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| Backpack | 68.80 Miles |
4,323 AEG |
| | Backpack | 68.80 Miles | 4 Days | | |
| 4,323 ft AEG | | | | |
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| Partners |
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| partners | | john had these three passages on his list for awhile
his co-worker kindly agreed to shuttle us, so the trip was on
sunday was a long day, leaving town around 0400
first we cached three gallons of water at forest road 320 where it crosses the trail north of moqui trailhead
hiked red butte on the way back to 180
drove into grand canyon national park and cached three gallons near grandview lookout
the park was an absolute zoo on memorial day weekend
we had lunch and grabbed dinner to go at the general store, then met our shuttle driver at the visitor center
joe dropped us off at cedar ranch trailhead around 1400
we hiked four miles to tub ranch, where we took a long break and filled up on water
decided to go another few miles with heavy packs stopping just before the turn onto single track
found a nice campsite and enjoyed sweeping views and cloud action before turning in
set out monday on the newer singletrack
had some cloud cover and even a thunderclap (not my favorite thing)
this trail is not the most scenic, especially the road walk
pretty exposed with little vegetation until further north
we made it to moqui and checked out the stage station
one passage down
went another four miles to our water cache, took a long dinner break and continued on
passed through the russell tank area and saw probably 30-40 feral horses going down to the tank for a drink
this was an odd area, and we wanted to get away from the horses before camping
found a nice enough campsite along russell wash
up before sunrise tuesday, we packed up and continued north
this passage was my favorite of the trip
singletrack through ponderosa pine, beautiful terrain
arrived at grandview lookout for another passage done
went up on the tower, which was closed, and had nice views of the north rim
got to our water cache and took a snack break
we had an ongoing discussion about how far we would try to get, with the goal a shorter finish on wednesday
ended up with another ten miles, taking breaks along the way
we also missed a turn, and it cost us two miles, uphill on the return in the sun ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
found a good campsite only 4.5 miles from tusayan
another nice section in the pines, even the parts on two track
up early again on wednesday with only 13 miles to go
easy walk into tusayan, where we got a gallon of water for the finish
shortly after that point, the trail is mostly on bike paths
finished up at south kaibab amid hordes of tourists, got a photo and jumped on the orange bus
found my car and hit the road
had lunch in williams, gas in bellmont and were home late afternoon
notes:
somewhere around moqui, i developed a hot spot on the ball of my foot, which bothered me quite a bit the rest of the hike
we were happy with our water cache placements and the mileage we did each day, setting us up for an easy finish
water is heavy, even with an ultralight kit 
we did not see one hiker the entire trip, not counting the finish near south kaibab
saw three mountain bikers on babbitt ranch, one of them bikepacking
this was our longest backpack to date and we both felt it was a success
afternoons were mid 80s with occasional cloud cover, nights relatively warm between 50 and 60 degrees
great to get three more segments done 
i've really enjoyed doing these with john, especially the backpacking
there's nothing like that first cup of coffee before sunrise, or kicking back in camp in the evening after a good long hike
thanks john, great trip! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Ha! No, actually quite safe - I'm just not a fan of heights!Lots of nice camping areas up there by Grandview. We hiked SOBO and saw probably 60 - 75 elk, 3 deer, several horny toads and beautiful views. No water along the way, but then we weren't expecting any this time of year. Russell Tank was dry. There was a lot of cattle out in the area, including several big bulls which we saw while setting up the shuttle but luckily, not on the trail. Ranchers are keeping tanks full for the cows, but none of these are on the trail. The day stayed mostly cloudy but dry and it turned out to be an ideal day to get this passage done. We finished up, headed into Grand Canyon park, had a refreshing shower at Mather and a yummy supper at Mazwick. The next day's goal was to do South Kaibab to just east of Tusayan. We tried to find the FR that is listed as a turnaround point for passage 37, but could not find it. Stopped at the Chamber of Commerce in Tusayan for maps and info, but still no luck. Google couldn't find it either so changed our plans. Instead decided to hike from SK to Tusayan TH on Sat. and leave my vehicle there Sat. night. Then camp at Grandview and Shirley would take my tent and gear, drop me at the TH before heading home and I would hike the 16ish miles to Tusayan on Sunday. Well, we were woke up at 4am Sat. by howling winds and rain. Threw everything in the vehicles, took down the wet tents and headed into Tusayan to regroup. While sitting in McDonald's we saw a complete rainbow and a 1/2 rainbow! Anyhow, it was decided that Shirley would head home and I would head to Flag. As I was driving south, I could see that I was leaving the clearing weather and heading to MORE rain - but, oh well! Pictures may, or may not, eventually get posted. Both my computer and phone have updated and now aren't speaking to each other! 
Goldilocks
