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| Backpack | 50.00 Miles |
7,000 AEG |
| | Backpack | 50.00 Miles | 6 Days | | |
| 7,000 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I did a slightly relaxed version of Steck's Deer-Kanab loop where I followed the Thunder River Trail to Deer Creek, packrafted on the river, and returned via Indian Hollow Creek with a layover day to explore Scotty's Hollow.
Day 1: It rained during my drive up and potholes were full on the Esplanade. I met three fellow hikers with a similar itinerary, sans packrafts, at the trailhead. I later learned they had to bail out. I didn't start hiking until 8am so it was warm by the time I decended to Surprise Valley, but I was relieved by a pleasant breeze. The spring near the "throne room" was flowing (I don't remember it running during my hike last September) so I had a welcome break in the shade and tanked up on cold water. There were no other hikers in Deer Creek Valley and I spent a few hours relaxing on the patio and watching the shadows lengthen.
Day 2: I made the quick hike down to the river, finally spotting the handprints along the way. While I blew up my packraft a bat flopped in the sand a short way away. I've never seen a bat that close and he was actually quite cute with his blond fur and pointy ears. Still, sick bat - yikes. Some boaters crossed the river to make the loop hike and one casually mentioned "isn't that totally f***ing illegal?" about my plan to packraft. Not the vibe I usually get from boaters, and I was so distracted that I pushed off without collecting my socks from where they'd been drying. Good bye, new Darn Toughs 
I floated through the riffles below Deer Creek Falls and accidentally went through Deer Creek Rapid too... weeee! Then it was a leisurely float, breaks to explore sandy beaches on the south side, and several pesky portages. I walked a short way up 140M canyon and enjoyed the spring there. The flows are lowered from the summer so new sandbars are exposed and the boulder hopping is less brushy than usual. There was a lovely new sandbar at the upper end of Kanab to camp on. I spent a lot of time at this camp, which has good shade. This was the last place I was people for the rest of the trip.
Day 3: I left the mouth of Kanab around noon after hoping in vain that some boaters would have heard my plight from the layover group and deliver my socks. Kanab is such a pretty walk! There were several large fish (maybe bluehead suckers?) near the mouth of the creek and fry all the way up until the creekbed was dry. I also noticed several large bugs that with warning colors... some googling reveals that these were velvet ants. Walking was very easy on the gravel bars but my feet got worn by the miles in my wet sandals. I detoured up to the "Slide of Susurrus", which was positively charming. Progress was quick to "false Scotty's Castle" and I located the cave Steck suggests camping in in a storm. It's presently occupied by a rotting raven. It took nearly two hours to reach true Scotty's Castle from there as I was slowed by boulder fields, swimming holes, and tender feet. There is a nice camp on the terrace below Scotty's Castle and I spent the next two nights there.
Day 4: Up Scotty's Hollow. Unpopular opinion: it's no more spectacular than the waterworks in Lower Kanab. Yes, it's very pretty, but it's not a more exceptional configuration of water and ledges than many such places in Grand Canyon. I hiked up nearly to the fork and turned around when I started switching from approach shoes to sandals every hundred yards for various obstacles. My afternoon was spent lounging at the swimming hole near my camp and eating through my food. While poking around for historical sites in the area I spotted (not heard) a rattlesnake. A good reminder to avoid crashing through tall grass.
Day 5: Out of the Redwall, finally! Photos don't do Showerbath Spring justice and I was delighted. The water in Kanab diminished and dried up and travel became faster without worrying about how to keep my shoes dry. Above the final spring there were some muddy puddles in case one is in desperate need of water. I had worried about knowing which junction was Jumpup but there really aren't many options to choose from. I found another dead bat on a rock up here. The fork to Indian Hollow has some really ominous narrows and it didn't take long to reach "obstacle pool". Darn, it was a pool - I hoped it had dried up.
Since I had plenty of time and that water looked mucky, I actually inflated my packraft to cross the pool. Clambering out was a bit of a trick, then I hauled my gear up to the lower boulder. The real trick was squirming my way up the larger chockstone, which formed a smooth diagonal chimney with another boulder. I had a few false starts but eventually made headway when I wriggled my butt onto a less-vertical part of the chockstone, braced against the boulder above with my feet, and slowly shimmied up. A tree frog watched my struggles from the nearby corner of the chockstone the entire time. In all, it took over an hour to blow up the raft, cross the pool, and figure out the climb. There was webbing at the top and I can't blame people for rapping down this one.
The bypass above the next obstacle pools is easy to find from below, and then you can just follow the Redwall rim back into the creekbed. I saw the first cairn here since Deer Creek and didn't knock it... maybe it's useful in the opposite direction. Then on up through beautiful Supai narrows with pools of water and beautiful slickrock. I camped in one such spot and saw toads about half a centimeter long. At dusk it sounded a bit like the frogs were barking. The full moon came over the horizon and blasted me all night long.
Day 6: Pools of water continued nearly to the top of the Supai and there were a few more nice slickrock camps. I enjoyed the new angle on Fishtail Mesa and had a peep at Racetrack Knoll, which looks unlike any other summit. Walking up the bed in the Hermit Shale was initially very easy, then very, very slow near the Coconino. I don't know if the grass was exceptionally dense after our wet winter, but the brush and boulders below the Coconino were a real drag. I was also on edge about the possibility of hidden rattlers.
The Coconino scramble was engaging and just the right amount of difficult. The first cleft is short and sweet but requires pack-raising. The second cleft is longer but with many holds. I climbed with my pack on and found webbing at the top. The third climb behind the chockstone is really just a big step because people have stacked rocks there. The walk along the wash above began full of 2-3 ft grass and shrubs but became faster as tree cover increased, the understory thinned, and a use trail appeared. At one point I startled up a bobcat. Sections of trail near the parking lot almost look like they were used by the cowboys, and there were rusted cans to boot. |
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