*click on any pic to enlarge
October 20 - 29, 2025
Every spring and every fall, we try to go on an extended backpack trip, preferably in the Grand Canyon. It's my goal to experience all the official trails in the canyon as well as much of the backcountry.
Thunder River and Deer Creek have been on the list for quite some time. In fact, we had scored a permit for this hike last year, but a sudden and unusual heat wave, with temps over 110 degrees for 10 days, was expected during that second week of October, so we cancelled and forfeited our $300 in permit fees. Our lives are worth more than that.
Again this year, we were able to score the permit, which we got last May. But then, the Dragon Bravo fire happened. The park service closed the entire North Rim and cancelled our permit (they also refunded us). Sigh.
About a month before we were supposed to start the trip, they sent an email saying they were opening that section of the park and we could have our permit back if we wanted it. Heck yeah!
Day 1 - October 20, 2025
We love loop hikes. They save you from having to repeat areas you've already seen. So, in planning this loop, we needed a way to fill the gap in our Kanab Creek Wilderness section. In looking at maps, I came up with a plan.
Drive in to Indian Hollow Campground (there are 3 sites) and drop our backpack stuff off. Then drive to our ending spot, Sowats Point and leave the car. That left us five miles to hike back to Indian Hollow on this first day, with virtually nothing but ourselves.
We brought lunch from the Subway in Kanab Utah, where we'd stayed the night before. As we pulled up to Sowats Point (a viewpoint, not the actual trail exit), we saw someone had built and left a nice bench!
We enjoyed the view on the most beautiful day as we looked over some of the terrain we'd be covering. Then we drove to the exit trailhead and left the car to start our journey five miles back to Indian Hollow.
After leaving the main road to Sowats, we turned off an a rarely used road (FS 653) that led south to a large trough that was behind a fence. At this point, the road ended and we needed to go the final mile "cross country."
We made it back to Indian Hollow in the late afternoon and got our tent set up. We had brought a chain saw for the drive in just in case we came to any fallen trees across the road. We didn't, but this proved handy as we were able to cut up a dead juniper tree for firewood and we had a fire!
Also, because it would be easy enough to drive back to Indian Hollow at the end of our backpack trip and, because it was supposed to be below freezing that night, we brought extra jackets and sleeping bags to ensure we stayed warm. Then we stashed them in the morning ready to pick up 10 days later. Brilliant!
Day 2 - October 21, 2025
Off we went the half mile to the Indian Hollow trailhead. Clean clothes and high spirits though our packs were laden with water for the next 24 hours for what is called a "dry camp." We wouldn't see water until sometime on Day 3. We both had six liters - or 13+ pounds of extra weight!
The day was beautiful. It was our goal to make it the 8.6 miles to the edge of the Esplanade. We started down and immediately it was clear that these packs were heavy. With 13 pounds of water and 10 days' worth of food, our legs were feeling it. Plus, we hadn't trained like we usually would have, given our busy September with our wedding and honeymoon!
The trail dropped for a short ways but then traversed along the cliffside. Sometimes going a little up and sometimes a little down. The traverse seemed to go on forever.
Finally, we made it to the Esplanade "floor."
This, too, went on forever. And, the day was getting very hot. Not a cloud in the sky. And, although it looks flat, there were actually quite a few ups and downs. Our heavy loads were wearing on us, forcing us to take many breaks.
And still, we hiked. And hiked. And took more breaks. And hiked some more. The day was getting on and we still weren't where we wanted to be. We decided we would stop by 5pm giving us about an hour of daylight to make dinner and set up camp.
We stopped and made camp at one of the most beautiful places on the whole trip!
Day 3 - October 22, 2025
What a beautiful morning! The clouds had moved in, creating a gorgeous sky. We packed up, minus one whole day's food and most of the water. Hiking was such a pleasure! We had about two miles hiking on the slickrock before we would drop down again.
We wandered through ancient sand dunes now turned to stone. We founds signs of Native American life from a thousand years ago. And, we ran into a group heading up the canyon to finish off their trip.
"Be safe!" they said. "We don't want to read about you in the news!"
Soon enough, it was time to start the descent. Our goal for today was to get to the Colorado river, stopping at Thunder River for lunch. Thunder River is one of the few rivers in the world that empties into a creek. It's a river that runs underground only to appear as it falls right out of a cliff face! It's really a wonder to see.
And then....there it was. Thunder River. It's amazing to see in real life!
We still had to get down to it. The trail was ok for the most part. We've seen worse. But, the hill was very steep.
We made it to a place in the falls where we could access the water. After settling in, we took out our lunch, took off our shoes and, had a very pleasant hour listening to the water tumble down.
As much as we wanted to stay for the afternoon, we knew we had to get going. Still had some miles and lots more downhill to go. But, we couldn't stop taking pictures!
We continued down, passing the upper Tapeats camp area. Doing some trail math, we started figuring out that if we wanted to go the whole way to the river where we were permitted to camp, we were going to arrive late--possibly when it was getting dark. That wouldn't have been such a problem but, the end part of this required some sketchy travel on a thin trail along a cliff followed by scrambling down a gully. Given the government shutdown and the likelihood that others had not renewed their permits like we had, we went back and camped at the upper Tapeats camp area.
That's where we met Shelby--another, even more obsessed Grand Canyon hiker. She was spending weeks in the canyon, having stashed food and supplies in various locations. She had just finished her PhD and was treating herself to a lot of time exploring and generally recuperating mentally from all that hard work. She was a real delight. We had an enjoyable conversation for a couple hours, comparing the places we'd been and those we still want to see.
Day 4 - October 23, 2025
Our goal today was to get to Deer Creek. Another iconic place in the Grand Canyon. We talked about our original plan to get there by heading down to the river and then back up to Deer Creek. Given our slower-than-planned rate of travel, we decided to go the upper route, heading back up the hill we came down the day before. It would be a little shorter and possibly faster - five miles instead of six or seven.
Shelby stopped by to say goodbye and we weren't too far behind. We began the trudge back up the hill towards Thunder River. About 20 minutes in, it began to rain lightly. So, we stopped and put on our rain jackets. We could hear thunder in the distance. We could also tell it was getting closer!
Twice, in short succession, we saw and heard two flash-bangs! We new the lightning was very close. Fortunately, we came upon a ledge and decided this would be a good place to sit under and have our breakfast. No sooner had we gotten comfortable than Shelby came back around the corner and down to us. She joined us as we waited out the fast moving storm.
By the time we finished breakfast, the storm had passed. We followed Shelby back up to Thunder River where we had seen several items left by people previously. Since these items sat overnight, we decided they were abandoned and we should haul them out. It was odd. We found full clothing for both a man and a woman including sandals for both, a women's ditty bag with brush, soap, shampoo, etc., a foldable backpack, heavy charging brick, foldable water bucket, and metal mesh food bag.
Given the large amount and type of items sitting right out in the open, we became concerned. It's one thing to forget an item, but to leave all these things didn't seem right. I had my daughter notify the Grand Canyon Backcountry Office just in case. (We've not heard anything further.)
Shelby and I split up the items and hauled them out - me taking some of the women's clothing, the heavy charger, and the bucket, carrying them for the rest of the trip.
We said goodbye to Shelby once more and agreed to connect on social media. She was off to meet a friend on the rim for some more backpacking. Then we continued our trudge up the steep hill and away from Thunder River. As we crested the hill, we re-entered Surprise Valley. The sun was shining and we made good time.
Once we crossed the relatively flat valley, it was time to descend into Deer Creek. Initially, the trail crossed back and forth over a dry creek gully requiring constant step ups and step downs. Towards the end, the descent got quite serious. Very steep and the step downs became big and chaotic.
Just before Deer Creek, we came upon Deer Creek spring, where people had made several types of chairs out of rocks. These included easy chairs and thrones. Great place to rest and have our lunch!
A few minutes later, we arrived at the Deer Creek camp area. We set up our camp and headed down to the Deer Creek "patios." It was as beautiful as I expected - maybe more.
We spent a lovely afternoon there just enjoying the sound of the water and the warmth of the sun.
Day 5 - October 24, 2025
Today is a bit of a mystery day. Our goal is just to get 3 miles down the CO river along the riverbank. No idea what the conditions are but heard it is hard. Hmmm. But, first things first.
We packed up and again walked through the Deer Creek slot canyon along the patios. Then we hiked down the trail to the river level to see Deer Creek falls.
We had the place to ourselves and it was really beautiful! We sat on a rock and had breakfast while the falls gave us a nice misting.
Then we got to work. Our goal was to get to Fishtail Canyon and camp on the sandy delta. Three miles. How bad could it be? We were about to find out.
Sometimes it was rocky and messy and, sometimes there was a bit of a path, albeit on the side of a cliff!
The day was long and hot. Not a cloud in the sky. I sweat so much my feet were soaked and water dripped constantly from my chin. I had to keep wiping my eyes from the sweat and sunscreen. We took a lot of breaks. Some were in pretty neat places! But, the day wore on and the sun began to fade as we finally made it to the sands at Fishtail Canyon. We were exhausted and knew we had to do it all again and more tomorrow.
Day 6 - October 25, 2025
This section had no worn path. No cairns to guide you. Just boulder after boulder after boulder. For four miles. It was hot and exhausting. At one point, I stepped over onto another boulder and noticed I had stepped over a rattle snake! "Was that really what I saw?" I thought. I looked back in between the boulders. "Yep!" Golden body, black and white stripe tail, and rattles! Wondered if there would be more. Luckily, it didn't rattle at us.
In a word, this section was arduous! Stepping from boulder to boulder on uneven surfaces was shredding my feet. It created blisters on the insides of both feet and on three of my toes. In the early afternoon, we sat down for lunch and a break.
All day long, I fantasized about a rafting trip pulling up and offering us a ride. I even asked Lenny if we were offered a ride, would he take it. Wasn't sure if he was a purist about having to cover every mile on his own feet. But, he said, "Hell yes!" Sadly no rafters had come so far.
While we were sitting during a break (at a perfect place for a rafter to pull up), a rafting party came floating down. I yelled out, "Got any room for two to Kanab Creek?" The young woman yelled back, "Do you have PFDs?" That's personal flotation devices or life jackets. That kinda pissed me off. Of course we don't carry PFDs on a backpack trip! I wanted to yell back, "F*ck no we don't have PFDs!" The next guy was nicer and said they had extra but they were all bundled up under the boat. The third couple asked if we were having fun. "Type two fun," we said. They then said, "You're almost to Kanab Creek! It's just another mile!" To which I replied, "Tell my feet that!"
Another mile and probably two more hours later, we finally came to the mouth of Kanab Creek.
We dropped our packs and both scouted for a campsite. Lenny found a perfect one up on the sand bank and I found a thousand-plus year-old pottery shard! We finished the night off with a beautiful sunset.
Day 7 - October 26, 2025
Today's journey goes up Kanab Creek. Lots of water walking and apparently some boulders to navigate. We taped up all my blisters and we both put water shoes on. Off we went up Kanab Creek! The cool water felt SO good on my feet.
Although these pictures may look benign and peaceful, it's only because we just took pics when things were calm and easy! I would say that 60% of our nearly 13 miles up Kanab Creek canyon were gigantic boulder problems that we had to crawl over, under, and around. Again, it took us all day to go 5ish miles. Lots of climbing up and around and scrambling up and over. But, every time I could walk through the creek, my feet felt no pain.
Even so, there were so many beautiful things to see. Springs that seeped right out of the canyon walls. We stopped at a side canyon for the "Slide of Sussarus" and Whispering Falls. I went to the first one but had a bit of a tummy ache so I let Lenny go to the second one while I waited. Nothing like waiting on your own for 30 minutes wondering what you would do if your hiking partner doesn't return! But, sure enough, Lenny came back.
We continued up the canyon to a point just prior to another side canyon called Scotty's Hollow. We would pass this tomorrow. Lenny has been up it and said it was really neat but he had to swim a couple times across large pools. Kanab Creek still offered so much to see and experience--like scrambling over big refrigerator-sized boulders with a heavy pack!
It took all day to go the five miles. SO many boulders it was like going through many different mazes, solving many puzzles. Fun but exhausting. Getting over one particular boulder left me in a precarious spot. I hoisted my leg over the rock but the weight of my pack left me glued to the top. I couldn't go back and couldn't go forward. Fortunately, Lenny took off my pack but then laughed as he took my picture.
We camped in an interesting alcove above the creek. Seemed like a good idea until after dark. That's when hundreds of big (50 cent piece size) spiders came out. They were everywhere! Yikes! We kept the tent zippers tightly closed. Must have been spider mating season.
Day 8 - October 27, 2025
Today we finish the Kanab Creek section. We have just under 7 miles to go. What I didn't know is that we weren't done with the boulders just yet! Again, we set a 5:30am alarm to maximize the daylight hours.
Fortunately, the boulders stopped being an issue about a mile in - after we passed Scotty's Hollow. That just meant the rocks were smaller and more manageable. Still very beautiful and lots of creek walking for the morning.
Then we came upon another iconic spot. It's called Showerbath spring. Apparently, someone in John Wesley Powell's (an early Colorado River explorer) survey expedition hiked up Kanab Creek and found this spring. They aptly named it Showerbath. Water flows through a crack in the wall and has created a limestone canopy covered in ferns. The water rains out below the ferns. It's really awesome.
In Kanab Creek, about a mile or so above the spring, the creek dries up (is underground). We stopped at the last known place of water and tanked up for the evening and next day. It would be another dry camp for about 24 hours. We finished up the last about mile and a half to a place we'd camped before - the junction of Kanab Creek canyon and Jumpup canyon. My feet were toast.
Day 9 - October 28, 2025
We relaxed a bit and didn't set an alarm for the first time in days. We'd done this stretch before and knew there were no real obstacles. But, we still had five and a half miles to go and it still was uphill. Jumpup canyon is really beautiful. It's a four-mile long slot canyon that is pretty easy. It has tall red, and sometimes gray, walls that you can touch both sides if you hold your poles out. It starts with a neat circular amphitheater.
And continues on with interesting things around every little bend.
We popped out of the slot around lunch time and ate our lunch (rehydrated hummus on tortillas) on a big rock right at the entrance to the slot. Once out, the sun was again intense as we worked our way up Jumpup. About a half mile above the slot, Jumpup turns but you stay straight ahead and now you're in Sowats canyon.
Just prior to the Sowats intersection. we ran into a group of about 10 backpackers. They were all guides in training. I asked what their plan was and they replied, "I don't know." I thought that was a strange way to train someone to be a guide!
Both Jumpup and Sowats had their own sets of boulders, though not nearly as big. The cottonwoods were starting to show their fall colors against the blue sky which made for awesome scenery. We found flowing water just before we entered Sowats and it flowed all the way to our campsite before disappearing.
We knew exactly where to camp as we'd used this camp before - just above Mountain Sheep Spring.
Day 10 - October 29, 2025
Well, our trip was coming to a close. Only four and a half miles or so to the car. But, there was still quite a climb to the rim. 2,600 feet of elevation gain per our GPS mapping system. Though our food was mostly gone and we only had water for the day, the packs still felt heavy. Maybe we were just tired.
We hiked up Sowats to the junction with the Jumpup Nail trail which we could take to make the initial climb out to the Esplanade level where we had breakfast on the edge.
The trail up was a mix of nature and man-made. Nature provided boulders, ledges, and crevices and trail builders had created some occasional but very nicely done steps.
After breakfast, we hiked a couple miles along the Esplanade. This is some beautiful, flat, and fast walking!
And, just before the BIG climb, we took a break at a spring area near the head of Kwagunt canyon. There wasn't running water there (but there was a little down lower) but, the cottonwoods were stunning!
After about a 15 minute break, we began the big push up the hill. I was nervous there would be scary exposure and difficult climbs requiring hands, but the trail stayed absolutely smooth (though very steep at times) till the end. It was one of the best built trails we've seen in the canyon.
We really surprised ourselves by getting to the car by 12:30pm. However, when Lenny went to start it, it wouldn't. The battery was nearly dead. Fortunately, he'd brought along a portable charger for just this scenario and we were good to go. We headed back to Indian Hollow to retrieve the items we'd stashed ten days ago and headed to Kanab for a shower, hot meal, and soft bed.
Our celebratory treat was strategically planned. We LOVE a place called Henrie's in Panguitch Utah. But, they didn't open until 11am. So we hung out at our hotel in Kanab until 10am just so we could get our ice cream at Henries!
THE END
P.S. That friend Shelby was going to meet on the rim turned out to be a Facebook acquaintance of mine! Melissa messaged me and said, "You met my friend Shelby!" I replied, "Wow! So it was you she was going to meet!" Small world.
#dosomethingepic
#goplayoutside