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The path of my third
section hike from Phantom Ranch to Kanab Point.
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This report describes a 128 mile solo
backpacking trip I made in 2018 within a central section of Grand
Canyon National Park. The hike started at the North Kaibab Trailhead
on October 1st and ended at Kanab Point RM 144 on October
11th. The hike was 11 days in duration. Of the 128 miles hiked, 113 miles were part of my traverse route through the Grand Canyon.
This hike was planned to complete the
open gap left in my traverse from the prior two hikes. The first hike
started in Pigeon Wash which is downriver of Pearce Ferry. That hike
ended at Kanab Point which is just short of halfway through the
Canyon after 277 miles and 21 days of hiking. The second hike was
from Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch. It was a shorter hike at about 156
miles and 16 days.
The first hike was done during the dry
and warm spring of 2016. Hiking in temperatures in the 80's
Fahrenheit dictated that I consume more water each day and the dry
conditions dictated that I carry more water with me.
The second hike, through the eastern
portion of the Grand Canyon, was in the spring of 2018. It was
generally cooler than the first hike. It was also during dry weather,
but more water sources were available which reduced the weight of
water carried in the pack.
The original itinerary for the hike had
me starting at Kanab Point and ending at the North Rim via Phantom
Ranch on the North Kaibab Trail. A few days before disembarking for
the Canyon, it became obvious that the weather would make that
itinerary a dangerous proposition. The remnants of hurricane Rosa
were moving into Arizona with inches of rainfall predicted when I was
to be hiking and camping in Kanab Canyon. Kanab Canyon is a large
watershed and would likely experience a flash flood.
I was psyched to go on the hike and did
not want to postpone or cancel it for the year. I looked at shifting
the itinerary to match the latest weather predictions, so as not be
in a slot canyon on the days when rain was predicted. I was on the
verge of canceling the trip over safety concerns but then I realized
if I flipped my itinerary and started at the North Rim Village, it
just might work. It would actually solve another issue, which was the high temperatures expected while hiking on the Tonto platform near Phantom
Ranch. I was previously concerned about the temperatures at Phantom
Ranch being in the upper 90's which would make my route near Phantom
hot, dry, and difficult.
So the plan was to hike on the Tonto platform,
away from slot canyons, when Rosa came through. I would traverse in
the rain, what would normally be hot and dry. The rain from Rosa
would fill water pockets and provide drinking water too. I was in
luck because the backcountry zones I was planning on camping in were either
primitive or wild and seldom visited so the quota for camping was not
exceeded when the itinerary was flipped and shifted by one day.
While I found a workaround for what
was left of Hurricane Rosa, there was a parade of low pressure
systems now on the forecast horizon to follow Rosa and bring more
rain to Arizona. Those other storms would later cause major routing changes
to my plan to remain safe.
My wife Stacy and I packed up our Jeep
and quickly departed for the Canyon. We had to get my food and gear
cache in place before the first storm system leading Rosa arrived. A
lot of rain could make it too difficult to drive in and out of Swamp
Point. I planned to leave my cache about a mile below Swamp Point at
Muav Saddle.
En route to the Canyon, I texted Rich
Rudow, who I knew was going to be backpacking in the vicinity of
Fishtail Mesa while I was in Kanab Canyon. With my flipped and
shifted itinerary the chance to meet him in the Canyon might be
possible. Given the weather conditions, Rich recommended I enter
Kanab Canyon higher than the mouth as I had originally planned. He pointed out
that travel from the mouth to Scotty's Hollow, my planned exit from
Kanab Canyon, may be practically impossible if the creek is running
high from the rain. In addition to that, Scotty's Hollow will be a
mess after Rosa goes through. The rerouting made sense but it will
cost me a visit to Deer Creek and my first look at Scotty's Hollow.
Typically, as I hike, I have my
inReach, iPod, and phone on. The inReach provides GPS location,
records my track, provides satellite messaging, and SOS messaging in
an emergency. The iPod provides a input/output interface to the
inReach via a Bluetooth connection and displays a map with my
position and planned route. The phone is my camera. Due to the cloudy
weather I had to adjust my process to try and save the charge on my
batteries which I could otherwise keep charged with my solar charger.
For the most part I had my phone off and the iPod off as well.
The following describes what transpired
on the hike with some useful beta here and there.
North Kaibab Trailhead.
Clean, dry, and ready to go.
October 1
Day 1: North Kaibab Trailhead RM 89
to Bright Angel Campground RM 89 (14 mi)
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Hike 3, Day 1 Map
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This day was really about getting into
position to continue the traverse down river from Phantom Ranch.
Hiking down Roaring
Springs Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail.
When I reached the Supai Tunnel, I
stopped and talked briefly with a Volunteer Park Ranger. She asked me
where I was camping. I told her my permit was for Utah Flats. She
asked if I knew what the forecast was (Rosa coming in) and I said I
did. She proceeded to try and discourage me from camping up there due
to the potential lightning hazard. She mentioned that there are
likely cancellations at Bright Angel Campground due to the impending
bad weather. As I continued down the trail, I thought about our
conversation. I didn't think camping on Utah Flats would be too
dangerous but I originally wanted to camp at Bright Angel Campground
anyways, it just wasn't available. My routing was going to traverse
below Utah Flats so I would be going out of the way just to have a
spot to sleep. I decided I could at least check in with the ranger at
Phantom Ranch to see if there were any available campsites.
For most of the hike, the sky was
overcast. A light rain fell for a short time as I approached Phantom
Ranch. I arrived at the Ranger's Building at 2:45 PM and inquired
about a campsite. The ranger called the rim to check. I was in luck.
I proceeded to Bright Angel Campground where I found Campsite 1
unoccupied. Perfect, because that is the campsite I have to walk
through the following morning to get on my route.
A very friendly Aussie named Cam was
set up in Campsite 2. He stopped by to say hi and we spent quite a
bit of time talking about the Colorado Plateau, critters, Australia,
backpacking, and gear. The ranger stopped by when he was checking
permits and joined the conversation. He pointed out where my route
would go up the ridge. There was no sign of a faint trail from the
campsite. The ranger said you could see some of it from the middle of
the foot bridge crossing the creek right near the campsite.
The water pipeline was broken again but
the NPS set up an above ground pool-like structure that hikers could
fill buckets of water to flush the toilets. They had chlorinated
potable water in a tank for filling water bottles. The campground
only had one unoccupied campsite by evening. The picnic table,
storage locker, quasi flush toilets, flat ground, less miles of
hiking, and drinking water out of a spigot were nice. I did give up a
view from Utah Flats for it though.
October 2
Day 2: Bright Angel Campground RM
88.4 to Below Tower of Set RM 93 (10.5 mi)
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Hike 3, Day 2 Map
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It had rained some overnight so I
packed the tent away wet. I ate my first of three breakfasts at the
picnic table, packed the rest of my gear, and 6 liters of water. My
goal for the day was 94 Mile Canyon but I knew it was a long day so I
brought enough water to camp on the Tonto if necessary.
It was 7 am and very humid but not
raining. I walked over and said goodbye to my neighbor Cam in site 2
and walked to the middle of the footbridge next to camp. I looked up
and studied the slope where I was supposed to hike. I thought I could
see parts of the route but I wasn't sure.
A view, looking beyond
campsite 1, toward the route out of Phantom Ranch. Invisible and
unknown to many visitors.
I donned my pack and walked to the back
of my campsite to a small culvert. I walked up canyon along it for 15
feet to the first ravine and headed up it. The ravine was before a
small enclosure associated with the culvert that was about the size
of a dog house. A faint trail became apparent almost immediately and
I followed it up. The route ascended at a diagonal up Bright Angel
Canyon. It was a little hard to follow when I went through some short
rock bands but then was easy to find again after looking around a
little.
Looking down the route
back toward campsite 1 and the footbridge.
The water tank for Phantom Ranch was
visible as I hiked out. It is large and on creek right. I could not
find the water tank on Google Earth after the hike so it must be
fairly new. I had a pretty good view of Phantom Ranch too.
Looking up Bright Angel
Canyon.
I followed the route up until I was
approaching Piano Alley which takes you to the top of the Tapeats
Formation. That was not my route, however, I was taking the alternate
route downstream that George Steck describes in his book. I turned
down canyon and traversed the rock drainage below the alley and
climbed up a talus slope to the base of the quartzite cliff sitting
on top of the Hakatai Formation.
I was surprised at how much I was
sweating getting out of Bright Angel Canyon. It was a little work but
it was warm and very humid. I felt like I was hiking in the tropics
with the amount of sweat I was covered in.
Contouring around above
the precarious Hakatai Shale (orange) toward 91 Mile Canyon. No
better time to think about George Steck's wisdom on "contouring
around": "I hate those words. They are a euphemism for 'big
trouble.' Contouring around sounds so easy, yet it is often so hard."
As I traversed below the cliff it
became apparent that the 1 foot wide flat path at the base of the
cliff that Steck describes was non-existent. Not only that, the
elevation where the talus slope meets the cliff varies which creates
a lot of up and down travel. I chose to traverse at constant
elevation when the talus slope allowed it. It was slow going for the
first half mile or so. The talus was loose so I had to manage my
balance as the rocks slid down on the slope. Fortunately, it got
easier and I could get a little further down and away from the base
of the cliff where the ground was not so loose. I think I was
benefiting from the prior night's rain as the dirt was sticking
together more. By the time I got to the first drainage downriver I
was able to drop below the exposed Hakatai Formation and contour.
From this point on it started to rain off and on for the rest of the
day. Since I was still sweating, I did not want to wear a rain jacket
and rain pants.
The clouds extending
off of Isis Temple. Raining off and on as I hike.
When I approached 91 Mile Canyon, I was
able to get into the eastern-most drainage and walk on an easy gravel
bed down it. I did encounter a pour-off that I bypassed on ravine
left. Once I crossed 91 Mile Canyon I hiked over to the western-most
drainage and walked up it. It also had an easy gravel bed with some
brush. This ravine led me up to the entrance into Trinity and where
this lower hiking route joins up with the higher hiking route. Before
I could reach Trinity, I had to traverse out onto the Hakatai
Formation, below a conglomerate cliff band, to get to a place I could
climb up through the cliff band. I could have climbed the rock band
sooner but I did not trust the rock.
I proceeded down a drainage to the
waypoint (12 S 396590 mE, 3998448 mN) I had that indicated the the
way into Trinity Canyon. I descended this ravine until I reached the
bed of the east arm of Trinity. I followed that arm down to the
confluence with the west arm. Before I reached the confluence I had
to bypass a pour-off. I did so on creek right and climbed down a
ridge into the west arm at the confluence. Just above creek level in
the west arm was a big cairn indicating the way for someone hiking in
the opposite direction.
A look under the clouds
at Horn Creek Rapid.
After getting out of Trinity the rain
picked up to a moderate intensity. It was also my first encounter
with dense prickly-pear cactus patches that I had to high-step
through and around. Both conditions slowed my progress.
Prickly-Pear cactus
flourishes on the Tonto Platform in this part of the Grand Canyon.
As the rain intensity increased, my iPod screen was too wet to operate my inReach app and check my location. I stopped and put on my rain jacket. The clouds lowered and
visibility dropped. I could see the Tonto platform around me but I
could not see the edge of the Tonto nor the cliffs/slopes above the
Tonto. My navigation became the runoff rivulets and creeks running
through the Tonto. I was trying to stay perpendicular to them. The
dirt was saturated and quite muddy in spots. I trudged on expecting that it would eventually stop raining. I had to jump across several
small washes that were flashing. I could hear the waterfalls the
runoff was making as it flowed off the edge of the Tapeats. I have
never seen the Tonto under these conditions before. No dearth of
water this day.
Hammered by rain,
soaking wet, and stopped by a flash flood below the Tower of Set.
It was almost 5 pm when I started
looking around me for a flat piece of ground without cactus and rocks
to set the tent up on. I found a spot that was squishy but mostly
flat. I quickly set up the tent and rainfly. I threw what I needed into the tent and got inside. It was great to get dry clothes on and get
into my sleeping bag. I cooked dinner sitting inside the tent with
the stove just outside the tent. The rain lightened up and finally
became intermittent. There were incredible views of low hanging
clouds amongst the canyon walls. There was also a helicopter hovering
around above Tonto level but near where this drainage met the river.
I wondered if there was something interesting to see around Granite
Rapids.
It was quite the opposite of the day I
was anticipating when I first planned the trip. I expected it to be
hot and dry and difficult for those reasons. It was a good day to be
hiking here not only because of the cooler wet weather but because I
was not in Kanab Canyon which was my original itinerary.
October 3
Day 3: Below Tower of Set RM 93.4 to
Crystal Beach RM 99 (9.1 mi)
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Hike 3, Day 3 Map
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Sunrise Day 3, a chance
to dry out and get back on schedule.
I packed up and started contouring
toward 94 Mile Canyon. My clothes were damp from the prior day but it
was not too cold in the morning. I was covering ground that was on
yesterday's itinerary but I was able to cross the wash that was
flooded the prior afternoon without difficulty. In fact, except for a
couple of potholes of water and some mud, you wouldn't know it even
happened.
A fall from majesty.
I made it to Tonto above 94 Mile
Canyon by 7am. I then proceeded to try and find the descent route
into 94 Mile. I relied too much on my drawn route on the map which
was derived from Steck's trace. It turned out that Steck's map was
drawn wrong so mine was too. I should have checked my notes because
Steck described that the way out of 94 Mile Canyon, while hiking
upriver, was up through the first drainage upriver of the canyon. I
spent time walking along the Tapeats cliff band upriver of the mouth
of the drainage looking for a way down. I couldn't see anything. I
decided it was time for a new plan. I remembered that Steck said it
took him 90 minutes to get the the beach and another 90 minutes to
get back on top of the Tonto on the other side. So, at a minimum, it
would be three hours to cross this canyon. That does not
include the additional time to find the entry and exit routes. Going
to the beach would be the obvious answer if I needed water, but I had just
gathered water out of a few potholes at the edge of the Tonto so I
was set with water. I decided to contour around 94 Mile Canyon. If I
could do it in less than 3 hours then no time would be lost. The risk
was how far up canyon I needed to contour to cross the bed of the
canyon. I had not heard of anyone going that way but I knew the
opposite side of the canyon can be ascended since Steck describes it
as an alternate way to the beach.
I started to hike back away from the
upriver point of 94 Mile Canyon. I continued to look for the descent
route as I went. When I walked by the drainage that was the descent
route, I thought to myself that it could go. Shortly after that I saw
a collapsed or kicked over cairn that marked the start of the descent
(~12 S 392960 mE, 3996033 mN). So, I found the descent route but it
was still about 3 hours to cross it. I decided to stick with my new
contour plan. There was a small chance that getting to the bed of 94
Mile Canyon could be very difficult up canyon and that thought
lingered with me as contoured.
A view across the river
up Hermit Canyon.
The were a lot of large patches of
prickly pear cactus on the Tonto that I had to exercise patience with
as I made my way. It was a long day of traversing. It took an
additional 3.5 hours of traversing to reach the vicinity of the
descent into Crystal. I set my pack down there and took a break
before searching for the way down.
Looking toward Crystal
Canyon in the distance.
As I walked the 200 foot tall Tapeats
cliff line, I expected to find a ramp down through the Tapeats. I
thought I saw the ramp but I could not see the whole descent. An
easy descent of this cliff seemed so improbable at the time.
However, I discovered a cairn near a steep section of the cliff band
and then spied another cairn through the chimney on a ledge below.
That was a very well placed cairn to confirm the route. This was not
the ramp route but obviously people have used it. As it turned out,
it was an easy descent on very steep terrain. I still get amused
when I think about how that route down the cliff came together.
Kudos to the first ascensionists/descensionists.
I went to get my pack and returned to
the top of the chimney/crack (12 S 388727 mE, 3999717 mN). I climbed
onto the broken blocks of Tapeats in the chimney. I could see the
large drop through the spaces between the blocks I was standing on.
There were a couple more cairns but it was mostly up to me to
figure out the route. It was straightforward climbing down short
vertical sections to cliff bands and traversing downriver on a ledge
to a detached pillar. I climbed onto the pillar and then climbed down to
the talus below. The first few down climbs had 3 ft-wide ledges to
climb down to but if you fell off one of those, well, hasta la vista.
I chose to lower my pack from ledge to ledge so that my balance would not be compromised by the pack. It was an amazing route that came
together down the vertical cliff while staying 4th class.
I only had an 18 foot rope but it was adequate for lowering the pack
between the ledges.
Once off the vertical rock, I descended
a steep talus to a ravine in the schist. In the process, I managed to
break a trekking pole when I slid on the talus and tried to stay
upright by weighting the pole. I descended the ravine to creek level
and walked along the edge of the creek to avoid all the brush as I
made my way to the beach. It was a longer walk to the beach than I
had imagined.
I made it to the beach around 6 pm so
it was about 2 hours to get to the beach from the top of the Tonto. I
took my time descending the Tapeats to make sure I didn't do anything
stupid.
I didn't have any rain during the day
but a thunderstorm was looming so I quickly set up the tent and threw
my gear inside. I was gathering water from the Colorado River as I
watched the lightning display down river in the dusk evening sky.
Quite photogenic but I was preoccupied with water duty. Fortunately,
the river water was not too silty to filter some for dinner. Crystal
Creek was clear and very tempting but too mineralized to drink.
I had dinner in the dark. I sat on a
water-polished rock band eating until I had a visit by a scorpion and
decided to move back to the sand near the tent. The thunderstorm
created some wind but no rain fell at camp. The acoustic chaos of
Crystal Rapid was ever present. It was nice to be back on my
itinerary.
My original 2016 routing had me hike
from here along the river between Crystal and a small canyon
downriver of Tuna before getting back up on the Tonto platform.
According to Steck, it is a hard 2 hour hike to Tuna because there is
so much up and down climbing in the schist along the river. There is
also a wade for 20 ft on a submerged sandbar to get past a cliff
downriver of Tuna. At the time, my rationale for going that way was
that my water source for the next couple of days would be reliable
(Colorado River).
However, I was in communication with
Clay Wadman while I was hiking in 2016 along the Esplanade. He
suggested an alternate route to avoid the hike along the river. But
after using my rope to lower my pack to get into Crystal, I began to
be concerned that my rope would not be long enough for the Flint
Canyon Redwall break along the route Clay suggested. That was an
oversight in my planning. I knew that the downclimb was at least 30
ft and possibly up to 70 ft. I spent time in the tent reviewing what
notes I had with me but nothing helped my decision. I had to make a
call. I decided to try the Flint Redwall break route. At the time, I
did not have a backup plan if I couldn't make it down the break. At
least I would have water with all these rain events.
October 4
Day 4: Crystal Beach RM 99 to
Flint-Tuna Saddle RM 105 (13.2 mi)
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Hike 3, Day 4 Map
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My goal for the day was the Flint-Tuna
Saddle. To get there I had to get out of Crystal Canyon, contour the
Tonto until I could get into Tuna Canyon, then hike up Tuna Canyon to
the saddle.
Hiking up this drainage was easier than
descending on the opposite side of the canyon the prior afternoon.
There seemed to be less loose rock to slide on. Looking up at the
Tapeats Cliff, it looked like it was breaking down to climber's right
but, from my perspective, I could not see a route all the way through
the Tapeats. As I climbed the drainage, I exited it on climber's left
because it was easier climbing for a bit. That got me to the base of
the Tapeats left of the drainage. The cliff looked intact here except
for a detached pillar right off the point. I decided to check behind
the pillar if there was an easy way up. Not seeing anything, I
traversed across the drainage to the other side. The way out was on
this side of the drainage. A waypoint that roughly marks a starting
point to climb to the Tonto is: 12 S 388178 mE, 4000188 mN. I climbed
up past a couple of cairns but probably missed more. I didn't have to
climb anything taller than 3 or 4 ft to get out and there was no
exposure at all. There seemed to be many route options. This was much
easier than the upriver route into Crystal Canyon. A large cairn
marks the top of the descent at: 12 S 388168 mE, 4000301 mN. I ate my
second breakfast there before contouring over and up along Tuna
Canyon.
It rained off and on as I contoured and
it was cloudy during most of it. Another atypical day on the Tonto. I
left my camera (phone) turned off for most of the day so save its battery. Unfortunately, that means only one photo to share for the
day.
Not too much to say about the
contouring except, yes, there were many fields of prickly pear cactus
to navigate through and around. Missteps in the dense fields came
with immediate penalties so I had to stay frosty. Spending time on
this section of the Tonto leads me to believe that this species of
cacti must be the most abundant cacti in the Canyon. While the cactus
fields definitely slowed the hiking down, I had accepted the reality
and tried to not get frustrated with them.
There is one big side canyon to Tuna
Canyon that takes time to contour around. Rather than contour way
back toward the head of this side canyon, I cut across by climbing
down to some slick rock and then climbed the other side. While in the
side canyon I picked up more water out of a clean pothole.
A view up Tuna Canyon.
It was pretty easy travel up the
drainage for awhile. Small rocks and gravel were in the creekbed. As I got
closer to the Redwall the rocks got bigger and it became more of a
rock hopping exercise, moving around boulders, and avoiding brush.
The first major pour off in the Redwall was about 50 feet tall. I
bypassed it on creek right. There was a talus slope to walk up and
then traverse back into the creekbed. Not too much farther up the
canyon I ran into another pour off. I passed that one on creek right
as well. I had to climb higher than the last one to get above some
small cliffs and a side drainage. Then I traversed up canyon past the
pour off and climbed back down into the creekbed.
As I continued up the canyon, I ran
into more Redwall slickrock with minor pour offs. I climbed right up
through them until I reached the final pour off. I walked up to the
pour off and then back away from it looking for the bypass route on
creek left. I found a easy climb up the limestone for 20 feet to a
bench that I could traverse to climbers right toward a ridge of rock
and beyond that to a gully. Both the ridge and the gully are bypass options.
I made it to the ridge and looked over at the gully. The gully looked
a little grungy and more like a tilted chimney. The ridge had good
quality rock but it was almost too sharp for the hands (“carnivorous
limestone”). The ridge was either 4th class or easy 5th
class climbing on less than vertical solid rock. I just climbed the
ridge being careful not to cut my hands. The hands and feet stuck
well to the rock. I climbed the ridge until I was above the shoulder
then contoured back to the creekbed.
There was more boulder hopping and
climbing up slickrock chutes above the last pour off to get out of
the Redwall Formation. At that point, I could see the saddle and the
drainage full of large rocks I needed to climb around to get to it. I
made my way up the drainage to the saddle by 3:30 pm. I took
advantage of the dry and sunny conditions to dry out the tent and add
some charge to my batteries.
It was very quiet and still on the
saddle. A big contrast to the Crystal beach the night before. No
threatening storms were brewing. I was under partly cloudy skies and
looking forward to a dry night.
October 5
Day 5: Flint-Tuna Saddle RM 105 to
Shinumo Creek @ Bass Trail RM 109.5 (11.6 mi)
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Hike 3, Day 5 Map
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I left the saddle at around 6:30 am and
hiked NNW. Directly down from the saddle into the Flint drainage is
NE but there are Supai cliff bands to get by. Going in the direction
I did allowed me to descend through Supai without dealing with
cliffs. There was a ravine that I descended instead.
Perched on the
promontory of Redwall in Flint Canyon. Below is the Redwall break and
a technical crux of the hike. At this point, I was uncertain if I
would figure out the routing down the Redwall.
I donned my pack and began to walk out
onto the promontory. I expected a short walk to the first chimney but
the promontory rounds over and I descended down. It was an easy way
to get through the Redwall cliff band thus far, walking down the
ridge and seeing the Redwall cliffs nearby getting higher and higher.
I reached the first chimney here: 12 S 384735 mE, 4010499 mN. This
chimney descends down to the right perpendicular to the promontory
ridge. It was 20 to 30 ft in length and just a scramble down with no
exposure. At the base of the chimney was a second chimney descending
down to the left more in line with the ridge. This was much more
difficult looking so it was obviously not the route. I traversed past
it and looked for a better way. The next chimney overlooked 4th
class so I descended it. Before doing so, I did check the next
chimney beyond but it opened to a cliff below so it did not look
reasonable. I did not take off my pack for either the first chimney
or this second chimney.
Looking in line with
the promontory at the top of the first chimney. Flint creekbed is
visible at the sun-shadow line in the distance.
The bottom of the second chimney ended
at a talus slope that I descended down to the next cliff band to look
for the 4th class down climb. I reached the cliff line and
walked along its edge toward the west. I ran into a cairn at the top
of what looked like another chimney. I climbed down into the short
chimney which opened up to a face on the left (climbers right) and a
corner system straight down. From my vantage point I could piece
together all the holds to go from where I stood to the base of the
cliff via the face on the left and then moving into the corner when
the holds on the face ran out about half way down. The rock looked
solid and the holds large, so I down climbed it to the base of the
cliff. I didn't feel the need to take off my pack and therefore did
not need my rope. I would say there was 30 to 40 ft of exposure at
the top of the downclimb.
Looking back at the
promontory I descended. It is the tall peak in center left of the
image. Below that peak is a diagonal descending ledge to the center
of the bay to the right. That ledge is traversed after the 4th class
cliff down climb. The Temple Butte Formation is another cliff below
the Redwall Formation.
A view up Flint Canyon
from the alluvial fan below the Redwall break.
I chose an alluvial fan to descend the
rest of the way to the Flint creekbed. The crux of the day was done
it was 11:30 am and I stopped for my final breakfast. I was happy to
be through the break and that it was easier than what I had built it
up to be in my mind.
After my break I proceeded down Flint
Canyon. Almost immediately I came upon a pair of hiking shoes sitting
on some slick rock in the shade on creek left. Someone set them down
and looked like they just forgot them there. I looked around on the
ground but the rain in the prior days had washed all tracks away. I
inspected the shoes. In the tread on the bottom of one shoe was a
spiderweb and a ghostly exoskeleton of a spider. I guessed the shoes
must have been here for at least a few weeks. Not wanting to leave
trash in the Canyon, I put them in the back pocket of my pack and
continued on while searching for any tracks. I stopped a few hundred
feet later, turned around, walked back to where I found them, and
looked again for any signs of the owner. Convinced again that no one
was there, I continued back down the creekbed.
Shinumo Creek is a
gorgeous creek with big swimming holes.
En route along Shinumo creek, I ran
across two men hiking up from their camp near the North Bass Trail.
They were the first people I had seen since Phantom Ranch. We had a
pleasant conversation but they had no interest in the hiking shoes I
found. They had a recent weather forecast that predicted 80% chance
of rain the following day and 70% the day after.
I continued on to the camp where I
looked for and found the North Bass Trail prior to making camp. It
was a nice sunny afternoon. While relaxing at camp my right foot
became very painful to move. The rock falling on it did a number. I
hobbled around camp like I had a badly sprained ankle for the rest of
the afternoon. Fortunately, the pain had subsided by morning.
Bruising is always better than twisting or tearing soft tissue.
October 6
Day 6: Shinumo Creek RM 109.5 to
Swamp Point RM 122 (10 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 6 Map
|
Easy travel on the
North Bass Trail up to Swamp Point. Looking back toward Shinumo
Creek.
This day's route was hiking up to Swamp
Point on the North Bass Trail. The route beta was to stay on the
trail and White Creek creekbed was the trail at times. There are
cairns that indicate the way when the trail leaves the creekbed. When
I got home I looked at my track and I could see one short section
near the top where I stayed in the bed where the satellite image
showed the trail had left it. I remember that section had cairns
further up that lead back to the trail. That is, cairns that herded
the folks back to the trail that missed it the first time. Whoops...
White Creek
I was optimistic that I would still be
able to drop into Saddle Canyon and then into Tapeats Canyon the next
day. That was my wishful thinking as I hiked up the trail. Both
Saddle and Tapeats have slots. Slots are not a good places to be when
it is raining. Stupid justifications ran through my head like 70-80%
chance of rain isn't a 100% chance. I might be able to squeeze
through before or after a flash flood.
Swamp Point with food
and gear resupply.
I had a light rain off and on
throughout the hike. I arrived at Swamp Point around 1:30 pm during a
lull in the rain. I immediately set up the tent and put my gear
inside to keep it dry. I retrieved my cache buckets, quickly packed
the food in the pack, and threw the clean clothes in the tent. I just
got that done when it started to rain in earnest. I was in the tent
before 2 pm. A thunderstorm moved through. It rained and or hailed
for hours. At one point, I assumed the lightning “crouch” even
though it is not supposed to be very effective. I was on a point,
under a tree, and in a tent with the no structure nearby. I counted
three lightning strikes that were followed by thunder in less than a
second. Fortunately, the lightning strikes moved further away after
15 minutes or so. I spent the time in my sleeping bag to stay warm. I
was at an elevation of about 7500 ft after all. The tent material was
saturated and I had puddles on the floor. I did not venture out of
the tent until about 8 pm. I spent my time snacking, reading, and
thinking what to do the following morning. It would be stupid and
messy to get into the narrows of Saddle Canyon. From where I was, the
best option was to contour above the Redwall around Saddle and
Tapeats Canyons. I just wasn't thrilled about that bushwhack.
October 7
Day 7: Swamp Point RM 122 to Crazy
Jug Canyon RM 133 (10.9 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 7 Map
|
It rained most of the night at Swamp
Point. The good news was I had dry clothes and shoes to put on from
the cache. Yesterday's wet clothes and shoes were left in the cache.
I also left the shoes I humped out from Flint Canyon.
When I got out of the tent there were
snowflakes intermingled with a light rain. I could see Muav Saddle
below me but the clouds/fog shrouded the rest of the Canyon. It was
quite muddy around the tent and it was cold. This was definitely a
rain jacket and rain pants day.
Yesterday I made the goal to complete
the contour from Swamp Point to the Esplanade below Bridgers Knoll in
2 days. That would keep me on schedule. The plan for today was to
complete more than half of that distance. I planned on to starting to
look for flat ground between 4 pm and 5 pm to make camp.
This was the first day of the trip
where I had to leave tracking off on the inReach. I had not had
enough sun to keep my batteries charged. I did turn it on at 10 am
and 2 pm so I would have a couple data points and I was trying to contour
at roughly the same elevation so I could figure out approximately
where I went.
I left Swamp Point at 7:15 am and
hiked down the trail 1 mile to Muav Saddle. I took the spur trail to
the cabin and continued on down the drainage towards the Redwall in
Saddle Canyon. I had numerous encounters with oak trees and various
bushes as I made my way. All the plants were wet so the rain jacket,
rain pants, and shoes were drenched. The fall colors were vivid
against the white fog background.
Nice fall colors.
It was difficult to know exactly where
I was with all the trees and fog but I contoured away from the
drainage in Supai Formation somewhere around Powell Spring. I took
short breaks along the way but I kept a pretty steady pace to keep
warm. It was foggy for most of the hike but I got a couple of views.
One was an incredible view from just past Stina Canyon. I could see
Thunder River visible in the distance. That was a geometry that
seemed so implausible to me.
Oak Trees and Manzanita
Bushes are abundant below the North Rim in these parts.
The day's hike could be summarized as a
cold, foggy, rainy, muddy, wet bushwhack with no sun. It was more
like a hike in the Pacific Northwest than Arizona. The main obstacles
were manzanita bushes and oak trees. The manzanita were ubiquitous
whereas the oak tended to be next to the drainages. When the oak
trees were tightly spaced it was very difficult to get through them.
The manzanita were not as difficult to push through or step over but
they were constantly in the way. My shins became very sensitized
after pushing through the manzanita branches for hours. But this hike
got me into position for better terrain and weather ahead.
I found some slick rock around 4 pm and
looked further up Crazy Jug Canyon and along the other side and
thought this is the best campsite for quite awhile. I chose to stop
and make camp. The slick rock was perfect. It had a slight tilt down
back towards the higher ground. So water would not pool on that
surface and there was no watershed on its high side to collect water
that could then flow down the rock.
October 8
Day 8: Crazy Jug Canyon RM 133 to
Below Bridgers Knoll RM 134 (5.3 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 8 Map
|
Morning Day 8 near the
head of Crazy Jug Canyon.
A new day in the Canyon. I started the
day by eating 1800 calories of food for breakfast in my sleeping bag.
It was a cold morning and I had to put on damp clothes from
yesterday's bushwhack. So, I wanted to move quickly to warm up once
the clothes were on. I got dressed, packed the pack, and broke down
the tent. Before I had the tent put away I was shivering. At least it
wasn't raining at the time.
Because I could not charge my batteries
yesterday, I decided once again to not turn on tracking with the
inReach. I had to reconstruct my approximate route from a couple data
points and knowledge of where I went.
Ancient doodles
I contoured around, as high as I could,
below Crazy Jug Point. I wanted to cut off the large peninsula of
land extending out below the point. I contoured around the head of
Tapeats Canyon cutting across the canyon as soon as was reasonable. I
ran across an old pile of tin cans along the way from an old cowboy
camp. I also ran across old barbed wire fencing below Bridgers Knoll.
Some of the fence line was still standing. Just some more antique
garbage from before the park was established.
As I hiked, on occasion, I would see
some cairns but I could never figure out if it was for traversing as
I was doing or for getting into Crazy Jug Canyon or Tapeats Canyon.
Or, maybe used by the cowboys in the past.
Clouds lifted providing
great views of the Canyon. Owl Eyes formation visible below the South
Rim.
It was a short day of hiking since I
did about two-thirds of the contouring yesterday. I stopped at 12:30
pm for camp on a large slab of Esplanade at the base of Bridgers
Knoll. From here, it would be an easy walk the following day to
Fishtail Canyon.
I had a very nice camp. The rock was
dry and free of dirt, mud, and little rocks. I had potholes in the
rock with plenty of water. The views were awesome. I really have come
to favor the Esplanade for the nature of the rock formations in it
and the expansive views you get from it.
Below Bridgers Knoll on
a nice big slab of Esplanade.
It was a pleasant afternoon to explore
around camp. I had an agave roasting pit nearby which was quite a
contrast to the slick rock around it. When it was sunny, I left
clothes out to dry. I had a raven discover me and he was quite vocal
about it. He hung around watching and looking for something to take.
I made sure I was close enough do defend my gear when I had it out.
A Native American agave
roasting pit amongst the sandstone.
Late afternoon Day 8.
I had a very nice sunset. The sun
illuminated some of the cliff faces when it was below the clouds and
near the horizon.
Sunset Day 8.
October 9
Day 9: Below Bridgers Knoll RM 134
to Fishtail Canyon RM 138.5 (8.5 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 9 Map
|
Today my goal was the head of the
eastern arm of Fishtail Canyon. To get there I was going to make use
of the Thunder River Trail for the majority of the distance but I
also had to do some off trail hiking.
Sunrise and a sunny day
for hiking.
Leaving my camp around 7:15 am, I
continued the contour around the tip Bridgers Knoll. It was easy to
spot the Thunder River Trail because I recognized a small bay in the
Esplanade. It was where I placed a cache for my through hike attempt
two years prior. So, I walked right to the trail once I recognized
the cache location. I met up with the trail about 1.25 miles from
where I camped.
A familiar mushroom
shaped rock where I joined the Thunder River Trail.
Travel on the trail was easy to Bill
Hall junction. When it was on the Esplanade slickrock it was well
marked with cairns. When the trail was on dirt, there were plenty of
footprints. After the Bill Hall junction it became slightly more
challenging because the recent rains erased all footprints on this
less-traveled section. I encountered several places where the trail
had erosion and it crossed a small ravine. The ravine and trail
looked very much the same so I had to guess which one was correct and
follow it until I had more information. I was lucky because I guessed
right each time. I stayed on the trail until it started to ascend
towards the Coconino Formation on the way to Indian Hollow. This
occurs a short distance past the west arm of Deer Creek Canyon.
A look back at Bridgers
Knoll. Below that was last night's camp. There were many water
pockets on the Esplanade. More can be seen naked eye due to glinting
as I walked than can be seen in a single camera photo.
It was another early arrival to camp. I
dropped the pack about 12:30 pm near the head of the east arm of
Fishtail Canyon. I stopped here because there was a chance to meet up
with Rich Rudow and his party who were circumambulating Fishtail
Mesa. As it turned out they ended up camping near the head of the
west arm of Fishtail Canyon. So, our rendezvous would be postponed to
the following morning. Rich and I were in contact via our inReach
devices and we agreed on meeting at the base of the slide below the
saddle between Fishtail Mesa and Kaibab Plateau at 7 am.
I had another large clean slab of
Esplanade to stretch out on. I laid my tent and clothes out to dry. I
had to occasionally flip them and adjust the solar cell to keep it
pointed at the sun. When I wasn't tending to the gear, I was relaxing
and taking in the scenery.
I also explored some Esplanade features
closer to the edge of the Fishtail Canyon and collected water from
potholes that I could see on top of a big saucer shaped rock. It's so
nice to just go out and gather water when you want it. One huge
advantage to hiking after stormy weather. The other advantage is the
cooler days.
My porch at camp on Day
9 above Fishtail Canyon. In position to route around potential
flooding in Kanab Canyon.
It was only the second night of the
trip I did not get rained on.
October
10
Day 10: Fishtail Canyon RM 138.5 to
Flipoff Canyon RM 144 (21.7 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 10 Map
|
This was the highest mileage day of the
entire traverse. The goal was get to the Esplanade at the head of
Flipoff Canyon. That would put me around 12 miles from Kanab Point
the following morning.
Day 10 looking down
Fishtail Canyon from the saddle between Fishtail Mesa and Kaibab
Plateau.
The morning view from the saddle down
into Fishtail Canyon was awesome. I took a short break to take in the
view. I also realized I forgot to turn on my inReach tracking so I
did so. The distance to the saddle from my camp was less than 2
miles. I drew in my approximate path in Google Earth when I got home.
There isn't a trail down the other side
of the saddle, but there were no cliff bands to negotiate, just a
steep vegetated dirt slope to the bed of Indian Hollow Canyon. Once
in the bed, I stopped for my second breakfast. The creekbed was dry
where I reached it. The canyon in that section was open and devoid of
rock features and trees near the creekbed. It took about an hour to
go from the base of the slide on the Fishtail Canyon side to the bed
of Indian Hollow.
As I hiked down through the Supai,
Indian Hollow transformed into a pretty canyon with red sandstone
features, green trees, and water. The water was flowing in some areas
but I just assumed it was only present because of the recent rains. I
wanted to make sure that I did not miss the Redwall narrows bypass
route that Rich mentioned. So, I ended up following the top of the
Redwall in a couple of places too early. The Redwall emerges several
times and goes away before the narrows. I followed the Indian Hollow
creekbed for about three hours before leaving it for the Redwall
bypass.
Entering the Supai in
Indian Hollow Canyon.
The bypass was easy going and there was
actually a primitive trail for most of it. I stayed on top of the
Redwall and walked beside Jumpup Canyon up to Kwagunt Canyon. The
Redwall broke down just before Kwagunt and it was easy to get to the
creekbed of Jumpup. I reached the bed of Jumpup by 12:20 pm. From
there it was an easy walk down Jumpup to Kanab Canyon. Jumpup Canyon
was a big contrast to Indian Hollow. It was almost devoid in all
plant life and water. The walls were steep. I was, after all, walking
in the Redwall Formation. Jumpup Canyon is stark, but it was
beautiful in its own way. En route I ran into 2 pairs of backpackers.
Both parties parked at Sowats Point. Both parties mentioned that the
road was in bad condition from the rain and they were concerned about
driving out. With a food break, it was an hour and a half from
Kwagunt Canyon to Kanab Canyon.
Jumpup Canyon had a
stark beauty about it and was easy walking.
There was a lot of evidence that Kanab
Canyon had flooded recently. I was happy that I was elsewhere when it
did. There was still water flowing in it, but not so much that I
couldn't keep my feet dry by stepping/hopping on rocks every time I
crossed the creek. I hiked up canyon avoiding the mud and water for a
little over an hour to reach the confluence with Flipoff Canyon.
Kanab Creek was
flowing. Lots of mud and evidence of recent flash flooding.
I walked up Flipoff until I reached a
bathtub sized pool of water. More run off from prior rain? I stopped
and gathered a gallon of water for the night and next day. It was
also a great spot to eat my last breakfast.
After my break, I packed up and headed
up canyon. I had to make sure that I went up the fork my planned
route went up because I knew that I could hike out of it. I did not
know if any of the other forks go or cliff out. I climbed out and got
on top of the Esplanade and looked for a slab that I could place the
tent. I was looking for something with a slight slope for good
drainage.
Flipoff Canyon tends to fall in the
category of “just a hike” because there are no rappels, swims, or
exposed climbs. Still there is a lot of rock hopping, climbing up
through boulders, and a number pour offs to bypass. So, while not
technical, travel through the canyon was slower than if it were just
a trail. It took an hour of walking to go from the Flipoff
confluence to my campsite. Since I took an hour to get water and eat
down canyon, I arrived at camp at 5:20 pm.
Evening on top of the
Esplanade above Flipoff Canyon.
October 11
Day 11: Flipoff Canyon RM 144 to
Kanab Point RM 144 (13 mi)
 |
Hike 3, Day 11 Map
|
My day started around 2 am with a
thunderstorm. It rained fairly hard from 2 am to 5 am. I could hear
ominous sounds of distant rockfalls periodically, and flood waters
flowing. It sounded as though I was camped along the Colorado
River near a rapid. Instead it was the rainwater rushing over pour
offs below me in Flipoff Canyon. I was happy to be on the Esplanade
and not in Flipoff or Kanab. By 3 am, I decided it was time to start
making backup plans for getting to pavement from Kanab Point, by walking out myself if necessary. With
all the new rain, the roads would be even more muddy than before. I
had detailed driving directions from pavement to Kanab Point on my
Kindle. So, I sat in my sleeping bag with pen and paper and wrote
down the directions in reverse with miles between various road
junctions and forks.
At 5:15 am I started to send a series
of text messages using the inReach to Stacy that she would receive
when she turns on her phone in the morning. I told her it was time to
formalize a backup plan. That is, what would happen if she was unable
to drive all the way to Kanab Point. I explained to her the route I
would take. I asked her to pick up several days worth of food for the
two of us. She would need food if she was camping somewhere along the
road. I would need food when I finally reached her, and we might both
be stuck there awhile if she gets stuck in the mud driving in. I
asked her to check the road conditions with Forest Service/BLM
offices. I also asked her to check with them on which cattle tanks had
water near the roads because I didn't know how much standing water
would be available on the plateau. And, finally, get a weather
forecast for the next couple of days.
Morning Day 11. Full
potholes everywhere. I'm not taking the Canyon's symbolism
personally.
Climbing out of the tent I was greeted
by another beautiful morning in the Canyon. Clouds hung low below the
rim in places. The sky started out mostly cloudy but the sunlight
eventually broke through in places and spotlighted the ground. There
were full water pockets everywhere on the Esplanade around me. If I
had to, I would load up on water on the Esplanade and hump it up to
the plateau if I needed to hike on the roads to reach the vehicle.
I ate a snack, saving the breakfast for
later, and packed up the gear and wet tent. Off I went, making my way
toward Kanab Point. I had a good view of the point. The Esplanade
below the point was probably only 3 miles away as a raven flies. But
erosion has made getting there very circuitous.
I left camp with the inReach tracking
off. This time I didn't forget about it, my battery charge was low
and I wanted to make sure that I had enough energy to contact Stacy.
For this whole trip it has been a struggle to keep batteries charged.
The consistent rainy weather defeated my charging process which
worked so well on the prior two hikes.
Welcome morning
sunshine.
Most of my contouring for the day was
making my way around the huge bay above Scotty's Hollow Canyon. I
tried to hike near the top layer of Esplanade where it made sense.
There, on occasion, I found a faint stock trail to follow. Rich had
mentioned to me it was there. How old is this trail? I would be
surprised if the stock could cross many of the ravines that I
crossed. Maybe the stock trail continued up the side canyons further
whereas I tried to cross ravines as soon as possible to shorten the
distance hiked.
I also ran across old dung piles off
the trail that looked like horse, burro, or mule scat. I wondered
about the possibility that there were still feral burros in the area.
The last time I saw a feral burro in the Canyon was in the late 70's.
The bay above Scotty's Hollow Canyon
was an exercise in contouring patience. I could see where I wanted to
go but I often had to walk away from it to get closer to it. Well, it
was no different than any other contouring exercise here. It is just
a part of experience of hiking in the Grand Canyon.
Kanab point in the
distance with a lot of canyon country to traverse in between.
Stacy had been camped at Lees Ferry to avoid
the colder and wetter weather on the Kaibab Plateau. She got my
messages around 7 am and went about driving to Kanab, shopping for
food, getting gas, checking the weather, road conditions, and water
options. It was 10:43 am before she started down the dirt road.
Making my way around
the big bay surrounding Scotty's Hollow. Got water?
One of the muddiest patches of road she
encountered was only a couple of miles from the highway. Fortunately,
that didn't stop her. That would have been a 46 mile hunger march on
my part. I was riveted to the inReach checking messages as they came
in. The miles continued to drop after each milestone was reached.
After several hours of contouring
around Scotty's Hollow I was finally walking away from that canyon a
little after noon. By that time Stacy closed the mile gap down to 15
miles from Kanab Point. Now that was something I could get done the
following morning. I encouraged her on.
By 1 pm she was entering the National
Park boundary just over 4 miles from Kanab Point. That was something
I could get done today so I knew I would have more food and likely be
back at the North Rim Campground that night. I was psyched that all
the rain would not add another day of hiking. I pushed on along the
Esplanade toward the exit point.
I sat on a rock and enjoyed a 1000
calorie meal knowing all I had to do was climb to the point. It had
been over 2 years since I last hiked up it. I was trying to remember
which was the correct talus slope to climb to get past the cliff band
a the very top of the talus. I picked the one that looked the most
likely. I packed up the pack, turned on tracking, put the pack on,
and headed up the talus.
The route came back to me as I
approached the base of the cliffs. There were cairns that marked the
way above the talus slope. The route was generally straightforward
with a little exposure in places. It took an hour and 15 minutes to
reach the top from the base of the talus slope.
Back to modern
conveniences like roads and vehicles.
Stacy drove me out of the muddy roads and
on to Fredonia where we enriched the owner of the local car wash
getting most of the mud off. From there, it was off to the North Rim
Campground to sleep.
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