The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. Oprah Winfrey
April 2 - 9, 2024
Pre-trip
Lenny had done this trip about 10 years ago. In December of all times! He had suggested I would really like it and I was ready for another Grand Canyon adventure, especially one with a trail. As usual, I read all I could on Facebook posts and YouTube videos. I always want to know what I'm in for. Prior to doing this, I already knew there would be a 20ft rappel. But, being on a rope is actually comforting, even if it only lands you on a ledge on the side of a cliff.
However, after watching videos, I saw that another group encountered large, shady pools that would require swimming in late April! The ranger who helped with our permit, also confirmed we'd likely have to swim during spring months. Yikes! I'm the type who can only get in warm water one toe at a time. So, I bought a floatie ring and tried not to think much about it. In more research, I found that another party was able to bypass the pools on a steep cliff to the left. Sounded like exposure and ropes were involved. I got the details and Lenny decided we weren't taking the floatie. Yikes. Committed now to this bypass.
Day 00-0
Lenny's friend Paul agreed to join us. Paul joined us two years ago on the Powell Plateau Circumambulation trip. We all were excited to look across the river and see what was the most difficult part of that trip.
Weather wasn't looking great. A snowstorm was moving in ahead of our trip. The big concern about getting to the (South Bass) trailhead is muddy roads. They can literally be impassable if wet. We decided to break up the drive out to the canyon into two days, with our second night staying at Yavapai Lodge in Grand Canyon NPS. This way, we could get an early start in the morning and drive in to the trailhead while the roads were still frozen.
We arrived at the park mid-day and spent the afternoon as tourists. We wandered around and admired the views, like everyone else. Pretty crowded due to spring break. But the storm clouds were amazing.
Day One
If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of trouble. Elbert Hubbard
The day was cool but sunny, as we started down the South Bass trail. This route is what is known as a lollipop route - a loop with a stick. We were hiking down the "stick" for about 1.5 miles to the junction where we'd take a left turn. We'd be back at the junction on the last day to hike the stick back out.
Taking a left at the junction, you are hiking on a sweet trail at the "esplanade" level. For four of the six miles, that trail meandered along and we made good time. But then, you reach an area around Montezuma Point where the trail is now on the side of a cliff, running over rocky rubble. This slowed our pace considerably.
If you look close in the next picture, you can see Lenny and me as little ants crossing this rocky rubble.
We made it across the last two miles, across the stuff you see above.
While we had wanted to make it to the canyon bed the first night, we decided to camp out of the bed in the hopes it would be warmer. So, we found a nice spot on the plateau just above the canyon entrance. We had each carried 6 liters of water to prepare for a dry camp. This meant adding 13+ lbs to our starting weight. My pack weighed just over 40 lbs and Lenny's weighed just over 60! No idea what Paul's weighed. But as is usual, him being from Wisconsin, he brought 4 lbs of cheese!
Day Two
Always do what you are afraid to do. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our goal today is to get to the river. We'd seen it done by previous groups. We'd also seen other groups not make it and end up camping at the arch. By the way, Royal Arch is technically, not an arch but a bridge. This is because it was formed by water running through it and not by sand/wind having carved it out. But, I digress.
Today is a BIG day. Probably the biggest day of the trip. Not in mileage but in difficulty. Many drop offs to negotiate. One BIG dropoff (100ft +) to bypass on a steep side hill. Swim or bypass on the sketchy area above the pools? Getting up out of the canyon and over to the rappel. Then down to the river.
The first bypass came right away. Be sure you don't drop right into the canyon, as is tempting. Skirt it on the left until you pass the first pouroff.
Then, you are rewarded with beautiful sandstone walking, following a trickle of a stream. I always enjoy these sections. They're the most beautiful and the easiest! We stopped for a break by some pools and dipped our feet. But, soon the water was gone (went underground). And, the boulder hopping began.
In no time at all, we were at the big pouroff. The one you have to climb up, crawl through, and climb back down. This is called the Rabbit Hole route since you have to crawl along the ledge and under a rock.
Well! One major obstacle down. Many more to come though. We continued on down the canyon.
Then we arrived at the infamous pools. We peered over the edge. And, we saw there wasn't much water in the pools at all! No swimming! No sketchy bypass needed! Just had to negotiate the extremely slippery mud.
Well! That certainly was a relief! We continued on down the canyon. We soon came upon mountain lion tracks! Fortunately, the tracks went both down the canyon and back up. We were pretty sure the lion wasn't still around. Fingers crossed! We followed the tracks for probably a half mile.
More boulder hopping and finally, we came to the spring that provides water to the canyon below us. The water came right out of a crack in the wall. The canyon turned luscious with green ferns, pools, and patios. We negotiated the slim ledges along side the pools and were finally at the arch!
We decided not to push it and set up camp at the arch. Alongside the arch, there is a tall pinnacle. We wondered how long that would remain standing and hoped it would be longer than our stay!
Day Three
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. Eleanor Roosevelt
So, the only thing we should encounter today is the rappel. We got packed up, ate breakfast and headed back up the canyon to the route out. We skirted the pools and hopped up the boulders and got the climb out. It was short but super steep and crumbly. And then we were on top.
Once up top, we paralleled the canyon back towards the river. The trail was a little exposed and scary at times but, not too long. Soon we were around the corner to the right and on a wide plateau.
After strolling comfortably along, we finally arrived at the rappel. Only the rappel wasn't the scary part. It was SUPER scary just climbing down TO the rappel! You have to climb down to where you see the top of Lenny's pack and shimmy forward to the rappel ledge. That was THE hardest part of the whole trip.
Paul climbed down, with his heavy pack on, using just the handline. Lenny lowered our packs to him and then lowered me as I used the handline and wall as a guide down. Then he climbed down using only the handline. These guys are nuts!
We then had to negotiate a few more drop offs and were finally back on terra FIRMa. We continued on to the river. The trail is just ok but gets steep one more time as you descend the final hill. But, the river, in spite of being muddy, felt wonderful!
What a relief to be here! We ate lunch and packed for a 1+ mile day hike to Elves Chasm. Unfortunately, the route was super sketchy and my feet (and wits) were blistered and trashed. Not a good combo. Paul pressed on and we turned back. I'll see it on a boat trip someday. In the late afternoon, the wind gusts picked up ahead of another storm and blew sand everywhere! Yuck. We moved camp up higher but it was still a sandy mess.
You might be wondering, how do you drink from the muddy Colorado River? It's been said it's too thick to drink and too thin to plow. So, in all our hikes, this was the first time we had to worry about that. We researched and purchased these small flocculant packets by Proctor and Gamble. For about $2.50, you can treat 20 liters of water. We filled our 20L collapsible bucket and poured the packet in, stirred like crazy for 5 minutes, then watched all the silt and sand clump to the bottom! We skimmed the clear water off the top, filtered it and were good to go!
Day Four
Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Today is another big day. Not so much in terms of difficulty, but mileage. We've got 9 miles to do today and a couple of those miles are just above the river on the rocky rubble stuff before climbing up onto the Tonto shelf. It's also supposed to rain on and off.
Along the river, we came across an unnamed canyon with the coolest geology. Pink granite swirls and glittering mica chips, amongst black schist. We at breakfast there. We continued on upriver to Garnet Canyon where we climbed out and onto the Tonto.
Once on the Tonto, we cruised. The trail was smooth and level. Sometimes on the edge of a cliff on the river but, not too often a feeling of exposure.
We arrived in the afternoon and the sun was peeking out. We camped at the head of Copper Canyon and easily found water in potholes in the canyon not too far down.
Day Five
What keeps me going are my learnings, which I would rather call my 'experience,' and my urge to explore. Sushant Singh Rajput
No backpacking today. It's a day off to go explore William W. Bass's mines and camp in Copper Canyon. But, let me tell you about last night! In the evening, the sun was peaking out and skies seemed to be clearing, after raining off and on all day. We thought the storm had moved on.
In the middle of the night, we heard what sounded like rain pelting the tent. And, at 4am, there were two flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. It was a little disconcerting not knowing where the strikes were but, the thunder was awesome. It rolled through the canyon for the longest time! In the morning, we awoke to snow (graupel) outside the tent and snow on all the canyon ledges across the way. It was beautiful but cold!
After breakfast, we headed back on the Tonto trail along the west side of Copper Canyon to the point we'd been told we could climb down into the canyon. We made our way down to the bed, steeply at first and then pretty easily. The bed was mostly hardened stone of some type. Interesting geology of twists and turns. A few pouroffs that had to be bypassed as we made our way down towards Bass's camp.
After working our way down, we found it. Bass's camp on the south side of the river. This guy was amazing. He mined this area, as well as across the river. On the northwest corner of Copper Canyon, he built a tram car to get the ore (and himself) across the river (from Hakatai Canyon) to his mules on the south side (Copper Canyon). How he strung that, I'll never understand. He also had a full-on camp on the north side (Shinumo Creek canyon) complete with an orchard. We saw that camp two years ago. So, we poked around the ruins. Not much left except parts of an old cast iron stove. How did he get that down here? What did he burn in it?
Day Six
If you do what you love, it is the best way to relax. Christian Louboutin
Another easy day. Just 3 miles over to South Bass canyon. Not a big deal, for the most part, until you reach the shortcut trail down to the canyon floor. Follow the cairns, steeply down more rubble rock but finally reached the bottom. Great camping spots and a nice place to chill out by the pool of water (called Bedrock Tanks). Another party of four caught up to us and hung out for a bit.
Lenny and Paul went exploring down canyon and made it nearly to the river. Two of the four from the other party went down canyon as well. I stayed behind with my aching, burning feet. I had brought a portable watercolor kit and played around with that. Then spent the next hour or so chatting with a super friendly couple, Dave and Allie.
That night, we had the best sunset! It was just stunning! Plus, it was the ONLY night I wasn't cold. Should have brought my warmer sleeping bag. Three shirts, a jacket, two pants and two socks wasn't enough for me most nights. I expected April to be much warmer.
Day Seven
Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it. Fyodor Dostoevsky
Another, somewhat easy day. Just need to get back up to the Esplanade level, 2,000 feet higher and 3 miles to go. It will be a dry camp, so that means hauling lots of water again. We ate breakfast in camp, packed up, and headed out - just behind our new friends who were hiking all the way to their car (another 2 miles and 1500 ft).
For the first half of today's journey, the trail was relatively smooth and gradual. It was a pleasant day. As we got close to the head of the canyon, we had to scramble up boulder after boulder. Big steps for about 500 feet. Near the top, but not at the top, we paused on the sandstone ledges, where there was some old wooden planks and a nice set of rocks to sit on. It was during the eclipse, but we had forgotten to bring anything to look at the sun with. It was a little dimmer but, if you didn't know, you probably wouldn't have noticed.
We reached a great camp spot on the Esplanade and set up for the night. It was still early, so Lenny and Paul went in search of Mystic Spring on the Spencer Terrace. There is history there as well. Legend has it that William Bass met some Native Americans who showed him their trail to the spring. So then, Bass started taking tourists down there and back. There are just a couple tool parts left and not much of a spring. I stayed behind and took a nap. Feet still killing me.
There were a few sprinkles during the day and a few more threatening, but it was a nice, but COLD evening. Breezy for our last night there.
Day Eight
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller
Last morning! Just a 2 mile, 1500ft hike out and we don't need to carry much water! Packs are light, we should be out in no time. This is when I start dreaming of iced diet cokes, hot showers, and soft beds. The first half mile is all flat and smooth. We went pretty fast. Then, the uphill (which was the same trail as our day one downhill), also went be really fast! We booked up the hill so quickly that even another hiker who caught up to us on the flats, couldn't keep up!
In just an hour and a half, we arrived at the top. Dirty, sweaty, tired, and happy!
THE END
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#dosomethingepic