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| R2R and Phantom Creek, AZ | |
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| | R2R and Phantom Creek, AZ | | | |
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R2R and Phantom Creek, AZ
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| Hiking | 32.22 Miles |
5,906 AEG |
| | Hiking | 32.22 Miles | 11 Hrs 45 Mns | | 2.88 mph |
| 5,906 ft AEG | 34 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I've been doing an annual R2R with this group for more than a dozen years. Each time, the experience is amazing, and I often add some sort of variation as I cross the canyon. This year, I opted to explore up Phantom Creek. One of these days, I'll do the Utah Flats route and do the "loop." On this trip, I just did an up and back, but made it about 2/3 of the way to the upper drop-in point.
Going up from Bright Angel Creek, it doesn't take long to have a nice pay off, as a nice cascade of falls is literally just around the corner 50 yards from the Bright Angel Creek confluence. From there, I just wandered, scrambled, and in a couple of places, swam up the creek. Lots of frogs. Several fun, narrows sections with nice pools to play around in.
I made it up to the "slide" waterfall that I've seen in several photosets before I reached my turnaround time.
Back on the NK trail, I cruised through Phantom Ranch without stopping. At the confluence, a large construction site is being assembled in connection with the pipeline renovation project, with construction site modules and equipment. I was stopped at the Silver Bridge and had to wait while a helicopter flew over to drop off more supplies.
The benefit of my side trip up Phantom Creek was that, by the time I crossed the bridge around 2 pm, much of the river trail was in the shade. Likewise, the corkscrew was shaded, and shortly after leaving Havasupai Garden, the sun dipped behind the upper rim. All of this was very helpful, as the day was unseasonably warm (high at Phantom Ranch was well over 100).
It was another lovely day in the canyon, particularly because our group included my wife, daughter, and son in law! |
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