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The path of my first
section hike from Pigeon Wash to Kanab Point.
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This report describes a 277 mile solo
backpacking trip I made in 2016 through the western half of the Grand
Canyon National Park. The hike started at Pigeon Wash at
river mile (RM) 285 on March 16th and ended at Kanab Point at RM 144
on April 6th. The hike was twenty two and one quarter days in
duration. 264 of the 277 miles were part of my traverse route through
the Grand Canyon.
My goal was to complete a through hike
of the Canyon by hiking to Lees Ferry RM 0. However, the hike was cut
in half by a debilitated right knee. Nevertheless, it was a great
adventure through some very scenic and lesser traveled sections of
the Canyon.
The start of my hike was not at the
Grand Canyon National Park boundary. There is no road to the river at
the boundary. I also did not want to deal with the logistics of
crossing the Colorado River at Pearce Ferry and stashing a small raft
that I would later have to go back and retrieve. I chose Pigeon Wash
because it was an easy road that gets me close, that is, within a
day's walk of the river at the park boundary.
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Ready to go. Wow, in
hindsight those clothes were clean.
On the first evening of the hike I took notes in a small notebook of what transpired that day. It didn't take long for me to realize that the limited time I had in camp would not allow too much detail in my daily journal. Starting on the second night I made daily audio reports on my iPod. I played them back after the hike and captured what I said in this trip report.
Daily Regimen
Due to an error in the distance
estimates, many days were long as I pushed to reach the intended camp
and maintain the itinerary. Taking more days to cover the same ground
would have meant eating less calories per day and losing more weight
which I did not want to do. I would stir around 5 am and leave camp
around 6:30-7:00 am on most days. I tended to walk for the first
couple hours then take a break where I would remove the pack and eat
my second breakfast. From then on I would take short breaks every
hour or so and a longer one when I decided to eat lunch. I found it
difficult to eat my salty snacks in general because I did not have
enough saliva to keep the food from just sticking to my cheeks and
tongue. I had to sip water while I ate, like they do in hot dog
eating contests, to keep the food moving down. I tended to forgo
eating salty snacks until camp which made me hungry in the afternoon
and lower on energy. If I really needed a boost I would dig out a
serving of M&M peanuts (500 cal, 149 cal/oz) and eat them in
minutes and be ready to tackle the last of the miles for the day.
Those M&M's were rocket fuel for me.
Once in camp, I would set up the tent
and populate it with everything I use at night. I cowboy camped a
couple of nights (sans tent) but I found that I had to keep
everything secured as there were typically katabatic winds that would
pick up in the evening and could be quite strong. Also, I was using
an ultralight sleeping bag (45 deg F) that was not warm enough on
most nights if I did not use the tent.
Dinner followed the camp set up and, as
it got dark, I would retreat to the tent for the night and
communicate with my wife Stacy and friends who had texted me. The last chore
was to record an audio report of what happened that day and, if I
didn't fall asleep doing that, I would read my book (The Martian).
March 16
Day 1: Pigeon Wash Camp RM 285 to RM
277.5 Beach (11.1 mi) |
Hike 1, Day 1 Map
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I watched Stacy drive away leaving me
alone at Pigeon Wash and the gravity of my situation set in. I am
alone out here and I have a long long way to hike. This is where the
boot rubber meets the route. It was time to get to work. I assumed my
route from Pigeon Wash to the silt flats along the Colorado River was
possible but I did not know if I would be “cliffed out” along the
way. If my route did not go, I was in for a very long hike around the
ridge and cliff line north of the Cockscomb.
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There goes my easy way
out of here.
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Working my way along
the Cockscomb, looking toward the silt flats around RM 284.
Out in the middle of
the desert I came across this item. Any guess as to what it is? Hint:
there was a small rock outcrop nearby.
Lifting my pack over the fence, I
hooked it on a barb. Hence the first gear damage of the trip. A small
tear in the pack fabric. I made a mental note to keep the gear
casualties down so it can make it 48 days. I climbed over this fence
and then descended to a ravine to some silt flats and contoured to
camp.
During the day, I had views of Pearce
Ferry and the access road to the Pearce Ferry. I never saw Pearce
Ferry rapid. I thought of traversing the silt flats to get a look at
it but, wisely, I decided not to.
The day was cold in the morning but it
felt warm/hot mid day. I had 1.25 quarts of liquid as part of
breakfast. While hiking, I drank another 4.5 liters of water. I also
consumed about 4550 calories. At camp I used a collapsible bucket and
alum to settle some river water. Here I learned that the bucket is
not stable for long periods with water in it. It tipped and spilled
my water after about 15 minutes. I had to support the handle with a
horizontal stick propped up on each end with rock ledges in order to
hold the bucket in an upright position overnight.
First Campsite. Located
just inside the National Park
I cowboy camped this first night. I got
“mooned” out. That is, the moon was roughly first quarter and it
washed out the starlight while I was awake. Also, I had to secure my
pillow and any loose light items to keep them from getting blown into
the river at night. I slept on a rock shelf which was twenty feet
away from the river and 8 feet above it. At about four in the morning
I woke up cold. I was wearing all of my clothes except my shorts and
rain pullover. The ultralight sleeping bag did not have enough
insulation to handle the wind and cool temperatures. The bag is rated
for 45 deg F but 55 deg F is probably more like what it can do.
March 17
Day 2: RM 277.5 Beach to River
Access RM 266.3 (16.6 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 2 Map
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This was a high mileage day that made me realize that the Google Earth route mileage estimates were way off. I traveled 16.6 miles and was about two river miles short of my intended camp. That could be another 3 to 4 miles to hike. I knew it was going to be a big day because I anticipated 13 miles from Google Earth.
What a nice morning and
pleasant hiking.
Reality sinks in. This
is not the worst of the bushwhacking but miles of this a day will
work you physically and psychologically.
The day was full
of dealing with the mostly dead tamarisk trees on the silt banks and
trying to avoid them by walking on the talus slopes above the flats.
I found that it was difficult to walk on the boundary of the tamarisk-filled silt flats and talus slopes because I tended to be forced to
do more dense bushwhacking than if I was in a thinned out section of
the silt flat or just higher up on the talus slope. The silt/sand on
the flats had 3 to 4 ft deep crevasses occasionally as well as big
holes. I don't know how many of the holes were due to beavers in the
past and how many were due to erosion.
Along the way
there were three cliff obstructions along the river that I had to
bypass by hiking up the talus slopes north of the cliff-river
contact.
Towards the end of
the day my hamstrings were feeling pretty worked. I had to bend the
legs more to keep my trailing foot above the branches I had just
stepped over. I was working up a good sweat. It was in the 80's and
the bushwhacking was energy intensive. I sensed that my hamstrings
might cramp, so I took a salt pill to avoid the cramping.
I was nearly out
of water and light when I found access to the river just past the
last cliff obstruction before Dry Canyon. I felt very lucky to get
access there. This was the first of several times on the trip where I
felt lucky to get to water. I found a small camp spot. It was just
enough for my one-person tent. I also settled water using the
collapsible bucket and alum overnight and pumped it the following
morning.
I set the tent up
with the rainfly and that really helped keep me warmer. It also kept
the loose items from blowing away. To combat a possible theft by
ringtail cats, I put the food and the trash in the tent to discourage
them. I did not hear their chatter so I suspect there were none
around. Except for one other night, the tent was set up for the
remainder of the trip.
I tore both pant
legs on this second day of the hike. The next gear casualty. The
travertine rock caught my left pant leg and tore it and my right pant
leg had a 6 inch rip in it after getting snagged on a tamarisk branch.
Travel was brutal through the silt flats. I spent more time walking
on branches than on dirt. The look of the area reminded me of TV news
reports showing images of hurricane- or tornado-damaged land. It was
tough travel and I got very dirty in the process. I drank 7 liters of
water while I was hiking.
I ended up taking
longer rests because I did not have the most efficient arrangement of
items in my pack. I worked on improving how it was packed so that it
didn't look like the pack exploded at each rest stop.
I saw mountain
lion tracks in several different places. I did not see any lions but
they must have seen me pushing through all the vegetation because I
was making a lot of noise (and not just cussing).
Today I started
the process of making daily audio reports for the trip . I found that
I could convey more information quickly than if I wrote it down in my
notebook.
March 18
Day 3: River Access RM 266.3 to
Burnt Canyon RM 259.8 (11 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 3 Map
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I did a lot of
bushwhacking to get to Dry Canyon but most of the later portion of
this day's hike was bushwhack free. It was on the Tonto platform for
4 or more miles. I crossed Tincanebitts Canyon just in from the mouth
and it was dense with vegetation and a hassle. Crossing Burnt Canyon
was worse than Tincanebitts Canyon with very dense dead and live
trees. In fact, crossing Burnt Canyon was the worst bushwhacking I
experienced on the entire trip. I had to endure about 200 m of the
very dense brush. I did not find the “nice” trail that Tom Martin mentioned which goes across the canyon. I camped near the old
man-made structure (white man) on the upriver side of the mouth of
Burnt Canyon. There are a number of flat spots to choose from that
have been used as campsites.
The Hualapai Nation's
Skywalk perched on the cliff across the river.
I drank 5 liters
of water while hiking and made it to camp with 1 liter remaining. I
accessed the river by walking toward the upriver point above the
mouth and making my way down a dirt/silt cliff to some rock ledges
which brought me to the water flowing out of Burnt Canyon. From there
it was a muddy walk to the river (<100 m). I ended up with muddy
shoes, pant legs, socks, and gators. The climb back up was delicate
around the top of the dirt cliff (crux). The dirt “holds” were
crumbly and it was a little like slab climbing where you weight a
foot and it is either going to stay put or it is just going to slip.
In this case, the dirt clump is either going to stay attached to the
rest of the dirt or crumble away causing me to slide down the dirt
cliff. It was possible to climb this dirt cliff but it was not
trivial.
This was the first
day that I experienced helicopters flying around all day. About every
15 minutes I would have two helicopters fly by. I believe it started
around 7 am and continued throughout the day until about 6 pm. They
were loud since they were flying low and fairly close.
I actually saw
some people today on the other side of the river at the Hualapai boat
docks. One of the workers was trying to yell something to me but he
was so far away I could not make it out what he was asking. I suspect
he wanted to know how I got to where I was but I left that as a
mystery.
March 19
Day 4: Burnt Canyon RM 259.8 to
Ravine RM 255 (8.3 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 4 Map
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It was another
warm day of hiking. I would estimate the high was in the low to mid
80's F. I got a later start hiking because I needed to go back down
to the river and get more water. This time around I wore Chacos and
rolled up my pant legs. Sure enough, I could not avoid the mud pit.
After pumping water I made three attempts to get back to the rock
shelves without getting too muddy. On the first two attempts I failed
and went back to the river to clean off the mud. On the third attempt
I did much better and continued on to the pack. The Chacos were still
muddy on the bottom and they added some dirt to the outside of the pack
where I hung them.
Ocotillo in the western
part of the Grand Canyon.
I started hiking
around 8 am. The hiking was pleasant on the Tonto. Upriver from Burnt
Canyon, on river left, I saw the furthest upriver landing site for
the helicopters. All of the landing sites are on the Hualapai
Reservation and the helicopters flew on that side of the river.
However, unless you are deaf and blind your wilderness experience was
gone. Two helicopters landed on the Tonto and the customers clambered
out to take in the view and snap some pictures. It seemed like only
fifteen minutes and they clambered back in and the helicopters flew
away. I suppose it beats hanging out at the Vegas casino all day. As
I hiked further upriver the constant drone from the helicopters
finally faded away.
One of several
helicopter landing sites on the Hualapai Nation across the river.
Good for Vegas tourists, bad for hikers.
I developed a
blister on my left foot over the last few days near where the heel
curves from the side of the heel to the bottom of the heel. It was
located on the outside of the heel. I had a similar blister develop
on my right foot in the same area when I placed the caches. The
blister is caused by the stress forces placed on the skin and flesh
relative to the heel bone from the edge of the insole. I do not get
this type of blister when I run in these shoes but the steep
traverses put a lot of stress forces on the outside of the up-slope
shoe. The left heel blister popped today but the roof remained
intact. I was reluctant to modify my insoles prior to the trip but I
knew this could be a problem. I finally cut away the insoles to
reduce the friction and thus the stress forces on the skin.
Miles of calm waters
ahead.
While contouring
on the Tonto, I was faced with a steep talus slope above a cliff for
the first time. It began one canyon before Salt Canyon. It was my
initiation for all the other precarious traverses to come.
I contoured into
Salt Canyon and missed the descent that Tom mentioned. From above, it
just seemed to only be a cliff below so I didn't think to look more
closely. I contoured into the canyon until there was a talus slope I
could descend to the bed of the canyon. While still high, I could see
a deer trail on the other side that went by a side ravine with a
trickle of water in it. I headed in that direction as I made my way
across the canyon. The water trickle was tempting to collect from but
the surrounding brush, dirt, and rocks had lots of mineral deposits
on them so I figured the water was too mineralized. It's probably
called Salt Canyon for a reason. I needed to pick up water before I
camped and there was supposed to be access to the river once out of
Salt Canyon and a possible spring that Tom found another river mile
further.
I contoured out of
Salt Canyon on the Tonto and used the map and inReach to come up with
a spot to drop the pack and head down to the river to get water. I
was able to get down through the rock cliff bands easily and to the
top of the dirt cliff. I bushwhacked along the dirt to find a place
to descend to the river. I did not find a place where I thought I
could actually climb back up the dirt cliff. I did not want to go
down and become trapped, so I aborted and headed back toward the
pack. As I climbed up and around the cliff band I was distracted by
my water situation and I almost walked right up to a rattlesnake that
was coiled under a rock in the shade. Thankfully, my brain's pattern
recognition picked it out of the rock background and I abruptly
stopped and then moved away from the snake. Once at the pack I
verified on the map and inReach that I was in the correct place to
access the river.
With trepidation,
I made the call to hike on hoping that the spring in the ravine a
couple miles further would not be dry. If it was, I was going to hike
back with my haul cord and see if I could set up a hand line off a
tamarisk tree and use it to escape the dirt cliff trap. Fortunately,
when I arrived at the ravine, the spring was still alive. This was
the second time I felt lucky to have water available when I needed
it. I was psyched to not have to hike back and deal with that dirt
cliff! I pumped water and set up camp down the ravine from the spring
at a small pour off. The sleeping surface was not smooth rock so I
did not pitch the tent. I did not want to damage its floor.
This was a lower
mileage day than I had been putting in but I wanted to camp near
water.
March 20
Day 5: Ravine RM 255 to Surprise
Canyon RM 248.7 (11.6 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 5 Map
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Cool limestone spire
across the river.
I started hiking
when it was light enough not to need the headlamp which was after 6
am and spent about 10 hours hiking before reaching my new campsite.
It was a hot day in the Canyon and I drank 5 liters of water while en
route to camp. From the ravine, I continued contouring which was okay
until I got to places where there were steep talus slopes leading
down to the edge of the Tapeats followed by a large cliff. I executed
these traverses by stabbing my left trekking pole (uphill pole) into
the ground for purchase in case my feet slipped on the talus as I
walked along. Walking right near the edge of the cliff provided the
lowest angle slope but also required more concentration to keep from
making a mistake. I backed off from the edge whenever I did not trust
the rock edge or talus condition. These talus-cliff combinations
existed in several places during the hike.
Life finding a way.
Surprise is a big
canyon and I contoured about a 1.5 miles in from the river before I
could descend. There were several places where I encountered the
steep talus-cliff combinations above the bed of Surprise Canyon. This
made getting to the creek bed slow going but it was not difficult.
The descent I used matched up with what I had on the map and there
was a cairn on top to mark its start.
There be water! It was
expected because this is Surprise Canyon. An opportunity to become
more presentable, but for whom?
The creek in
Surprise Canyon was very pleasant. I pumped water and dunked my body
to get the trail dirt off. There was a pool big enough to swim in but
I settled on a small pool that I could lean back and get completely
submerged. I rinsed my clothes off (without soap) to get most of the
dirt from the tamarisk jungles off of them. The creek was about the
size of what Clear Creek is in the summer. I found a shelf above the
bed that was good for sleeping and made camp there.
I also shaved.
That was the first shave in a week and it took about 45 minutes to do
it. The disposable razor would not cut the whiskers. Tweezers may
have been faster. That was the last time I shaved on the trip. By 7
pm I was done with chores and eating and could relax, text with
Stacy, and read my book.
At this camp I was
one day behind my itinerary. I started rationing my food by only
eating 4500 calories to make up for the lengthened itinerary.
March 21
Day 6: Surprise Canyon RM 248.7 to
242 Mile Canyon (12.9 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 6 Map
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I started hiking
just after 6 am. The climb out through the Tapeats was steep but
easy. Once on the Tonto I started the contouring. Tom's Tapeats water
pocket was dry when I passed by it. It was located approximately at
12S 262608 mE, 3968913 mN. There were still sections of steep
traverses above the Tapeats cliff to deal with on this section.
Nothing else beyond the usual contouring to report. I chose to camp
at 242 Mile Canyon because I expected access to water from that camp.
The day was windier than prior days but it was still warm and I
consumed another 5 liters of water while hiking.
Limestone spire still
catching my eye. Has it been climbed, I wondered.
While I was
approaching 242 Mile Canyon, I recognized the beach where, on my
river trip in 2014, we lashed our boats together to start the night
float. Good times!
I contoured into
242 Mile Canyon, a smaller canyon than Surprise, and spotted a flat
spot to camp at. Potential campsites are easier to spot before you
descend into a canyon. It was above the creek bed and opposite the
agave roasting pit. The campsite motivated me to descend right down
to it which is what I did. The descent into 242 Mile was
straightforward.
Once I reached my
campsite I took the pack off and gathered my water bottles and water
treatment gear and headed down the creek bed in search of water in
the canyon narrows. The narrows were dry so I continued down to the
river for water. It was a 15 minute walk to the river from the agave
roasting pit. The silt in the river water was settling out more than
at the beginning of the hike. I filled a gallon water bottle and
looked through it. There was very little silt in suspension. I pumped
it without settling it. I carried back some water in the gallon jug
which I chemically treated and used for dinner and breakfast.
Excursion to the river
to collect water at the mouth of 242 Mile Canyon.
With an early
start out of camp I had a little more leisure time at the end of the
day. Looking at the roasting pit I wondered if the Native Americans
gathered so many agave plants for roasting that the plant species
collapsed in the regions around the agave roasting pits. I was trying
to recall if I had seen any agave plants all day and couldn't think
of one.
Today my lower leg
muscles in my left leg were responding to all the steep talus
traversing over the last several days. My calf was fine but the other
muscles were aching. Traversing the steep talus held my left foot in
a pronated position which was not how I would normally walk and the
muscles were not trained for that. This ache went away in another
couple of days as the muscles were conditioned to the slopes.
It was on this day
that I could not get the iPod to charge. I thought it was the
inexpensive charge cable that I bought prior to the hike. Stacy did a
Google search on the problem of iPods not charging and someone
reported getting sand in the charge port could cause the problem. I
cleaned the charge port with a tooth pick covered by a lens wipe but
it still would not charge. I was pretty bummed because I use it for
navigation and seeing where I am on the map. I also use it for
texting. I do these functions via a Bluetooth link with inReach
device. I take a huge loss in navigation and communication capability
without it. I also have some podcasts and audiobooks loaded on it for
entertainment. I considered cutting the charge cable and shortening
it in hopes that if it is a broken wire, I could fix it. I put the
iPod away and lived without it for a couple of days. Entering text
messages on the inReach itself was torture and I would usually
respond only with terse replies. If you received such a reply now you
know why.
Just an added
note. What I am calling 242 Mile Canyon is located at RM 242 on the
National Geographic map but is at RM 243 in Tom Martin's Guide to the
Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
March 22
Day 7: 242 Mile Canyon to Separation
Canyon RM 240 (7.1 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 7 Map
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This day was less
than 7 hours of hiking, but it staged me for the following day for
Gneiss Canyon and hopefully water there. It was cooler weather but I
still drank 3 liters of water while hiking. I contoured on the Tonto
but I hiked up and down the Tonto to avoid the steeper traverses
because it was easier and it gave my lower left leg some rest.
Rugged terrain
Graham's Fishhook
Cactus
I had to contour
into Separation Canyon a ways just as I did for Surprise Canyon. I
actually contoured in further than I was planning to. I just didn't
look close to see if there was a way to descend into the canyon
before the route I took. Once in the bed I picked a campsite, this
time in the bed of the wash because I didn't find any sandy shelves
around. I gathered my water bottles and walked down the creek bed to
some water and pumped out of the creek.
I reduced my
caloric intake to 4250 calories to compensate for the fact that I am now two days behind on my original itinerary.
I was also working
with adjusting my pack waist strap because I was getting sores on my
hips from the strap. In fact, I had a pretty big blister on my right
hip where the strap rode. I used a combination of Vaseline, moleskin
and cloth tape to bandage the sores. I also adjusted where the strap
rested on my hips to facilitate the healing process.
I noticed some
well-defined footprints in 242 Mile Canyon when I went for water
yesterday and again today in Separation Canyon. The footprints are
likely from river runners. I certainly haven't seen anyone else
hiking so far.
I have yet to deal
with any mice, ravens, or ringtail cats trying to get to my food which is
nice.
March 23
Day 8: Separation Canyon RM 240 to
Gneiss Canyon RM 236 (10.6 mi)
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Hike 1, Day 8 Map
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This hike was 8.5
miles to the bed of Gneiss Canyon but I had to hike another 2 miles
round trip to get water in Gneiss Canyon. I did descend and ascend a
canyon just upriver from Separation without contouring too far into
the side canyon just as Tom mentioned I could. It was another day of
contouring on the Tonto near the Tapeats cliff. Today's contours had
an added twist. I started to encounter clusters of teddy bear cholla
cactus along the route. Not only did I have to execute some steep
talus traversing moves above the Tapeats cliff but I had to weave
around and step over teddy bear cactus arms while doing so. I caught
myself saying “Are you shitting me!” a few times as I threaded my
way through and over them on the steep talus. After awhile I just
started laughing because it seemed so silly. The cacti definitely
made those traverses more challenging. The teddy bear arms would hook
on to you and detach from the rest of the plant with the slightest
contact. On one encounter I had a cactus segment detached and hanging
from my loose waist belt strap end. For the most part I missed the
cactus but on occasion I would have to stop and pull one off and out
of me or my gear.
A common occurrence.
The easiest route physically (flattest) is right at the cliff edge.
Mentally, not so much.
When I contoured
into Gneiss Canyon I kept my eyes open for possible flat spots to
camp. I spotted one on the same side of the creek bed and I descended
straight to it from the top of the Tapeats. There were a few 3 to 4
foot down climbs through the broken Tapeats cliff but it was a
reasonable descent. I made it to the flat spot and called it camp. I
looked at the map and realized I had descended sooner than I thought
I could based on my planned route.
To me, the infamous
Teddy Bear Cholla. Nature's equivalent of a land mine factory.
The immediate area
around my campsite was devoid of rocks which made for a good sleeping
spot but there were no rocks big enough to anchor the tent. On many
of the nights, I tied rocks to the corners of the tent because the
ground was too rocky for stakes. In the mornings, I would disperse
the rocks so that it did not leave a rectangular pattern of rocks to
catch a hiker's eye. I extended my gaze beyond my flat spot and
rotated around to scan for tent anchor rocks. As I turned I
discovered a big pile of rocks forming the what looked like an almost
perfect circular crater several feet tall and 15-20 feet in diameter.
That could explain the rock void where I as standing. There was a
huge agave roasting pit 30 feet away. I was so fixated on looking for
a flat spot from the top of the Tapeats, I totally missed spotting
the agave roasting pit. I did not take rocks from the pit but used
some the Indians did not pick up.
One of numerous agave
roasting pits in the Canyon. Too bad the Native Americans didn't
roast Teddy Bear Cholla Cacti.
This was the second time in three days that I was at an agave roasting pit near a creek bed. It made me think that the Indians may have used the same descent and ascent routes I used for those canyons. Maybe the combination of ease of access and proximity to the mouth made them appealing to them as well. It also made me question myself again as to whether I really saw that many live agave plants around. It still seemed devoid of agave plants. Maybe they collected them all? Too bad they didn't like roasting teddy bear cholla!
It was time to
gather water which meant grabbing my empty water bottles and water
pump and heading down canyon. According to my notes, I would either
find water in this canyon near where there was supposed to be a
spring or walk down to the river. As I walked down the creek bed I
did find a small pothole of green slimy water but no spring running.
I decided that I would rather drink river water and proceeded down
canyon. After maybe another quarter of a mile I came upon a pour off
in the canyon that was about 100 feet high with no possible bypass
that I could see. What I did not know at the time was that I could
have bypassed this pour off on creek right by climbing up and over to
a ravine that joins the creek bed below the pour off.
That small slimy
green pothole was all I thought I had access to and I felt fortunate
that it was there. This is the third time thus far in the trip where
I felt lucky to have found water at the right time. I hiked back up
to the pothole and pumped some green water into my water bottles.
Yes, it was still green even after making it through the filter. I
returned to camp and noted that my water excursion hike was about 2
miles round trip.
Gneiss Canyon pour off.
Bypass is up and over to drainage on the right.
Once in camp I had
some extra time to tend to my gear. Job one was to take a look at the
charging cable for the iPod and see what could be done to rectify the
situation. I inspected the cable for damage at each connector. I was
concerned a couple of days ago that the problem was the contacts on
the USB connector. They looked as though they had worn down but I
compared it to my other charge cables and noted they all looked about
the same. I concluded there was no visible damage to the charge cable
and turned to the iPod connector port again. This time I went to work
on it with the Swiss Army knife's toothpick directly without a lens
cleaning tissue as a cushioned tip. I did not want to destroy the
connector and turn the iPod into a paper weight but it was basically
a rock in my pack as it was. After digging around in the connector
for a while I extracted a small stick that was wedged crosswise at
the bottom of the connector. What the hell! It must have made its way
in there on one of my many bushwhacking episodes. I do keep the iPod
in my front left cargo pants pocket so that is likely what happened.
I probably packed the stick in when I last tried to connect the
charging cable. I plugged the charging cable into the iPod. This time
I noticed that it seated further into the iPod than before. I quickly
dug out the solar panel battery and plugged the USB end of the cable
into it. The iPod turned on and started charging! I proceeded to jump
and dance around, yelling at my victory. Good thing no one was around
to witness that. What a high note to end the day on.
March 24
Day 9: Gneiss Canyon RM 236 to East
Arm of 229.7 Mile Canyon (14 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 9 Map
|
I climbed out of
Gneiss Canyon opposite from where I descended into the canyon and did
more contouring on the Tonto to 229.7 Mile Canyon. The teddy bear
cholla cactus “minefields” have been increasing in density and
size over the last couple of days with today being the worst thus
far. I was very careful with every foot and pole placement through
those minefields. I also tried to be aware of where my body and pack
were so that nothing would touch the cacti. For the most part I was
successful but I still had to pull more off of my body and gear.
Now this is a
friendlier and happy cactus.
Generally the
weather was cooler today. The high was supposed to be around 71 F
according to the inReach weather forecast I was getting. I drank 4
liters of water as I hiked today.
I did as Tom
suggested and contoured around the west arm of 229.7 Mile Canyon and
then descended the east arm. The idea was to avoid hiking all the way
to the river to camp and get water but to use the spring that Tom
found in the east arm of the canyon. I had a little trouble figuring
out where to descend through the Tapeats as you can see from my
walking back and forth above the Tapeats shown on the map. I had to
down climb a few four foot sections of Tapeats blocks to a steep
talus. I hiked down the creek bed to where the spring was supposed to
be. There were water stains on the dry rock where spring water once
flowed.
At this point it
was already 5 pm so I needed to get some water and make it back to
camp before it got too late. I gathered the water bottles, water
pump, and headlamp. I started down the canyon towards the river to
get water. Fortunately, I found some green slimy water in potholes. I
went ahead and pumped it rather than walk the three mile round trip
distance to the river and back.
I am down to my
last few meals. I have been rationing food to make it to my cache
opposite of Diamond Creek. Dinner tonight was a breakfast because I
had no dinners left. However, I am in position to pick up the food
cache tomorrow.
March 25
Day 10: East Arm of 229.7 Mile
Canyon to Ravine at RM 224.2 (12.2 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 10 Map
|
Great views while
hiking in the morning.
I started hiking
between 6:00 am and 6:30 am. I ascended out of the side canyon and
proceed to hike along the Tonto toward my food cache. There were
minefields of teddy bear cholla cacti but not as bad as the day
before. While hiking, I had a good view of Diamond Peak and of
Diamond Creek. I saw the picnic area where Stacy and I parked when I
put in the cache opposite of Diamond Creek.
Diamond Creek and
Diamond Peak from across the river.
I descended into
the drainage that I cached my food in. I hiked down the creek bed to
the cache and then to the river. There were a number of small pour offs
I had to negotiate but they were easy. There were also two
significant pour offs that took some effort to bypass. Both pour offs
were bypassed on creek left. The last pour off was the most
difficult. This pour off is only about thirty feet high but in order to bypass it I had to climb up above it on creek left about 30 ft and
traverse left over to some rocks that I could descend. There were
options to down climb from this location, either down some steep
talus, down a steep ravine in the rock, or down some slabs in a left
facing rock corner. I chose the slabs in the corner for my way down
and the steep ravine on my way back up. Generally, I had to be
careful because the schist was really “chossy” in this side
canyon.
I made it past the
pour offs and hiked down canyon to my food cache. There is a spring
in this canyon roughly 1/4 mile up from the river. I did not think
much about it because I was going to the river anyways. However, it
might be a good water source alternative if the river is running
brown.
I placed the cache
about 50 feet above the creek bed and out of sight. I had to scramble
up to it and bring it down. There were several portable hand holds I
had to trundle. A left foothold broke off and it proceeded to roll
down and hit my right ankle joint which smarted. While I hiked for
the rest of the day it felt as though I sprained my right ankle even
though it was just a bruise.
I took the food
cache buckets to the river and packed my pack on the beach with the
new food. I pumped enough water to do a dry camp because I doubted I
would be able to make it to my planned campsite at 222.7 Mile Beach.
I then placed the cache buckets in a location where river rafters
could see them. All the time I was doing my chores, I kept checking
the river for rafts I could flag down to take the buckets. I was
there from around 11 am to 12 pm and no rafts came by.
I hiked back up
the creek bed, negotiating the pour offs with a pack that now weighed
about 35 lbs more and continued upriver on the Tonto. As I
anticipated, I did not make it to the planned camp and ended up in a
ravine at about RM 224.2. That was a little over two river miles
short of the camp at 222.7 Mile Beach. That put me over two days
late on my itinerary.
I enjoyed my pasta
dinner with a very nice view across the river and at Diamond Peak
just downriver. While I was relaxing, I heard a distant voice
so I searched the river for rafts and did not see any. Then, looking
across the river, I saw four people on top of the Tapeats hiking and
moving like they were full of energy. They were too distant to make
out what they were carrying. I wasn't sure where they came from but
it was dusk so I figured they had better make camp soon. It turned
out that the next morning I saw a river raft party camped at 224 Mile
Camp just upriver from my last visual on the hikers. They must have
been doing a day hike from their river camp which explains why they
moved in such an unencumbered way.
I had been
watching my shoes break down over the last few days. The tread on the
bottom was coming off. It was gone below both arches and the remaining
tread was receding quickly toward back of heel and toward the toes.
I was not sure how many more days they would last but my new shoes were
cached below Kanab Point which was 2 weeks out. I planned on hiking in my
Chacos when the shoes finally failed. They would not handle the steep
talus as well but they would be all I had.
March 26
Day 11: Ravine RM 224.2 to Opposite
Three Springs Camp RM 216 (12.7 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 11 Map
|
Since I camped on
the top of the Tapeats, I just started contouring right from camp. I
passed a drainage at about RM 223.5 that looked like a short hike to
the river with no pour offs to negotiate. Looking back, I should have
gone to the river for water there. Instead, I continued to contour to
the canyon that led down to 222.7 Mile Beach. I left the pack and
headed to the river for water. It turned out that this canyon did
have two pour offs but they were both easier to bypass than the ones
in the canyon where I placed my cache. Both pour offs were bypassed
on creek left.
While I was
getting water at the beach, a river party floated past and we greeted
each other. After they were gone I was kicking myself that I did not
ask them to pick up my empty cache buckets. I returned to my pack and
had my second breakfast. I left this canyon about 9:30 am and
continued contouring upriver. There was a decent game trail that I
could follow for some of the time and there were not as many steep
talus traverses above the Tapeats cliff as prior days. I did have to
contour around 220 Mile Canyon and Trail Canyon. However, I actually
found a good way down into Trail Canyon and out the other side which
was quite a bit shorter than my planned route. The GPS track on the
map shows where I descended. The contouring continued on a pretty
reasonable deer trail that would come and go, but was there a little
more often than prior days.
I had to press a bit
to make it to Opposite Three Springs Camp for the night. I took about
10.5 hours to get from camp to camp. This time includes breaks and
the water run. As I was a approaching the camp on the Tonto, which
was now closer to the river, I noticed a few rafts at the beach so I
knew I would have company. It was a short descent down the ravine to
the river but not without a couple of obstacles to negotiate.
I made my way down
the drainage and arrived at the camp as some of the river runners
were setting up their tents. It was a great group of people to visit
with. They were mostly from Bend and Portland Oregon. It was the
first time I had a conversation with anyone in over 11 days. I had
the opportunity to talk with many of the party members. This was my
big social event of the trip. One of the rafters offered me a porter
and it was wonderful. I got the “Small World” sense when I met
Lorenzo who I might have met the prior August had he and his fiancee
been able to make it on that river trip. As I mentioned previously,
Lorenzo gave me his shoes to hike in.
The group offered
dinner and I joined them for a pasta meal which was very nice. I also
actually sat in a chair for the first time since I started on the
hike. Just one of those creature comforts you appreciate when you
don't have it for awhile. Toward the end of the evening I thanked
them for their generosity and company and found a place to set up the
tent and go to sleep.
I had also asked
the group if they could pick up my empty cache buckets and if they
did I would gladly pay them $40 dollars for doing so. Lorenzo picked
them up and left them with the outfitters in Flagstaff and then the
outfitter gave them to Rich Rudow. I hope someone removed the trash
bag, otherwise, I don't envy Rich if he cracks the lid open on that
bucket. I sent Lorenzo his reward.
March 27
Day 12: Opposite Three Springs Camp
RM 216 to Indian Canyon RM 207 (11.6 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 12 Map
|
Hiking on this day was both close to the river and up on some lava flow plateaus. The Tapeats cliffs had gradually descended to the river level between yesterday and today. Within 2 miles upriver from last nights camp, the Tapeats made it all the way down to river level. This resulted in a lot of rock hopping and avoiding mesquite and acacia bushes/trees near river level. For most of the travel I was traversing along a low angle slope. There were places that were flat and void of brush that made for easy travel but that was not the rule. I passed by Pumpkin Spring at river level about 3 hours into the hike. This spring is always interesting to look at.
Just before the
mouth of 209 Mile Canyon I bypassed a cliff near the river by hiking
up the ridge behind it. The bottom of the cliff was composed of
conglomerate. I didn't know if the material holding the cobble
together was just dirt or rock. The base of the cliff went by 209
Mile rapid. I descended the ridge beyond the cliff to the bed of 209
Mile Canyon.
After crossing the
bed of this canyon , I climbed the steep talus slope just inside the
mouth to get up onto the lava flow plateau. The lava plateau ends
with a tall cliff near the water. On the top it was pretty flat and
it got me away from the rocks and brush by the river. It was
interesting to see the small lava rocks that were shaped like river
rock with smooth surfaces on the plateau far from any washes. There
were a number of ravines with steep banks that I had to traverse.
Also, I probably moved closer to the river sooner than I should have
because I had to deal with more brush. Huge groves of mesquite spread
out far away from the river. I mostly skirted them but I went through
some of them and ended up pretty worked and scratched. The last miles
of the day were the toughest because I was working my way around and
through the mesquite brush. I was happy to get to camp.
My knees felt
worked that night from all of the rock hopping. Also, it was the
first day I used Lorenzo's shoes to hike in. Throughout the day, I
kept thinking that I should have carried my old shoes with me rather
than leave them with the rafters. I was wearing a pair of shoes for
the first time and I didn't now how compatible they would be with my
feet. The shoes were heavy and hot because of the leather mid top
upper but they only gave me one small blister on my toe next to the
pinky toe on my right foot.
I did see a couple
of raft trips float by. Most of the rafters didn't see me because the
were watching the water. I waved at the few that did see me.
Indian Canyon camp
is a pretty camp. I had never stayed there on a river trip but it is
nice. The kitchen has a wall of Tapeats behind it. The beach is small
but there is a calm eddy for the rafts. I took advantage of the
access to the river and washed my clothes with a little bit of soap.
I got a lot of dirt out of them but there are huge soiled sections on
the shirt that are permanent.
March 28
Day 13: Indian Canyon RM 207 to
Parashant Beach RM 199 (12.9 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 13 Map
|
I left Indian
Canyon about 7 am. For approximately the first 1.1 miles I traveled
upriver before Stacy messaged me and said that my track was not
updating on the web page. I forget to turn the tracking on so I did
that at that location. The 1.1 one miles was as “measured” off
the Delorme map page and is conservative. I added it to the recorded
miles to get the day's mileage above.
About 1 mile from
camp I noticed a cliff near the water's edge so I hiked up the slope
away from the river to get above the cliff.. The cliff rock had a
similar color to the Tapeats but I don't think it was actually
Tapeats sandstone. I contoured past the cliff and then descended back
to river level. I did that another three times today. The other three
were for lava bluffs beyond Spring Canyon.
My big concern for
the day was Spring Canyon. I have stopped at Spring Canyon on two
different river trips to get water there and I know how absolutely
choked that canyon is with vegetation. I anticipated getting
scratched, bloodied, and worked getting past it. My strategy even
before I got to Spring Canyon was to always try to keep the mesquite
bushes/trees to my right so that I would be hiking away from all of
the mesquite. Sometimes I violated that rule and paid in blood and
pain. This rule pushed me up on the hillside further from the river.
As I approached Spring Canyon by that method, I could see over all of
the vegetation all the way to the mouth of the canyon. On the
downriver side of Spring Canyon, there was a cliff band (Tapeats
sandstone?). This cliff band looked like it continued around the
downriver point of the canyon and on into the canyon. On top of that
cliff band I could just make out a faint game trail that traversed
the slope above the cliff. All the mesquite were below the cliff so I
decided to contour in above that cliff and use the game trail to
avoid of the mesquite downriver of the mouth of Spring Canyon. It
worked great! I contoured around the corner and into the canyon. I
was hoping to contour in enough that I could keep all the mesquite to
my right but the canyon was too choked with vegetation.
I could hear the
spring babbling below me. I thought if I could get to it I could walk
up the creek to some easier place to cross the vegetation. I
identified a spot along the creek where the vegetation was willows
and not mesquite trees. I could climb out of the creek and up and out
of the canyon and avoid the bloodshed. I made a mental note on where
that exit point was. The next thing to figure out was how to get down
to the creek. There was that cliff below me but I started walking its
edge looking for weaknesses. I found a break about 100 ft from where
I rounded the corner and contoured into the canyon. It was a narrow
steep chute in the cliff. I went down the chute and got to a
beat-down game trail next to the base of the cliff that I joined and
followed downstream where it led me to the creek without having to
bushwhack much at all.
A beautiful beach at
202 Mile Camp on a windy day. Looking downriver at the basalt cliffs
I traversed above.
After the last
lava bluff bypass I came upon a game trail on the top of a section of
Tapeats that was only about 10 feet high. The game trail traversed
along the top of the cliff and then went below the cliff and went
along the base of the cliff. All the mesquite bushes were further to
the right of the trail so it made for some easy walking for quite
awhile. I stayed on that game trail most of the way to Parashant
Canyon. The trail would disappear and reappear and I would stay on it
for as long as I could and look for it to appear again.
I had a final
canyon/ravine to cross before I could get to Parashant Canyon; this
canyon was full of refrigerator- to room-sized blocks of Tapeats that
I had to scramble through and then a little more hiking to get to
camp.
The day was partly
cloudy and very windy. Fortunately, the wind was at my back and
blowing upriver. I didn't see any rafts trips after the wind picked
up. I figured that no one wanted to fight that wind.
A fine layer of
sand was on everything in the tent as the finest of the blowing sand
was sifted through the mesh roof of the tent.
March 29
Day 14: Parashant Beach RM 199 to
Below Whitmore Point RM 197 (14.4 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 14 Map
|
The morning was
windy and cold. My plan was to ascend the cliff/ridge on the upstream
side of the mouth of Parashant Canyon. I was concerned about the
routing because what I saw confirmed what I had remembered from
camping at Parashant Canyon the prior August on a river trip. The
route starts up a cliff, not a ridge. I spent half an hour walking
the base of the cliff where I identified three possible routes that
looked like they might be the actual route. Not being able to see
where they went after the first 100 ft or so, I didn't like my
chances of guessing which was the actual route. If I was on a layover
day on a river trip I could see climbing around and exploring where
they go but since I was on a through hike and alone it didn't seem to
make much sense. After 30 minutes my hands were getting numb from the
cold wind and I was frustrated so I said “screw this” and started
hiking up Parashant Canyon. I did not have details of how to get out
of it but I figured there was a way out. I had hiked out of the
Redwall in Andrus Canyon (a side canyon to Parashant) last August so
I figured Parashant would go as well. I messaged Stacy what my plan
was and I asked her to research exit options.
Redwall narrows of
Parashant Canyon
I continued up
canyon another mile to my waypoint. The Redwall seemed to be less
than 200 ft tall in this area. I found three smaller slots near the
waypoint. I started with the slot furthest downstream and hiked up
each one a short distance. The first two had large chockstones low
down blocking further travel up the slots. The limestone below each
chockstone had eroded away creating an overhang obstacle which would
be difficult to pass. None of the three slots met Harvey's
description of something a burro could walk out of. I took my pack
off and hiked into the third slot. It had a ridge of limestone in the
middle of it that was easy to climb (5.4-5.5) and I didn't see any
chockstone so I decided I would exit out of Parashant Canyon in this
slot. I went back for the pack and climbed up the ridge being careful
not to pull on any loose rock. There was exposure, so it was not a
good place to fall. The inReach device would have also be useless to
message out because there was very little sky visible in the slot and
thus no satellite link.
I carefully moved
up the ridge for 40-50 ft and made it to the upper portion of the
slot. It was then that I saw the chockstone in this slot. It was
probably 6 ft in diameter and looked like it was wedged at the very
top of the slot. As with the other slots, below the chockstone the
limestone was undercut and rotten. Having no interest in down
climbing what I just climbed I looked hard for a route around the
chockstone.
It looked to be
about a 20 ft climb to get above the chockstone and the slot wall on
climbers left looked like the best option. I took my pack off and
moved it as high in the slot as I could. It was positioned almost 20
ft directly below the chockstone. I tied my haul cord to it and threw
it up the cliff. The cord was hooked on some limestone about 15 feet
up. I went down the slot to where I could start climbing. The climb
was on vertical rock with side pull holds and some crimps. I tested
each hold before I loaded it. There were a few shoebox-sized blocks
that were loose so I was cleaning the route as I went, creating a
raucous as the blocks I trundled made their way all the down to the
bed of Parashant Canyon. I had to climb up and traverse right to the
rope. There was some choss between me and the rope so I pulled off
what was loose and delicately traversed on some dirty footholds until
I could grab the cord. I put the the cord in my mouth and moved back
out of the choss zone. I then climbed up and right toward the
chockstone. I reached a point where I had to take the cord out of my
mouth and hold it I my right hand because the cord was too short.
Fortunately the climbing was easier and I could do it with three
limbs. I climbed on top of the chockstone. I could just barely keep hold of
the cord with my right arm as it was outstretched straight down
toward the pack. I used my legs to press myself between the slot wall
and chockstone, then hauled my pack up and over the chockstone.
Fortunately, the pack did not rotate as I hauled it up because I did
not want to snag the trekking poles on the underside of the
chockstone. I would rate the climb as 5.9 and would not recommend it
to anyone as a way out of the Redwall in Parashant.
The chockstone was
indeed right near the top and is was an easy walk out of the ravine
above the chockstone to the top of the Redwall. Not the cleanest
exit, but it eliminated the uncertainty of how and when I was going
to get out of the Redwall.
Looking back toward the
slot I used to escape from the Redwall of Parashant Canyon. It is the
small one to the right of the wide slot. I would not recommend the
route.
After a brief
break I started the climb through Supai group up in the direction
where the dirt road should be at the top of the Esplanade. Frog
Spring was to my right a few hundred feet. It was vegetated but I
didn't check to see if the spring was dry or not. Working my way up a
steep ravine through large boulders, I saw evidence of trail building
up and to the left. I headed toward it and found an old trail that I
followed to the top of the Supai. There was a single pair of boot
prints on the trail. Someone was here fairly recently. I hiked to the
road, a quadrunner track really. There were recent quadrunner tracks
and cattle tracks. I was no longer in the Grand Canyon National Park
but in the Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument. I would be back
in the park the following day as I traversed along the Esplanade. I
picked a waypoint on my planned route to get to and navigated to it
to get back on my route as if I climbed the ridge that morning. While
I saw plenty of evidence of cattle and quadrunners, I saw no people nor
cattle.
It was after 6 pm
when I got back to my route and made a dry camp. There would be miles
to make up the following day.
March 30
Day 15: Below Whitmore Point RM 197
to Near Top of Lava Falls Rte RM 180 (16 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 15 Map
|
It was a cold
night on the Esplanade. I had gone to bed wearing all my clothes in
the sleeping bag including my rain gear. I woke up a number of times
in the night with cold shoulders. The loft of the sleeping bag must
have been reduced around my deltoids and they end up being the coldest parts
of the my body. I figure I had about five hours of sleep.
I broke camp and
got on the dirt road. It was too cold to eat cereal so I ate a snack
while I walked. For most of the day, I hiked in my Chacos to give my
feet a break from the shoes and to spare the shoes from more wear.
While I was walking on the road I noticed a lot of quadrunner tracks
and cattle tracks in and around the road. I even saw fresh footprints
like the person was getting off their quadrunner and walking around.
I noticed the person who left the footprints had an out-toeing gait
so I thought they were probably not hiking.
As I came around a
bend, I looked across a small canyon and up a switchback in the road
and I saw two men in quadrunners with another man out in front of
them. They were herding twenty or so head of cattle up the road. Now I
understood why I saw all the tracks last afternoon and this morning.
When they looked over and saw me, the whole operation came to a halt.
Everyone including the cows stopped and stared at me. My brief moment
of fame on the hike. I must have looked like I was from New York City
(reference anyone?). I imagined the gears turning in their heads as
they were trying to reconcile my presence in cattle country.
I proceeded to
walk up the road to them and explained what I was up to. I introduced
myself to and mostly talked with Clyde Bundy while he took in the
sight of me with a solar panel on top of my pack, an inReach on my
chest, a funny hat, and tattered and dirty clothes. I asked if he
knew of any potholes with water around the area. That drew a laugh
from all three of the cowboys. They explained the purpose of their
cattle drive was to move their cattle somewhere where there was water
and there wasn't any around there. Clyde graciously offered some
bottled water from the back of a quadrunner and I accepted 2 liters
from him. Thanks Clyde.
Free and clear of
the cattle drive it was nice to walk the road. It doesn't get any
easier than this I thought. I had no plans to shop for water at all
the potholes along the way because I had enough from Clyde and I
believed them that they would be dry. Fat dumb and happy I rounded
another bend and came upon another group of cattle standing in and
around the road. Wonderful, I thought. As I approached I kept an eye
on all the calves and tried to stay away from them. A lot of these
moms had horns. I wouldn't think twice about it if I was in my Bronco
but walking without cover I felt vulnerable. The cattle turned and
walked away from me. Of course, like me, they were interested in
walking on easy ground which meant right down the road. I let them
have the road and gave them a wide berth as I tried to arc around
them and get ahead on the road. The cattle didn't get it and tried to
pace me. It took a long time for them to figure out that all they had
to do was stop and let me get ahead of the them. Cows are dumb. When
it finally happened the cows stood and watched me until I disappeared
in the distance. This same scenario played out again later in the day
with someone else's cattle. Fortunately, I had no physical contact
with any new mothers.
I saw two
different herds of deer along the way to camp as well. They bounded
away and had no use for the road.
Continuing on the
road I passed the Bundy's Cabin and then met up with the dirt road to
Whitmore Overlook. I followed it a short distance to a primitive road
which I followed north. The weather forecast included a chance of
rain showers and looking back toward Parashant Canyon, I could see it
was getting a fairly good rain. The day had started clear but the
clouds built up sort of like monsoon season except the clouds did not
have as well-defined bases or as much vertical extent.
Some rain falling
beyond the river.
I decided to eat
my second breakfast for lunch so I continued hiking until 12 pm. Once
it was noon I took off and unpacked my pack to get to the stove cup
that I put the cereal bag in. Since I like the stove lower in the
pack, I end up having to take a lot of stuff out to get to it. It
looks like the pack exploded when I am done. It was bad timing on my
part because it started to snow (corn snow) right after I added water
to my cereal and started eating. I had to quickly eat and pack
everything away before it got too wet. I put my rain jacket and pack
on and headed on.
I eventually left
the road, climbed over the National Park boundary fence and hiked
toward my planned campsite. I navigated using the inReach to make
sure I was on an efficient path. I picked up my pace around 3 pm
because storms were threatening and I wanted to get the tent set up
before the rain fell. I arrived at camp and my water cache at about 4
pm. I immediately set up the tent and populated it with everything I
usually have in it. The weather was cold and windy so I cooked my
dinner early and sat in the tent and ate it. It rained but only
slightly so the hiking will continue to be dry on the Esplanade.
March 31
Day 16: Near Top of Lava Falls Rte
RM 180 to Burro Canyon RM 176 (8.7 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 16 Map
|
It was a cold
night. I woke up cold the first time at 12:30 am. I managed to fall
back to sleep but I woke up many times being chilled. My “ultralight”
sleeping bag was becoming borderline “stupid light”. I probably
rolled from one side to the other and the compressed down, now
exposed to the air, did not provide sufficient insulation. I stayed
in the tent until well after sunrise. I let the sun warm the inside
of the tent while I hung out inside and ate breakfast. I had a late
start out of camp but I knew it was a shorter day of hiking.
From camp I headed
across the lava field for the north edge of Vulcan's Throne (volcanic
crater). Before I arrived at the crater, I intersected the road that
I needed to be on to get over to Toroweap. I walked this road to the
junction with the Toroweap Overlook road. The park ranger had parked
his 4X4 truck at this junction which is also a parking area for low
clearance vehicles. I followed his footprints along that road until I
reached the turnoff for the Tuckup Trailhead. It looked like the
ranger walks the bad section of the road to patrol the Toroweap
Overlook and campground. I would do that too rather than drive that
rocky road every day. I collected my food and water cache on the
Tuckup Trail and spent an hour repacking my pack with the new food
and more water. The additional water was making packing a little more
challenging.
Since there hadn't
been significant rain in a couple of months and I did not know of
reliable water sources between my current location and my next cache
at the Schmutz trail, I needed to carry at least two days of water. I
left that cache with 3 gallons and 1 liter of water (26 lbs). I
already had three close calls of running out of water so I was not
willing to carry less. My food pack weighed another 22 lbs. I finally
rallied and donned the pack then headed down the trail towards Red
Slide.
I used a Jetboil
stove for the trip. One small fuel canister heated 2 cups of water
for 14 nights and there was still a little fuel left in it. Given how
efficient the stove was, I left the new fuel canister at the cache. I
had already picked up a new canister at the Diamond Cache and I would use it when the first canister runs out of gas.
Cryptobiotic soil is in
many places in the Grand Canyon, especially on the Esplanade
Formation.
I stopped for the
day at about 4 pm and about two miles further along the Tuckup Route
from Red Slide. There was a cold north wind so I set up the tent
right away. It was a challenge because the wind was gusting to about
30 mph. I cooked dinner as soon as I could. It turns out the Jetboil
does not stay lit in a strong wind so I had to huddle with it behind
some rocks to keep it going. It was a special night because I had a
single-serving size plastic bottle of wine from the cache. I also had
a Mountain House Lasagna dinner for a change. I enjoyed eating and
resting in the tent and out of the wind.
April 1
Day 17: Burro Canyon RM 176 to
Stairway RM 170 (13.6 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 17 Map
|
It was a beautiful
day for hiking: blue sky, no clouds, and no wind. I contoured around
Burro Canyon and Big Cove Canyon. To shorten the distance around Big
Point, I climbed up to a higher level of the Esplanade and contoured
around that point like the NPS Tuckup Route flier mentioned.
I coined the term “contouring hell” today. The distance from camp
to camp was only 3.7 miles as a crow flies but on foot it was 13.6
miles. It was more of a psychological hurdle because you knew you
were only a few miles away but it was going to take you all day to
get there.
Just another terrible
view one has to put up with while hiking here. Amazing wilderness.
The hiking was
relatively easy except at the heads of the canyons (small and large)
because there was no slickrock. Instead, there were dirt talus slopes
with deep ravines/canyons to cross. The ravines had very steep dirt
and loose rock. I often had to walk along the rim of the ravines to
find a way down and up the opposite side. The heads of the canyons
included bushwhacking through knee high brush. The trekking poles
were really handy for these crossings.
Gateway to The Dome?
I had been seeing
big horn scat and coyote scat for the last few days. Today I had a
great view of a hawk soaring 50 feet above me and calling out. I
don't think it was vocalizing because of me but maybe calling for its
mate or hunting. Also, I had been seeing old footprints by hikers
along the Tuckup route. That was something I hardy saw in the western
part of the canyon. The footprints and cairns disappeared at the
heads of the canyons and later reappeared on one of the levels of
Esplanade leading away from the canyon heads.
Evening near the head
of Stairway Canyon. The calm before the katabatic wind picked up.
I had been
experiencing some pain in my left groin. I didn't notice the pain so
much when I was hiking but I could not keep my leg straight while
laying down and had to curl up a bit to sleep. The adductor muscle
was tight and sore. My knees have been a little sore for awhile but
it did not impact my hiking too much.
I had to unlace
the 5.10 Approach Tennie shoes because the uppers were hurting my
ankle joints. The shoe was pressing against the ankle bones too hard.
April 2
Day 18: Stairway RM 170 to Schmutz
Cache RM 164 (16.3 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 18 Map
|
It was a warmer
morning at Stairway camp. I was able to eat my first breakfast there
and got started on the trail about 7:15 am.
Making my way toward
Tuckup Canyon. The Dome is prominent but Mt Sinyella can also be seen
in the distance.
There seemed to be
a low and high route for contouring. The majority of the old
footprints, mostly preserved impressions in dried mud, followed a
lower contouring path. However, there were a few times where I
reached the head of a canyon and found a cairn. Looking for more
cairns, I would usually find a couple heading up to a higher band of
slickrock and dirt. The cairns would stop after I reached the higher
platform and I would continue to contour at that level for awhile.
The travel at the higher level cut off some of the distance but the
travel was more difficult. I ended up experiencing steeper talus
slope traverses, more loose dirt, bushes to navigate around, and
rocks to hop. I presumed hikers were doing it to reduce the distance
but eventually I would end up scrambling back down to the lower level
where most of the foot traffic was and the hiking was easier. The
lower level was on slickrock or more of a level dirt path.
The Dome.
I had to pick up
my pace in the afternoon to make it to my destination. Fortunately,
the contouring eased off as I got closer to the head of Tuckup
Canyon. There were less ravines to deal with and the path I chose was
much straighter. I set a waypoint for the cache and mostly walked
along a heading toward it. It was a full day of hiking and I got into
camp a little before 6 pm.
I arrived at camp
with 1 liter of water left in my pack. So, the water I carried out of
Toroweap was about right after all for the amount of miles I was
putting in and the weather conditions.
The pain in my
groin was a little worse today than yesterday. I had to keep my left
leg bent at about 90 degrees at the hip to keep the pain at a
tolerable level while I was laying down.
The condition of
the 5.10 Guide Tennie shoes took a major turn for the worse today. I
was traversing at the head of a small canyon on some steep talus when
I felt like there was something stuck to the bottom of my left shoe.
I stopped to find out what it was and I saw the sole of the shoe
detached from the tip of the toe all the way back to the middle of
the arch and I was stepping on the folded back sole of the shoe. I
stopped, super glued, and duct taped the sole back in place. And thus
began a repair ritual that I performed about every two hours of
hiking time in those shoes until I got to the Kanab Point cache. I
had to modify my repair method because I only had so much duct tape
(~6 ft) and the duct tape could not handle the rocks. More on that
later. The right shoe was better but not by much. The rand around the
little toes was torn and the shoe was separating along a 1-2 inch
length of the front and side of the shoe. Little rocks and dirt would
get stuck in between the sole of the shoe and the insert.
April 3
Day 19: Schmutz Cache RM 164 to SB
Point RM 163 (15.3 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 19 Map
|
It was a little
windy and cold in the morning. Before I left camp I walked down the
creek bed to the basalt narrows to see if the pool of water was there
that I discovered during the caching trip. The pool is mostly
protected from the sun and it still had a diameter of 8-10 ft. I went
back to the pack to get my water pump and a 2 liter bottle and pumped
2 liters. The pump was hard to pump. The filter must have been clogged from
the green slime water I had been pumping before now. The 2 liters
would make up for the water I drank in camp last night.
Ancient seabed
There was
contouring today but not as much as the prior two days. To get a
break from the shoe problems, I hiked the entire day in Chacos. It
was just fine except late in the day when I was getting tired, I did
not concentrate on keeping my feet away from cactus, and touched some
cactus with my right foot. I had to stop and use tweezers to take the
spines out. Generally, the Chacos were very comfortable. Obviously
they worked great on the slickrock and flat sections. The difficult
sections were the steep talus slopes and loose dirt. I would end up
with rocks between my feet and the Chacos and had to shake my feet to
get the rocks out.
Okay, not as impressive
as the Cobra formation at the Fisher Towers but at least it still
stands.
When I got to camp
I went to pump water at the pothole that Clay gave me the coordinates
to. I used the inReach to navigate to it. There were only 6 to 7 liters
in it and I pumped out 5 liters. The pump input hose end mesh was
halfway out of the water when I finished. I noticed that there were
big horn sheep pellets (dung) soaking in the water so I also treated
the water with Katadyn Micropur tablets and let the water sit
overnight.
The left groin has
been hurting for a least 3 days now but at least it is not as bad as
yesterday. I still had some sores from my waist belt on my hips. My
front right hip was the worst but I applied Vaseline to it and
covered it with cloth tape. In addition, I loosened the waist belt
and shoulder straps further so the waist belt would ride lower on my
hips and not ride on the sores. Both of those changes really helped
heal the sores.
April 4
Day 20: SB Point RM 163 to Dead
Horse Mesa RM 154 (13.7 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 20 Map
|
Breakfast with a view
at SB Point.
I left SB Point
about 6:30 am. A lot of the contouring I did today ended up pretty
high. So, several times during the day I was above the slickrock of
the Esplanade and more on talus slopes with blocks of Kaibab
limestone to maneuver around. The talus was not red colored so I
didn't think it was Hermit shale. When I headed canyons, I would
usually have to go up and beyond the slickrock to cross the canyon in
the talus. That is always harder because you have to deal with steep
dirt and rock ravines and push through or step over brush.
I stopped near The
Cork to get water in a large pothole (12S 337612 mE, 4018313 mN).
First, I transferred water from one of my 2-liter Playtpus water
bottles into my 3-liter Camelbak bladder which is my main water
source while hiking. When I inserted the Camelbak bladder back into
its sleeve in the pack, I inadvertently pushed my charge cables bag
into the sleeve with it. Upon returning from the pothole, I was
repacking my pack I realized the charge cables bag was missing which,
obviously, impacts my ability to charge my gear. I thought it was
possible that I left it back at my second breakfast spot. So I walked
back to check. It was about 1 mile round trip. After not seeing it
there I walked back to the pack and realized that the only place left
to look was in the bladder sleeve. I checked there and found it.
Before I found the cables I was frustrated and angry that I lost them
but as soon as I found them my mood switched to elation. It was time
for a process improvement. I moved the cables to another pocket where
they would not be removed until I needed them.
There was a
collection of lava blocks lying on top of the Esplanade below the
Cork that looked cool. It gave me the illusion that they popped out
of the Cork already formed.
The Cork. So
interesting looking to have these basalt boulders strewn about on top
of the sandstone.
The pothole near
the Cork was huge, it is about the size of my spa back home. I
couldn't see the bottom of it because of the algae so I don't know
how deep it was. I pumped three liters of water total out of the
pothole. I drank one liter right there at the pothole just because I
could.
Pothole near The Cork.
I was impressed with how much water was here!
Yesterday, I wore
the Chacos all day. Today I switched back to the 5.10 Guide Tennie
shoes. The duct tape holding the sole of the left shoe in place was
not working. I took out my pocket knife and punched a hole through
the sole and through the rand. I cut a 3 mm cord and threaded it
through both holes and tied the sole in place with a square knot.
That solution was good for two hours of hiking. The cord would
eventually wear down and break forcing me to stop and replace it.
Later in the day the hole in the rand opened up enough that the edge
of the rand was breached. At that point I tied the cord to the shoe
laces closest to the toes. As you would expect, I was getting small
rocks wedged between the sole and the footbed of the shoe.
Sunset at Dead Horse
Mesa. Mt. Sinyella catching the last light.
I drank 4 liters
today while hiking, 1 liter at the pothole, 2 quarts for meals, and
some more at camp. So I had about 2 gallons of water for the day
which was luxurious. I still think 1.5 gallons of water is needed per
day for the level of effort I'm putting in and the fairly warm
weather conditions.
April 4
Day 21: Dead Horse Mesa RM 154 to
150 Mile NE Arm RM 150 (14.9 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 21 Map
|
A new day begins at
Dead Horse Mesa.
The river comes into
view along the Esplanade.
I contoured to
Hotel Spring from Dead Horse Mesa this morning. The hiking wasn't
really bad in this section because there were not as many
canyons/ravines to deal with. I noticed that pattern around the
bigger points. I left at 6:40 am and I got there before 9:30 am. I
pumped enough water to make sure that I made it past Kanab Point. I
drank another liter right at the water source. That is one of the one
of the pleasures I enjoyed the couple times that I did it.
Hotel Spring in 150
Mile Canyon.
Looking back toward Mt.
Sinyella.
Since I was at a
water source, I took the opportunity to rinse out my clothes and wipe
the dirt off my body. I took water from the spring and got up and
walked away from the spring to clean up. The last time I was able to
do it was at Indian Canyon on day 12. I had my second breakfast and
finally got out of there around 12:20 pm. I spent quite a bit of time
there.
I hiked from there to the camp at the Northeast Arm of 150 mile Canyon and arrived about 6 pm. The contouring in this section was significantly harder than before Hotel Spring. The head of 150 Mile Canyon is out of the Esplanade. So, I was back to steep dirt talus slopes with vegetation and blocks of limestone to deal with. Also, there are multiple small heads of the canyon to get through. Along the way, when I was in the talus and vegetation on one of the canyons, I was stopped by the sound of a rattlesnake. There was brush all around me, so I could not see where it was. I had to listen to figure out which direction it was coming from and I walked away from it. It made me wonder how many times I have been warned but did not hear it because I was listening to a podcast or music.
I hiked from there to the camp at the Northeast Arm of 150 mile Canyon and arrived about 6 pm. The contouring in this section was significantly harder than before Hotel Spring. The head of 150 Mile Canyon is out of the Esplanade. So, I was back to steep dirt talus slopes with vegetation and blocks of limestone to deal with. Also, there are multiple small heads of the canyon to get through. Along the way, when I was in the talus and vegetation on one of the canyons, I was stopped by the sound of a rattlesnake. There was brush all around me, so I could not see where it was. I had to listen to figure out which direction it was coming from and I walked away from it. It made me wonder how many times I have been warned but did not hear it because I was listening to a podcast or music.
The impressive and
intimidating NE arm of 150 Mile Canyon.
I was very
impressed with the northeast arm of 150 Mile Canyon. The Esplanade
formed a large vertical cliff like it does at Toroweap and then the
Redwall part of the canyon was narrow and deep. Very scenic and
intimidating that late in the day. Fortunately, I did not have to
climb down into it, just hike along the rim. However, it was so deep
that it took quite a bit of time to head that arm and come back on
the opposite side. I camped near where I planned on camping which was
on the Esplanade along the rim of the this NE arm.
The forecasted
high for today was 84 F. I drank about 1.5 gallons of water for the
day.
I have had a
number of blisters from the 5.10 Guide Tennie shoes. I am looking
forward to my new La Sportiva shoes. As the 5.10's broke down they
were getting less comfortable to wear. Not only were the soles and
rands falling apart but the foam between the footbed and sole was
crushed and deformed too.
The bigger injury
issue was my right knee. It has been sensitive to the touch for days
now but it is noticeably worse today. As I walked, I would
occasionally experience sharp pain on the outside of the joint but in
the inside of the knee (side closest to other knee). This happened
when it was the back leg, the knee was bent, and the lower leg
rotated after making contact with a bush or rock. My stride was
impacted because I didn't want to experience the pain. I was more
conservative during traverses and climbing down steep ravines. I
limped around camp tonight because of it.
April 5
Day 22: NE Arm of 150 Mile RM 150 to
Below Kanab Point RM 144 (9.6 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 22 Map
|
The contouring wasn't as easy as I hoped today because I ended up on the white rock talus above the slickrock to head all of the little canyons around the point from camp. All the other points I contoured around previously did not have as many ravines as this one. The usual steep ditch ravines existed at the heads of the ravines/canyons.
When I climbed out
of the tent this morning the right knee was not hurting with every
step so I came up with an optimistic plan. I was thinking about
taking one layover day at Tapeats Creek and using the extra food I
had from the layover day I did not take a few days ago. So that day,
along with my 5 mile day to get the cache, would basically give me
1.5 days rest. However, the knee began to hurt more as the day
progressed. By noon every single step with the right leg was painful.
I realized just how optimistic I had been in the morning. The knee
was worse than yesterday which was worse than the day before that.
As I worked my way
around Kanab Point I was surprised to find a small spring in a
ravine. Based on the mineral deposits, I figured the water was too
mineralized to drink. I was carrying plenty of water so I did not
mess with it. I think it was Jewel Spring.
Interesting rock below
Kanab Point.
April 6
Day 23: Below Kanab Point RM 144 to
Kanab Point Overlook RM 144 (1.5 mi)
 |
Hike 1, Day 23 Map
|
This morning I
packed my pack with all the food and put the smashed empty gallon
water containers and trash into one bucket. I nested the second
bucket with the trash bucket and lashed the two together at the
handles with some paracord. I lashed the second bucket's lid to the
pack. I started up the Kanab Point route holding the buckets by one
handle. The route was easy to follow because I was down and up it
already to put the cache in place. There were more cairns than I
remembered, maybe I was more observant after hiking for 22 days
already.
Carrying the
buckets was a pain. It made me realize how much I used both trekking
poles in steep terrain. Unlike yesterday, my knee was hurting right
out of the tent. I took my time hiking out because of it.
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