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| Backpack | 15.00 Miles |
3,500 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,500 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | This was the second hike I did with Megan. I didn’t do any research on the route except for, “it goes down from the rim to the bed below the Coconino, then follows the bed to the river”. I quite like when I get to figure these routes out with limited beta.
The road out to South Canyon was in great shape until the last mile, where it got rockier. The descent through the top of the Kaibab is a narrow ramp that’s invisible unless you know where to look. A clear use trail led through the Toroweap, which is thick here, to a scramble at the top of the Coconino. This scramble also doesn’t look like it goes until you’re leaning out over it and looking down. There was a brief section of nice Coconino slickrock walking before we were back on a crumbly talus ridge. I thought the rock was least trustworthy right near the creekbed, and a few trails braid there.
Once in the bed of South Canyon, we dropped our packs and wandered upstream a short way to the Coconino pouroff. There is an impressive pit in the mud below the pouroff, indicating some big floods go through here. We also saw a Coconino boulder with very clear trackways. This amphitheater isn’t choked with brush but has some maple trees and a dripping spring. It was quite cool and pleasant. We sat below the spring for a little while listening to the drops and birds flying overhead catching bugs.
When we resumed our walk downstream, the sun began beating down. There were some nice sections of slickrock and pools in the Supai, but much less than in Rider. The bypasses were straightforward and most went on both sides. There were lots of large lizards in this section – like a foot long, not the usual 4-inch guys. One was very orange.
After reaching the junction with Bedrock Canyon, there was a longer Supai bypass that gets a little pinchy. The Redwall appeared before too long and we scoped out the upper chockstone, in case we wanted to try to scramble down. We didn’t waste much time here because the top chockstone looked too tall and the limestone too polished for a controlled descent, let alone a retreat. We also wandered up the canyon from its mouth and decided the lowest chockstone – which had a deep hole beneath – was also beyond our abilities.
We got toasty while contouring along the Redwall rim and the breeze near the river was welcome. We wandered along the benches above the beach on our way down, then set camp and continued downstream to Stanton’s Cave and Vasey’s Paradise. These were pretty neat and we were clever enough to avoid the poison ivy. I noticed a redbud tree nearby that looked like it had been gnawed by a beaver.
We had the beach to ourselves that night and left early in the morning; it had been hot on our hike in and we wanted to return to the car by early afternoon anyway. The cacti were starting to bloom. We enjoyed the shade while it lasted, which wasn’t that long. The climb from the bed to the rim took less than an hour. These shallower hikes in Marble Canyon sure can be nice.
I packed out soiled TP someone had left on the beach, and I hope that earns me some major canyon karma. However, I drew the line at packing out unburied #2. This - and any other possible exposure to norovirus - is why I like to carry soap now. |
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