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| Hiking | 22.39 Miles |
7,353 AEG |
| | Hiking | 22.39 Miles | 12 Hrs 57 Mns | | 1.96 mph |
| 7,353 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I had been wanting to get back to this area for sometime now and decided a day hike was easier than applying for a permit. Originally, I had planned to make a loop with Tapeats via the river trail, but I will be honest I decided to enjoy the moment a little at the falls and skipped on turning this awesome day hike into a death march. Likewise, there were some nasty clouds rolling in and with a drive back to Phoenix still on the schedule for later in the evening, so discretion won out. Skipping the loop turned out to be the right choice, as the Tapeats area really got socked in for a moment with a pretty nasty cell, which I still got some of, but with a little less intensity it appeared.
Early start for this one. In fact, it was almost a real early start until I realized my phone had switched to Navajo time and I was eating my morning oat meal and drinking my morning coffee at 2:30 in the morning and not 3! I did as best as I could to rest for another 45 minutes or so and was on the trail at 4:20 a.m. I cruised on the descent and cruised across the esplanade, which set me up for the amazing experience of witnessing first light from above Surprise Valley. After the descent into Surprise, it was time for my summit of Cogswell Butte. The route is pretty straight forward and appears to be about the only way up from the perspective of descending into Surprise Valley. The route was a little loose and steep, but by Canyon standards the summit was a walk up. There was a pretty well visited register on top and the great morning light and awesome views west into the great gorge were amazing. After slipping and sliding down Cogswell, it was on to Deer Creek.
The area was pretty busy and full with hikers and boaters, but I did not mind. I was just happy the patio was free of people, as the last time I had went through that area I could not really enjoy it much because of all the people. Once I got to the falls, I decided I was just going to make this hike an out and back. I think I had the additional seven miles in me, but I decided swimming and lounging around the falls seemed like a more pleasant option than the hot hike across to Tapeats. There were some boaters there, but they were all pretty cool and even offered to move their chairs for me to take some pics. From the falls, it was the long hike back to the north rim. There were moments I felt very tired and then moments where I felt strong, but overall I think at times I was a little low on energy from a lack of eating. I had the food, but when it gets warm, my appetite goes away. I had to force myself to get some food in me during some dedicated breaks on the way up. Luckily, a storm rolled in and the thunder and lightning gave me that nice flight or fight boost of energy needed to reach the north rim.
Cogswell Butte is my 14th Grand Canyon summit. |
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