Water was plentiful for this entire hike.
We continued down and then started our lasso loop. We stayed in the creek bed and headed towards the Tapeats Narrows. This is by far my favorite section. It starts near a massive drop (70-80ft) with two chockstones. We took the bypass down and then went back up the break to admire from the bottom. It was very cool! From there we made our way down the Tapeats Narrows. The going is very easy as you walk along the creek bed. We kept our feet dry and life was good! There are a few easy down climbs along the way. You could go up this section but it will be tough especially with overnight packs.
Before long the canyon opened up as we hit Shinumo Creek. Our original plan was to camp at this spot. We could tell the bench above the creek had flashed earlier this summer. We had a look around and then turned west. I wish we had more time to explore this area. We took a lunch break at the bottom of the Tonto Bypass and filtered water. There is another camp here. The east camp is way better. After our break we started the long return to the rim.
The Tonto Bypass starts off steep and loose. It’s an aggressive ascent up from Shinumo Creek and finally levels off above the Tapeats. The next mile is easy going with nice views of the Tapeats Narrows to the east. A few minutes later we dropped back into Whites Creek and started retracing our steps to the rim. We took several breaks along the way and stopped to filter more water about a half mile below the Redwall Break. The Redwall ascent was slow but the footing stable. It also helped being in the shade at this point. Once on top we continued north and made our way through the overgrown section as our light started to wane. We exited the creek and started making our way to the Muav Saddle in dusk. Chumley filtered a liter at the Queen Anne Spring. From there we made the last mile with our head lamps on. I was completely spent at this point. It was a slow trudge back to the rim. I did enjoy hiking under the cover of darkness. The temps were cool and pleasant. Soon after I topped off on the rim and that was that!
The North Bass Trail is an absolute dream! I loved it and can’t wait to return to see the final section to the river. I know we’ll go back and will finish what we started. Hopefully the weather is more cooperative. Thanks Chumley for joining me on this one! |
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