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| Backpack | 30.00 Miles |
7,500 AEG |
| | Backpack | 30.00 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 7,500 ft AEG | | 28 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Made a trip out to Grapevine to scout the redwall route that Harvey describes. Overall, a very enjoyable trip! In addition to the beaten path we visited the river via old grandview and the narrows below the tonto crossing.
Day 1: we got a cold and early start down Grandview. There is snow and ice to the coconino already. At horseshoe mesa we encountered a large group also heading to Grapevine - that surprised me. We were quite far ahead of them when we reached the old grandview cairn and dropped our heavy packs.
The lower section of grandview is in great shape for being so obscure! It's well cairned and follows a very natural break through the tapeats. It seemed illogical to go over the first saddle in the basement rocks but it was clearly indicated. Down here we had a great view upriver and at the pouroffs in Cottonwood. We saw rafts floating all in a line down the river - reminded me of ducklings. The trail braids a bit before crossing a ridge and heading down a narrow chute. I wouldn't have gone here without indication - it looks so improbable. Then over another small saddle and down a long ravine to the river. Some loose footing but nowhere that feels like you're about to fall over a cliff. We had a short break at the river and the return hike was faster than the way down. On the way up I bonked my head on an overhanging branch... guess I shouldn't wear baseball caps in places like this (it isn't the first time). I'm fine, though!
We hiked the rest of the way in to the camps on the eastern arm of Grapevine. Turns out the big group are high schoolers on a school trip doing a big section of Tonto. At camp we had mice coming under the vestibule (we were snacking in the tent). This was not pleasant but stopped (I think) after we hung the food. A bit surprising as I thought this was an unpopular camp.
Day 2: we had a leisurely morning before starting up Grapevine. The tapeats narrows are beautiful! We could follow the creek for almost a mile before a chockstone and some falls forced us out of the bed. It's easy to find the exit. We were able to drop back in and easily follow the creek for a while in the shale too. We found some stone structures around here... 2 circles about knee-high and maybe 10ft in diameter. Not sure what they're from.
The cottonwoods were turning in the creek and beautiful. But the going got very slow when we encountered Grapevine's namesake. We stuck to low game trails which weren't great. Around here we found a dead ram with big horns. The creekbed clears up again near the redwall. Below the fall we easily located the redwall route on the east side. We ascended a boulder field to the amphitheater then circled around to our approach. I scrambled high enough to look over the fall - maybe 1/3 of the way up. But I'd left my pack below and wasn't in the mood to scramble all the way up then back down without a spotter. On the way down I took a wrong turn and ended up downclimbing while straddling an agave. Not my happiest moment. There was a bit of a game trail on the talus here and the scrambling was probably class 3 so I definitely want to return and connect to the trail above.
On our hike back down we followed a ridge west of the creek to avoid the grapevine tangles and other vegetation. Game trails and footing were much better here. Back at camp, we explored the tapeats narrows below Tonto. My friend climbed up the pouroff into the west arm of grapevine but I'm not much of a climber and I couldn't get up.
Day 3: another relatively late start. Clouds started rolling in and making pretty light when we were in Cottonwood. As we ascended we watched snow start to fall below the north rim. We got flurries then were briefly enveloped in gentle snow above the coconino. On the rim I watched the clouds part to the west. There was a little bit of a cloud inversion, which I've been wanting to see in the canyon for ages. What a gorgeous finale to the weekend. |
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