Gail and I spent last week backpacking in the Grand Canyon for seven days. We were invited by Paul, my cousin Sue's partner. Also invited on the trip were Becky of mountain lion fame, Tim, a rugged mountain guy like Paul, and his partner Donna.
I only had a quite old pocket camera, so the following pictures aren't great. However, the memories they invoke will at least be appreciated by the two of us for a long time to come.
After staying the night in Kanab, Utah, we headed for Monument Point on the North Rim. This involved about 35 miles of dirt Forest Service roads. The North Rim Road and Lodge are still closed until May 15.
Gail and Sue psyched up at the trailhead.
Goodbye civilized world, hello Grand Canyon! We descended the infamously steep Bill Hall Trail, which dropped 1,900 feet in about 2.5 miles. Paul leads the way.
Our goal was The Esplanade, a plateau about 2,000 feet below the rim, where we would camp for the night. We were told not to expect to find any water there, so we carried a lot to cache for the hike out later in the week.
It is never easy to grasp the scale of things in the Grand Canyon. Everything is much larger and farther away than it appears.
The Esplanade is the flat area in the middle of this picture. It is 2 or 3 miles across before the abrupt drop of The Red Wall, and the next 2,000 foot plunge.
Gail gazes into the vastness.
We had a little cliff to negotiate, which meant most of us had to relay our packs down the slope, then rock climb down.
Tim and Paul were big helps in getting everyone down safely.
Most of the dirt on the Esplanade is covered with a dark, lumpy crust called cryptobiotic crust. This crust takes years to form and supports plants and animals at the bottom of the food chain.
Eureka! We did find a few potholes with water from recent showers after searching around. This allowed us to cache about 9 gallons for the trip out in a few days.
There were lovely cactus blooms and other flowers.
Do you see Gail under this toadstool?
Nothing like morning coffee when on the trail! The full moon was fantastic last night!
White flowers against red dirt.
Me, Becky, and Paul on the edge of the Esplanade.
You can barely see the Colorado River way down there.
We are now on the Thunder River Trail headed down to a flatter area called Surprise Valley.
The trail, behind Gail, was littered with rocks and countless "step downs". I found trekking poles to be really useful.
Cactus bloom.
We headed across Surprise Valley to the edge where we would plunge down 1,700 feet to our camp at Tapeats Creek - about 200 feet above the Colorado River.
And plunge we did! By this time, two days of going downhill with backpacks was starting to turn our legs into jelly - painful jelly!
It is a little daunting going down, down, down, knowing that you have no choice about getting back out.
Pretty soon we could hear the thunder of Thunder River, which pours out of a cave on the canyon wall. It is the shortest river in the U.S., running about 1/2 mile to Tapeats Creek. It discharges an estimated 21 million gallons a day, and is listed as one of Backpacker Magazine's top ten destinations in the U.S.
The trail was narrow with a few drop-offs that certainly got my attention. This was mild compared to a couple we encountered later.
One of the many Thunder River cascades.
We started seeing many lizards like this Desert Spiny Lizard. Paul saw and photographed a rattlesnake along the trail. He was charmed, and also saw another next to our camp the following day. They were both yellowish, appearing to be Grand Canyon Rattlesnakes.
Our camp at Tapeats Creek. We had a great place to dangle our weary feet in the cold water. In the evening, many bats came out, some coming within a few feet of our heads. Were we attracting insects that attracted the bats?
Desert Spiny Lizard.
Whiptail lizard.
What is this? Well...
we bought these wire mesh "Rat Sacks" to store our food in. They are rodent proof, and we hung them on a branch as recommended. In the morning, Gail and I were gone about thirty minutes and when we came back our pack pockets were unzipped, clothes and gear laying around on the ground, and my food attacked. All the work of one raven.
The raven lightened my load by eating nuts and ripping into a Cliff Bar.
My nuts!
So, we went to work and covered our Rat Sacks with small boulders. This will show you, raven!
Gail, Sue, Paul, and I hiked back up to Thunder River Falls to enjoy the cool mist and oasis like surroundings. This was day three. Along the way, Gail and I saw what was possibly a Striped Whipsnake vanishing into the brush.
Paul and Sue
Air conditioning! Yeah!
Thunder River
Paul and Sue.
Tree Lizard..
Uh, oh, the raven came back and actually moved a good sized rock off of Gail's food bag and started to make a hole through the wire. Our packs were unzipped again, with items strewn around.
We later saw the raven go to a ledge, and get some cheese it stole from Becky's food bag.
Camp life. Although we were close to the Colorado River, getting there was out of the question, at least for Gail and me. It would either involve a dangerous fording of the creek, which was in full flow, or taking a last resort trail with extreme exposures (as in one slip and you die). Did I say that Gail and I are not good with heights?
Day four, and it was back up to Surprise Valley, cross it, and then plunge down to Deer Creek where we would be twenty minutes from the Colorado River, at an elevation of 2,200 feet. We started at 7,200 feet at the trailhead.
Goin' down...
Temperatures started climbing, reaching the low 90's for days four and five. We found some shady rest under this boulder.
The trail down to Deer Creek involved climbing through boulder fields, traversing scree slopes, and one section where the one foot wide trail hugged the wall on one edge, and had a vertical drop on the other edge. Gail and I were definitely out of our comfort zones on that one!
Deer Creek down below.
This is Deer Creek Spring, sort of a little Thunder River, several hundred feet above the creek below.
Almost to the creek, we passed through a "cane field".
Water at last!
Donna and Tim do the easy ford.
After an early dinner, Gail, Sue, and I walked further down the trail and came to "The Narrows", a slot canyon that ends in a big ass waterfall above the Colorado River.
Water sculpture.
It looked like some kind of Shangri-La movie set! That guy in the distance was from Alaska and was on a river raft trip. He had walked up from the river for the afternoon.
Sue ventured ahead to test out the trail that leads to the Colorado River.
There were flat porch areas for lounging by the water. The next morning, Gail saw a dipper clinging to a waterfall, and we listened to the unique sounds of the Canyon Wren.
I believe this is a particularly colorful Side-blotched Lizard.
On day five, Gail and I took an early morning hike up to the spring. The cliffs above were overhanging and somewhat menacing.
Our trail out tomorrow, day six, is barely visible in the upper middle of the picture.
More beautiful cactus.
Deer Creek
Day five was over 90, so Gail and I cooled it at the Narrows for the afternoon. Paul, Sue, Tim, and Becky did the cliff hugging hike down to the Colorado River.
We saw these hand print petroglyphs, but are not sure of their authenticity.
Well, tomorrow, day six, begins the big hike back to the Esplanade. We decide to eat a lot, drink plenty of water, and go to bed early.
On the way back up to Surprise Valley are some beautifully colored rocks.
Looking back down from where we came.
Back on the Esplanade, we had an exciting treat...
a group of four California Condors circled over us, rather low, and floated without effort higher and higher until they vanished. I only had my old pathetic pocket camera to save weight, but did get this picture of one. A raven was with them, and looked like a gnat by comparison.
Camping on the Esplanade
I could spend a lot of time exploring around the Esplanade with its caves, washes, plants, and wonderful red rock formations.
Gail and I had an early dinner under this cool overhang. We saw a couple petroglyphs of human forms, but because we thought they weren't authentic, we didn't take pictures. Now I think they were probably real.
Tomorrow, day seven, we hike back up to the rim. Oh, I forgot to mention that while down in Deer Creek, the sole of Gail's boot peeled off from the heel up to the ball. We thought we were screwed, but the always prepared Paul had a tube of Shoe Goo. We glued it and stacked rocks on it for the night. It held fine for the rest of the trip.
Love that toadstool! Hiking out across the Esplanade.
Love those sculpted rocks!
Gail lends scale.
Mystery holes.
At our last water cache, and getting ready to tackle the Bill Hall Trail to the cars.
Looking up at the rim - so near and yet so far.
Gail's other boot failed about an hour from the top, but we weren't about to stop at this point.
Just as Gail and I got to the rim, a Peregrine Falcon glided overhead, adding an exhilarating touch to the trek's end.
We did it! By the skin of our boots!
Tim still had a couple cold beers in his truck, along with chips. Party!!! We drove back to Kanab, buying beer and wine right before the Utah border, celebrated at Pizza Hut, and luxuriated at our motel in Kanab.
This certainly was a trip of a lifetime; one that challenged us and raised our skill set. Now if we could only conquer our acrophobia, we'd feel like mountaineers! Thanks, Paul, for all your planning and putting the trip together. Thanks, Tim, for your friendly helpfulness, and thanks Sue, Becky, and Donna for your cheerful company!
