Deer Creek / Thunder River Grand Canyon 10/07

Thunder River, Deep Creek, Colorado River in Grand Canyon – 10/2007. Dave and I took off well before the sun came up and arrived at the remote trailhead at Monument Point just before light. But by the time we started down the trail it was light enough to see, and we saw darker clouds forming all around us. But luckily the real dark clouds stayed at the higher points, and we were progressively going down into several layers of rock, which represents millions of years of geological wonders. For 4 hours we steadily went down, until around lunch time we took a break at Deer Creek Spring . which is a nice waterfall that gushes out of an alcove. We ate and fell up our water bottles with the cool, clear and refreshing water, then walked the next mile down to the Deer Creek Narrows.

By this time the sun was really heating up but getting to the patio of the narrows allowed us to take off our packs for the rest of the afternoon, until it was time to proceed to our first night’s campsite. As we approached the narrows, with its magnificent slot canyon, we passed on the other side an older, smallish man with a long beard, who was by himself on the other side. We waved and expressed greetings. Throwing our packs down and relaxing, I was not looking forward to what I knew was our next side excursion for our first day hike. That would be Deer Creek falls.

Two years ago when Dave and I first visited Deer Creek I had attempted to go there but turned back when I got to a very narrow ledge above a drop-off straight down to the creek some 50 feet below. When I got to that spot I clutched onto the side wall hoping to not let go, and with fear in me was able to make it past that spot. There were a couple of other similar spots but not quite as bad. With elation, we arrived to the spot some 200 feet above the Colorado River and directly above the roaring Deer Creek Falls. We hiked down the steep drop off 200 feet to the river, and to one of the most beautiful spots in all of the Grand Canyon – Deer Creek Falls. We jumped in the very cold water under the falls. We then also ran into and talked for awhile to 3 river runners, taking a break as their customers took off on side excursions up the canyon. They were real nice and asked if we needed anything. At this time we said we were OK, thinking we’d have many other offers from other River Runners throughout our trip. One of the river runners was a real nice young Navajo girl, who was taking an afternoon siesta in the shade under a cliff. This was their last run of the year.

We had to go back the way we came, which meant back through the very narrow 2 foot ledge, and after passing it we met up with another river runner who offered us his last beer. We gladly accepted his warm beer this time, I especially felt like celebrated conquering my worst fear for the last 2 years – the Deer Creek ledge that I had nightmares all night before. I stuck the can of beer in the cool water of the creek. We then met up with that cool bearded guy and we chatted for nearly an hour. He was on one of his many solo backpacks in this area, and we all traded stories of our adventures. It was if we were best friends with this friendly guy, and it would have been great if we could have kept on hiking with him – but we were going to separate campspots.

As I was sitting by the cascading creek, no one else but Dave and our new friend, you couldn’t ask for a more magnificent setting. As if in a dream, two young woman walked by me and across from the little pool I was laying by. And before my eyes they both basically stripped to only very small bikini’s, and bathed right there (note – it wasn’t like they were drop down unbelievable gorgeous but I thought I’d make this part of the story interesting. One was actually relatively attractive). Now it’s my experience in backpacking in places like this, as experienced today as well, that most people you come upon out in the remote areas will be very friendly in asking where you were going and where you have been). I asked one of them that, and she didn’t offer much other than they were coming from the springs. These two were joined by a few others later, and they all seemed the same. Maybe they saw that we were just raggedy looking old geezers. But everyone else that day, from river runners, to other backpackers, were as friendly as you could see. Dave thought the 2 girls thought I was hitting on them. Oh well.

Just before 5:30 we filled our bottles with Deer Creek water, filtered it, then threw on our packs and made the last 2 ½ miles over the saddle to our campsite. We said goodbye to our bearded friend and headed up 200 feet right as the hot sun was going down beyond the Great Thumb Mesa across from the Colorado River. Then we took the high route above the river. Dave had done this a year ealier in the reverse direction and he swore he had taken the lower route, so much of the way we were wondering if we were going to the right direction. It was long and up and down and it didn’t seem to be going where the lower trail seemed to be going. But finally we took a steep drop down all the way to the river and the beach at 135 mile rapid – this was to be our campsite this first night. Boy did it feel good to take those packs off, what a long day. And the campsite was magnificent .We were on soft, white sand not far from the head of the rapids which mad a constant sound like we were at the Pacific Ocean. Great Thumb Mesa towered above us across the river. We slept like logs this night, with a light wind and stars in the multitude.

The next morning we took a quick little stroll up the lower ledge, the way Dave went a year earlier. He wanted to check it out, and we went until he got to a real narrow ledge some 100 feet above the river. I didn’t see any reason to go that far, and politely refused. Then we threw on our packs and went up river to our next destination, Lower Tapeats Creek. It was about 1 ½ mile along the beach with only 1 tough spot where we had to climb 20 feet straight up over a black rock obstacle jutting out in the river. We claimed our camping spot for our 2nd night at the mouth of Tapeats Creek where it’s clear running water flowed into the brownish Colorado River . At first the day was clear and hot, but around lunchtime larger clouds started to arrive, and it got a little windier. We took off along the creek, heading up to some nice cascades, then made our way up the trail up and over towards the Tapeats Falls. I was really wanting to see what this part of the trail was like since I’ve heard it had some narrow ledges with 200 feet exposure over the creek. It was a tough climb up to where it leveled off and then for the next 200 yards or so it was a very narrow trail with a number of spots which I didn’t particularly like – 300 foot dropoffs straight down, on 3 foot ledges. And it was a little windy. But finally we made it back down to Tapeats Creek and took a nice break along the creek below some falls .

When we made it back to camp, it as a little more cloudier with spotty rain showers all around. There were a bunch of boats docked by us and one of the members of the private group was back at the boats. We talked to him for about an hour, again another example of the types of people down there. We talked as if we were close friends. He had a beer in his hands and Dave and I both were hoping he’d offer us one of those cold ones. We hoped and hoped, but he never did. This may have been our only disappointment of the whole trip.

Late afternoon brough some higher gusty winds and a 10-15 rain shower. I luckily had my tent up so I escaped in it. Dave was caught putting his up when the rain hit. Finally things calmed down and we were able to eat our freeze dried dinners. Just before sundown, we climbed on a little rocky platform above us to a spot looking right above the confluence of the river and the creek. Looking east you could see up about a mile up the river and looking west about a mile or two of the river. Not to mention the many miles of the rocks above us on either side – the Powell Plateau, Great Thumb Meas, Kanab Plateau, Fishtail Mesa, Cogswell Butte, Tapeat Creek area. This was one of those post storm, sunset settings where the light was like a painting from God.

Edward Abbey wrote that you have to sometimes crawl, get on your knees, get scratched up, bleed, bruised - to really see the desert. That’s what Dave and I had done the previous 2 days. My body was sore and broken down from carrying a heavy pack. It rained on us just 2 hours earlier. I was wondering if it was going to worth it. But then I experienced this wonderous sight and I turned to Dave and said this was perhaps the most stunning scene I’ve ever witnessed. Edward Abbey was right .
The big decision we had to make the next morning was if we should proceed to our next scheduled campsite, which was a tough 2 mile hike up the river to Stone Creek. Neither of us knew much of this trail or Stone Creek since we’ve never been there. My knee was slightly hurting me from the pounding it was taking from 2 days of backpacking down very steep terrain. The trail that we may need to take looked tough to me and I told Dave that I really don’t know if I could do it, I didn’t want to overdo on this trip. He said we could just head up one day earlier if I didn’t feel up to it, and that was what we decided.

So the next morning (day 3) we put on our packs and headed up the trail in which we dayhiked yesterday. Up that very narrow ledge over the creek. We made it, and made a couple of rive crossings, with a creek that was running higher and faster than we anticipated, but the crossing weren’t a problem. The water just felt so cold, and the sun had yet to climb over the east cliffs of the creek. As we made our last river crossing just below Upper Tapeats campground, we saw our first backpacker of the morning heading down the other side of the creek , going down creek. We dropped our packs since Dave wanted to check out the trail he had taken with his wife Kim last year which went the way the other hike was going. He told me this trail had a very scary ledge, even for him (Dave is one fearless guy who claims he used to have a fear of heights just like I have, which I find hard to believe). We caught up with the other hiker who seemed to not know where the trail was going and we told her we were heading that way is she wanted to check out the trail. She followed us. I stopped far short of the ledge, I just wanted to sit and admire the beautiful view of the creek while they went up a ways.

This lady was another incredible character. She was of Japanese decent from Vail Colorado. She had done some 20 solo backpacks in the canyon, and was addicted to it. Like Dave and I. Dave gave her lots of valuable info on certain hikes he had done that she was interested in doing, such as the grueling Nankoweap trail. We had a great chat with Lisa, but like the bearded man she was heading in opposite directions so we’d never see her again.

At the junction of the Thunder River and Tapeats Creek confluence we dropped our bags, forded the cold creek (or was it a river here right at the confluence of the shortest river in the world and maybe only river that flowed into a creek!) and hiked up the Upper Tapeats Creek. We went up the winding creek for about 30 minutes, a very narrow stretch. There were numerous creek crossings along the way and good route- finding. (A must for us to explore much further up on a future trip.

Back to our packs, it started to rain a little bit. But it also was a perfect time to make the start of the steep and far climb up out of the canyon. The clouds were perfect cover from the hot early afternoon sun. Going up Thunder River was slow paced but not too bad. There were many narrow ledges that amazed Dave that I wasn’t scared like early narrow ledges . After 1000 feet climb of the total 1800 feet we came to what Dave and I agree is the most spectacular sight in the Grand Canyon – Thunder River, a huge spring that screams out of the large cliff that produces lush vegetation and cottonwood trees all along its banks. What a sight and what an oasis in the desert. One that can’t be exceeded . We hung out here for about 2 hours, talking with 2 other pairs of backpackers going down from where we had just come. We also ate our dinner here so that we didn’t have to waste precious water up above at our campsite preparing our freezed dried food.

Then we needed make good speed up to where we hoped to camp, some 1700 feet higher. Luckily it had cooled down by now but we climbed up to Surprise Valley 600 feet above Thunder River. This was the first time I’ve seen this valley in the late afternoon with the sun angling from the south. It was very pretty in this area, considering most of the other times we’ve been here in the heat of the day when the sun was pounding straight above us in an intense heat. There is simply no shade in this valley, but this late afternoon we didn’t need it. We just trudged on. And then, with about 1 ½ hours of daylight left we made the last climb of the day, up to The Esplanade level, which was straight up 1100 feet above. We needed to make good time so we didn’t slow off on this difficult stretch. But we made it up, plus we found the water we had cached on the way down 3 days earlier. The campsite we chose was right on the edge of the rim, the first spot we could find. It was perfect. We put our tents up in record time, threw on extra layers of clothing, and prepared for a very cold evening and night, and quiet sunset view over the Tapeats drainage, the Powell Plateau, the River in both directions, Surprise Valley below, Deer Creek below, the West Canyon, Kanab Plateau, and Mt. Trumbell about 70 miles away .
The next day we took our time getting going, so that we could enjoy the setting. Around 9:30 we headed back up. That last 1800 foot climb took it’s toll on me. But there was nothing better than getting to that top rim back at the trailhead of Monument Point Exhausted but exhilarated.

And I will say that hiking in the The Grand Canyon with Dave is like hiking with George Steck, Colin Fletcher or Harvey Butcher. He was a walking expert of this canyon, the whole Grand Canyon. Whether it involved the human history, the geological history, every bit of info on trails all over the Canyon, every spring, every creek, every dry wash, every mile of the river, every rapid, every beach, waterfall or campsite. The aforementioned heros – George, Colin and Harvey, are all dead now. They will never be surpassed in their exploration and knowledge. But I felt like I was hiking with a descendant of one of these guys. And it was like that with a few of the other great people we met along the trail. Lisa from Vail, or the bearded guy from Michigan (we both regret not asking his name but names really don’t matter out here so we called him either the bearded guy or Edward Abbey) . The spirit of the desert is back!!!!

Red Mountain Kayenta, UT Various excursions

Dave N and I planned this hike for a few weeks, during a period when there were frequent cloudy and rainy days during the beginning of the winter. We picked the day when the clouds were supposed to give way to clear skies and sun. According to the weather man, it looked like Wednesday of that week would be a good day for this hike. We needed clear skies because it was a bushwhacking, trail-less, difficult all-day excursion on top of Red Mountain. It would have helped to be able to see far off into the distance to see where we were going.

Red Mountain is the large mountain just north of Kayenta, where I live. From the eastern part to the western edge is about 6 miles. Add to that another mile or two further east on the Snow Canyon State Park portion of this mountain – just north of where Dave lives. From south to north it is approximately 3 miles or so as the crow flies from the straight cliffs on the Kayenta side to the cliffs just above the town of Gunlock. The highest part of this mountain, on the Red Mountain part of this mountain, is about 5400 feet; compared with the base elevation of just over 3000 feet.

On the Kayenta side (south) the cliffs go almost straight up, an average of 2000 feet straight up. There are about 7-8 ways up the mountain from this side. There are 4 different options from the Shivwits Water Tank, which is the way to take up to the highest point. This is at the Kayenta/Shivwits Indian Reservation boundary, and is probably the hardest work-out to the top. This is the way Dave and I were planning on going down, once we got this far. This can be very steep , but at least it’s one where you don’t need too much use of your hands while scrambling up or down. Cinnamon has taken all 4 up and/or down at one time or another, so although it may be the longest and best work out of the ways up or down, it’s one of the few that a dog can do. In fact one time, Cinnamon knocked loose a relatively large boulder from above where my ex-wife Nan and I were climbing. It came bouncing down our way. We hugged the wall to our right, hoping the rock would bound right on by us. Luckily it did, if not we could have been crushed.

This is one of my favorite ways to the top, because once you make it to the top you get commanding views of all of southwest Utah – Pine Valley and it’s snow-packed peaks to the northeast, Zion cliffs just barely visible about 50 miles away; The Beaver Mountains to the southwest, Bull Mountains to the north, Arizona Strip area to the south. You can also then continue to hike along the rim to the east (or west) and be looking down the incredible drop-offs all along the mountain and get good view of Kayenta far below. I’ve never, ever seen another soul up there on top of this side of the mountain.

Another great way up is what I call The Notch. This is a more technical scramble up, meaning no dogs allowed. You start near the Hells Hole Wash, going down into the wash before it gets into it’s spectacular last mile or two to the end. Then you climb up. The first half is mostly loose scree, very tiring and no good traction – but not too dangerous. Finally, you get into a narrow steep canyon where you have to be very careful – on every step on rocks that could come loose as well as the use of hands to grasp the rocks at head level – making sure the rocks are not loose. It’s very steep and dangerous. In fact, a couple of years earlier Dave and I were coming down this Notch when a large rock about the size of PC Monitor came loose on me while I was slipping on sand, and it rolled right on top of my body, mainly my arm and hand. I was wedged under this rock and didn’t want to move due to not wanting to have the rock roll further down and onto the rest of my body; as well as not wanting any other rocks to get loose on me causing a mini-avalance. Finally, with Dave’s help, we were able to get the rock off me. I suffered a number of cuts on my arm, leg and mostly hand. Very painful, I had to wrap my hand and was out of commission as far as tennis and other rock climbing like this for a week or two. But once you get past this part, you have two options for the final 200 feet of the climb.

In the old days we used to go to the left, which was extremely steep with a couple of areas where you really needed to do a good shimmy up above some rocks; then you skirt over to the right to where you had a very narrow ledge and little jump to another ledge to get you to the top. My new favorite way is to go to the right, instead. This is quicker than the former, but involves 2 very tough spots where you have 20 foot or so straight cliffs to climb – using your fingers and putting you boots on very small foot holds. This is where you need some good upper body strength. It’s a dangerous part, but as long as you know what you’re doing it is worth it. Finally you get to another tough stretch where it’s not as dangerous and it gets you to a little saddle where you can look straight into Hells Hole canyon – where the cliffs are at their straightest – one of the most incredible areas of southwest Utah. From this notch you climb a safe but steep climb for another 5 or 10 minutes to the top. And you can then explore all of Red Mountain area above Hell’s Hole, which is a slick rock heaven. You can go all day up and down all the little and bigger red-rock canyons. A number of these will lead you to the rim above Hell’s Hole. A few of my friends who have climbed up there say this is just as incredible as Canyonlands Nt’l park. It’s like having a national park in our own back yard.

The other main way up from the Kayenta area is further south towards the southern tip of Red Mountain, near the city of Ivins area. This is the shortest and quickest and is not too dangerous – as long as you don’t fall on the loose scree. But it’s a great workout to the top, where you can explore all over the top. It’s my favorite way up if I want to explore the area towards Snow Canyon State park, as well as a good hike over to the Hells Hole part.

But now back to the attempted Trans Red Mountain hike from the northwest corner of the wilderness area to the destination of the Shivwits Water Tank. That morning, we left to very overcast weather. We debated of calling it off, but the forecast continued to call for clearing skies that day and nice weather. So we took off thinking we’d get started and the day would get real nice while we were on top of the mountain. We had Nan drop us off at the Sand Cove Resevoir just 2 miles from Gunlock. We had our food, our rain jackets, gloves and water.

The climb to the top of the mountain is another great, fun hike . From Sand Cove you have a nice slick rocky, scenice area. But then you have to figure out which cliff to climb. If you pick right, it’s not too dangerous. You eventually find a way along the western rim of Red Mountain with great views of Gunlock Resevoir 2000 feet below. About 2 miles into the hike and after a good climb, Dave suggested we start heading east/southest direction - trying to avoid as many big ups and downs as possible, staying high in elevation. That is tough up there, because it’s nothing but drop-offs of 300-400 feet every direction you look. Plus, the visibility up there was terrible and getting worse. The big cloud cover was not clearing, in fact it seemed to just be stuck up there and getting worse. It was a slow steady cold drizzle, couldn’t have been more than 40 degrees up there on the top of this mountain. But we hoped that the weather would get better. We also couldn’t see the prominent landmarks up there that could have made our route-finding easier. In fact, we couldn’t see a thing. So all we could do is make as direct line as we could to the approximate area where we thought we’d find our drop-off point along the rim.

After about 2 hours of hiking once we were on top, it was becoming obvious that the weather wasn’t going to improve, it just kept on raining and was close to freezing, it seemed to us. Around lunch time we got to a point where we thought we saw a ridge that was what we were looking for, signifying the highest point along the southern edge of Red Mountain. But it looked a good hour away. We discussed our plan. One option was to keep going that way and look for the way down from off the cliff. But we weren’t totally sure if it was over in that direction or not, it could have been over beyond to an even higher ridge. We thought we had to be near the highest point, but weren’t sure. Plus we couldn’t see a thing. We know that there would be a thick cloud cover most of the way down the mountain along the way down. We would have no better than perhaps 30 feet visibility all the way down, if that. We may not ever find one of the very few ways down, then we could be stuck up on the mountain all day, and even worse all night long. If we did find the way down, that would have been the quickest way off this cold, wet mountain. The other option was to just backtrack and go back to the where we started – to abort the hike. We talked for about 10 minutes and decided to abort and go back. Bummer.

But that didn’t mean the adventure was over and we would be home free. No, we just kept getting soggier and colder. And we went a little more south than the way we came, and several times had problems figuring out the best way, as well as backtracking a few times. It was taking longer than we anticipated, which was no good. Finally we got to the part towards the end where you had some tough cliffs going down to Sand Cove Resevoir, where we started. It was still hard to see since the clouds seem to have thicken even more. I have to admit, I was getting a little nervous at this time as we tried a couple of possible ways down, but had to climb back up cause we had become ‘cliffed out’ and couldn’t proceed any further.

Finally we came upon a way down, which was very tough, but after a few scary obstacles we made it to a familiar looking area that took us to a place I remember being before on previous hikes out here. At this time, I knew we had made it; and it had been about 5-6 hours of hiking in the steady, cold rain. But we still had about 2 miles to hike along a gravel, seldom used road to the tiny town of Gunlock below. We were hoping to see a passing car, but on this rotten day there would be no one out there driving around. So we walked, tired, cold and wet - but at least safe from the Red Mountain. We made it to this tiny Gunlock town, and still no sign of life. I walked over to one of Andrea’s friends house just across from the bridge where we crossed – but no one home. Finally we got some body to help us out, we borrowed their phone and I was able to contact Nan and asked her to pick us up. As we waited, to keep warm we kept on hiking towards Kayenta, about 8 miles away. Finally we saw that welcome sight of my little red Jeep coming to the rescue.

We didn’t complete this trans Red Mt hike like we intended, but it was a great adventure. About a year later, on a perfect sunny day, my brother Chris and I (along with his dog Jet) made an attempt of this trans Red Mountain hike. This time not only were we successful, but we actually did a true Trans hike of the Red Mountain. We went clear around the top of Hell’s Hole to the southeastern furthest point. Even that isn’t easy on a clear day. There were at least 2 spots where we thought we were further along than we were. You have to make sure you don’t hug too close to the rim all the way because that is where the ups and downs really get to you. But it sure helps to know the best time to head over to Hells Hole so that you aren’t wandering too far away from the rim.

I did one other trans Red Mt hike about a year later with a bunch of Kayenta residence. This one we started by doing the well-established Red Mountain trail off the Highway 18 well above and north of Snow Canyon State Park. It’s a very rough and rocky old Jeep road for the first 3 ½ miles, a steady climb. After 3 miles you get great views from the rim looking down below to Snow Canyon. Then you can hug the western rim atop of the State Park, with nice slick rock for miles. We even saw a nice little pond on top with a healthy looking Ponderosa Pine. On this trip we ended up at The Notch (this group of hikers had a different name for it but I can’t remember). For a few of these hikers, it was a draining all day hike in the hot late spring sun. The highlight for us had to be seeing a rattlesnake at the top that had just swallowed a mouse or a chipmunk. All we saw was this big clogged bulge in the throat of the snake, pushing down to the stomach (if snakes have stomachs) .

One last adventure to mention about Red Mountain, and this takes you back to 1998 or 1999, the first real backpack trip for Andrea and I out west. Chris and his boys, along with their dog and Cinnamon, went along on that same Red Mountain trail with our backpacks to camp somewhere up there on top of the mountain, as close to the rim of Hells Hole as possible. The first day it was a tough 6 mile climb and we did find a real nice sandy camping area about ¾ of a mile from the rim. We did explore the rim that evening and it was slick rock heaven. The long sandy hike back the next morning had the young 8 – 10 year olds quite tired and grumpy.

Burger Peak / Forsythe Canyon July 2000

Burger Peak via Forsythe Canyon 2000?

I took off on a summer day with my friend from Kayenta, Warner Paige. Warner lived in my Wisteria Way house before we moved in, so I got to know him. He moved into a fabulous house at the top part of Kayenta, compared to my lowly house at the lowest and oldest part of Kayenta. But once you’re in the mountains and the trees, the size of ones house or pocketbook doesn’t mean a whole lot. Warner is a nice guy, about 10 years older than I. He had not stayed in as good of shape as he used to, so he was a tad out of shape. But he loved backpacking and getting out, so he agreed to go. And I told him of one of one of my favorite trails not too far away in Pine Valley Mountains.

I discovered this trail the 1st summer in Kayenta, looking at a map of the wilderness area. Chris and I and our families went up 2 or 3 miles that first day; and it became one of my favorite little getaways. If you really wanted to get a great workout, you could make to Burger Peak or beyond, on the top of the mountain. Burger and Signal Peak are the highest points of the mountain, 10,340 ft. But it was a tough climb of over 3500 feet.

So off we went, Warner, me and Cinnamon. The first 2 miles were uneventful, but once we started making the climb it became evident that Warner was having troubles with the climb and his pack due to the higher elevation. As we got over 7000 feet and really started our climb, he was getting dizzy and had an upset stomach. It looked like we were going to have to turn back. I asked him if I was to carry his pack, would he be able to make it. He said he needed to rest, and after about 20 minutes of sitting down he said he’d give it a try.

I don’t know what he had in his pack, but it was heavy. With my pack on my back and his pack facing against my chest, I ended up carrying both bags. I should have made Cinnamon carry something, but she was too busy running through the mountains chasing birds, squirrels, deer or whatever else she saw out there. All I saw was this pack in front of my face. But we made it past the usual creek crossings of the Forsythe Creek and a few minor swithchbacks. We cut our hike a little short that first day and pitched our tents along a dry section of the creek about 2 or 3 miles short of Burger Peak. But I realized that was the furthest Warner could make it, and he was content in not going any further. So we put up our tents and called it a day.

The next day, Warner said he was OK just hanging out at our campsite and told me to go ahead and hike to top of the mountain. So off Cinnamon and I went, up to Burger Peak. The couple of miles went steadily up, under aspens and Pines, until you finally made it to the trail junction of the Summit Trail going left and up to Burger; and to the right was the Blake-Gubler Trail that went down to the southeast corner of Pine Mts. I’ve gone down that trail since, but today I went up for the final 1 ½ mile push to Burger Peak. This is where you really have to suck for all the extra oxygen you can get. It’s steadily up and it’s at the 10,000 foot elevation as you climb. But when you get to Burger Peak, you sit on a big rock outcropping with a view to beat all views for about 240 degrees. To the east and southeast you can see out to the Arizona Strip all the way to Mt. Trumbell and Mt. Logan, which sit just north of the Grand Canyon in the Toroweap area. There have been real clear days when Dave Nally and I claim we can see Mt. Humphry all the way near Flagstaff, AZ. To the south and west you can see Red Mountain and Snow Canyon State Park, which sit just north of my home in Kayenta. To the west, you can see out towards Beaver Dam and Beaver Dam Mts and Bull Mts, the rugged area to the northwest of Kayenta. And there are clear days when I swear you can barely see the peaks of Mt. Charlston, which is 30 miles north of Las Vegas and some 100-120 miles from where I stood.

On most days this is where I turn back down the trail – quite tired. But today, since I started so far up the mountain, I continued along the Summit Trail. I skirted the area of Signal Peak, which is about 40 feet higher than Burger, but up there you are surrounded by Pine trees and so you really don’t have the greatest of views. So I didn’t bother going up there, but continued on the Summit trail to a little meadow called First Water. This is a real nice meadow with a tiny bit of water, which allowed Cinnamon a much needed drink. And this is where I turned back.

If I would have continued, the Summit Trail would have taken you about 2 more miles to the junction of Brown Trail and the Oak Grove Campground Trail. The latter is a rugged 3 mile hike that goes from 10,000 to 7,000 feet, quite steep and with incredible views all the way down. Brown Trail does the same but the other direction back to the side of the mountain in which I came. It’s 4 miles and also a difference of 3,000 feet. One time I hiked up from Brown to the junction of the Summit Trail, in late spring. There was lots of melting snow up there and cold water. My feet got soaked and quite cold, and I was afraid I could get some frostbite in my toes, but luckily found a nice sunny spot where I climbed a rock and took my wet boots and socks off and soaked in the sun. From this junction, it was about 8 more miles to Whipple Valley, 3 miles to Browse Point and it’s great view, then 3 more to Mill Flat.

From First Water, I just turned back and went back to Warner who was still reading in his tent. The great news, Warner agreed to cook me a nice dinner at home and invited Andrea. This was a reward for taking his backpack off of him and carrying it for him (I was his Sherpa for the day). And he is one heck of a cook, he made Andrea and I the greatest dinner you could ever have, better than the fanciest restaurant around.

Whipple Valley Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness Utah 9/20/01

) 9/20/01 – just about 10 days after the 9/11 disaster. The world had changed, everyone was still in state of shock and scared out of their minds. We were thinking at any moment another horrific event would occur. This was my birthday, 9/22. And I just had to get away from civilization and all the bad news that was happening. So I threw my backpack in the car, got my best hiking buddy in the car, Cinnamon – my Yellow Lab. And off we went up to Pine Valley Mountains, a short 45 minute drive from Kayenta. Most of Pine Valley Mountains is wilderness, so you can easily escape from everything up there.

Most of the trails start near the Forest Campground, a bunch of nice campsites along the river. There can be a number of people here – campers, fishermen at the nice little lake, hikers. But once you get beyond a mile from the trailhead , you rarely see another soul. Once in awhile you’ll cross paths with horseback riders, but not often. One of my favorite trails is Whipple Trail, which starts just up from the campgrounds.

This is the trail I took the very first time I visited Pine Valley with Andrea way back in 1996 when she was a little 7 year old. I remember taking her up a few of the 1st switchbacks for about 1 ½ miles, and when it was a little too tiring for her I’d throw her on my back and carry her up. This time, it was just my pack on my back, and Cinnamon out front of me running along.

The first 3/4rds of a mile is relatively flat, starting at about 6700 feet elevation. To get to Whipple Valley is about 7 miles and a climb to about 9000 elevation. After coming to a nice creek setting, one of the forks of the Santa Clara River, you start the climb and no more water till you get to the top; unless it’s early spring where you might cross one beautiful cascading creek along the way. But in late summer, early fall, it’s pretty dry up there as far as water sources and springs.

The next 3 miles is a steady climb with a series of long switchbacks. You do get nice views of Pine Valley below, a nice pastoral hamlet, a quiet place of mostly seasonal homes. As you climb, you can start seeing views far to the west of the rugged, wild and secluded Bull Mountains, one of the more remote areas of southern Utah. As you approach the half-way mark, you arrive in the Ponderosa Pines and then the Aspens.

The halfway mark is delightful – there’s a little valley below that you have to hike down in to; and then on the other side you climb out of that valley to continue the climb. Before you drop down into the valley, you get some nice views of rocky cliffs and lots of aspens. And this time of year, the aspens are golden and a few even reddish. The colors of autumn leaves, mainly the aspens, in the mountains is breathtaking. And as you drop down into the valley you are now walking in those trees and you get that great aroma of those leaves; and it’s like walking in a cathedral – the rows and rows of aspens; along with the Pines. As you climb up out of this majestic area, you start going up some switchbacks and you get a nice clear view down into this valley as well as the high ridge on the other side, near where you just dropped down from. With the leaves and the rugged rocks it is one of the best views along this hike.

After this part of the climb, you make it back into trees. The climb is steady for another 2 miles until you get to a short and steep descent and then to the destination – Whipple Valley. This is one of the largest meadows on top of Pine Valley, snuggled up inside aspens and pines and few trickling brooks. No views other than the trees and the rising hills that go up to 10,000 feet elevation – you are at about 9,000 here.

I found my spot to camp upon an old campsite by the northern edge of the flats. I brought along some newspapers to read about the 9/11 attacks and the affect it had on our country and the world. There was so much uncertainty at this time, but being up on top of the mountain in the center of the vast wilderness made me realize that it was nice to get away from those troubles. I do remember sleeping in my tent in the middle of the morning, 2 hour before sunrise, and hearing a very loud crash in the woods not too far from my tent. I have no idea what it was, although I’ve heard that the last 2 bears in these mountains were killed over 20 years ago. Probably a deer or maybe a mountain lion – or maybe even a member of Al Quida for all I know. It’s amazing how the imagination works when you’re all alone in the middle of the night. But luckily I had Cinnamon and she just perked her head up and didn’t seem too concerned. So I got back to sleep.

The next morning, before going back to the car , I kept my pack at the campsite and went up about a 3 mile steep climb to one of the few excellent viewpoints at top of the mountain – Browse Point. Making it to the top, which is about 10,000 feet, you get an incredible view looking east towards Zion; and northeast to the Kolob Fingers area of Zion.

Heading back and picking up my pack, I made the way back down to the car. At the car, there were a few people at that parking lot, who seemed amazed anyone would spend the night up there in the mountains. Back to civilization.

Coyote Gulch Grand Staircase-Escalante Nt'l Monument

Coyote Gulch – 2003 This is one of those classic spots in the wild west. One of the last named and explored river in the lower 48 states is the Escalante River. It has numerous side canyons, many of them nothing more than slot canyons. There are no paved roads to get to many of these side canyons. One of these is Coyote Gulch, which gets many visitors. But not too many to take away from it’s wilderness characteristics.

Back in 1999, Andrea and I took an attempt to backpack into Coyote Gulch. We went with friends from Kayenta, Tanya and her daughter Gabrielle. Tanya had been here before and she suggested we go down via what is called The Crack. So off we went with them, depending on her recollection of how to find The Crack and go down to the creek. The problem is there is only one place to go down in the area that she was leading us. If you didn’t find this spot, you would never get down off the ledge, since it was a good 800 feet drop. We found the parking area alright, so we went on the 2-3 mile hike with our backpacks across the sand and slick rock. When we arrived at the rim, above the Escalante River and Coyote Gulch far below, it was apparent that Tanya had no idea where were. We searched for cairns or any marks that would indicate we were at The Crack. But we had no luck. We talked about what we should do, and we decided to go back to our car. Both the girls were getting tired and didn’t think we should risk getting stranded in the desert, unable to find our passageway safely down from the rim. We marched grudgingly back to the cars. We figured we’d at least find a campspot somewhere off Hole-In-The-Wall road, the dirt road we’ve been on for the last 40 miles since leaving the town of Escalante. We found a nice spot just 7 mile south of where we came. It was at a historical location called Dance-Hall-Rocks.

This was a place where the early Mormon Pioneers would set up their camp after a long journey up from river far below. It was a nice big protected rocky area. I explored it during the evening by myself and made it to the top of the rocks where you could see all around you. The whole expanse of the Escalante canyons along with Navajo Mountain spread out far beyond. I felt rejuvenated, as the sun was going down, and I couldn’t help but let out a loud yelp in honor of the glorious setting that God had provided me. The 3 ladies heard me far below and probably thought I was a madman.

Then camping her at Dance-Hall-Rock wasn’t that most comfortable. It was sleeping on hard gravel, basically. But we all decide to at least try to do a day hike the next day down in Coyote Gulch. Tanya and I studied the map and decided that we’d take the standard was to the Gulch, which we felt we could fine much easier than the Crack .

We reached the trailhead early in the morning, and did the trail that would take you 3 miles to a easier climb to Coyote Gulch – easier than The Crack. But it was far from easy. It was extremely steep and went down about 700 feet down. There are places where it helps to have rope to hold on to. But Andrea was tough going down and we made it safely to the Gulch.

We explored up the gulch to Jacob Hamblin Arch, a huge arch just up from where we dropped down into. Then we proceed down creek. At one point Tanya must have taken a potty break, so the 3 of us sat down by the creek to rest. This was no more than 15 feet from the trail, which was partially hidden from the creek. We sat and sat for what must have been 10 minutes and began to wonder what happened to Tanya. Finally we became worried, because she shouldn’t have been gone this long. We called out her name, and yelled out her name. We went up and down the creek and kept calling out her name. Still no sign. Finally about 30 minutes later she appeared coming from the other direction. Evidently she must have walked swiftly by us as we sat off trail along the creek. How anyone could become lost in this narrow canyon still mystifies me, but Tanya was able to do it.

We enjoyed the beauty of this hike, but the skies were beginning to cloud up. And Tanya was worried about Gabrielle because she was a Diabetic. Plus the equipment they needed to bring along to treat her diabetics could not get wet or it would be ruined. So we decided to get out of the Gulch and make it back to the car, which was still a long 4 or 5 miles from where we were. And we knew going up that slick rock that took you out of the gulch would be almost impossible if it started to rain real hard. So the sooner we got out the better. The 2 girls were like billy goats scampering up the steep slick rock, which wasn’t too slick yet. The rain was coming down very slightly, luckily. But Tanya was stuck at the bottom and she was freaking out. She just couldn’t get up the nerve to make the difficult first big boost up the rock. We tried everything, but she was panicked. Finally, I had to give all I could give as far as extra pushes up. She finally made it to the next level and was able to do the rest with no problem. I was so proud of the way Andrea made this interesting climb up to the rim. The rest of this hike back to the car was uneventful. It never rained on us, although it remained overcast.

Then in early April of 2003, Dave and I set off to backpack into Coyote Gulch. This time we had no problems finding our way down into the Gulch. We took the same route down as the time I went down with Andrea 4 years earlier. That last part where we dropped into the canyon, this time with backpacks on, was very perilous, it was so steep. I remember we might have even used a rope at the midway portion due to the danger. But we got into the canyon and pitched our tent just a little ways up creek, right across from Jacob Hamblin’s Arch – a huge arch. That day we had enough time to explore up canyon, which is not the highlights of this gulch – that would be down creek going towards the Escalante River. But nevertheless it was a beautiful, classic canyon. That evening we climbed towards the top of the arch, Dave actually making it to the very top. I chose not to go up there, it was pretty steep for me.

It was a very nice campsite, and that night I was able to reflect on a nerve-wracking point in my life. Andrea had been struggling for months with problems at school I was emotionally drained and wiped out, so I really needed this trip. Andrea’s well-being was all that I had been focused on for months, as well as much of this particular backpack trip. Add to that was the fact that Nan and I were proposed to be married in 4 months, and all the worries that go along with that. My life was in turmoil, I wasn’t of right mind at this time. And on top of all that, Bush had just invaded Iraq. Another senseless war was being waged (at that time most Americans thought this was a justified war, but not me). But I was so focused on my own personal woes that I really didn’t

Coyote Gulch/ Hole-In-The-Rock Rock May 2001

Escalante River 2001? Andrea had just taken off for a trip back to Columbus, so I left for the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. The first night was by myself and Cinnamon. We camped not too far off the road going from Boulder over to Capitol Reef, in the Boulder Mountains. Up on top of that plateau you could get some great views looking down over to the Grand Staircase and the Capitol Reef and Canyonlands area. The next morning I met Dave at the ending trailhead at the bridge on Rt.12 that went over the Escalante River, just west of Calf Creek. We left his car there, and took my car to where we’d begin the hike 12 miles up the road. This trailhead was just outside of the town of Escalante, right next to the small little river flowing through this part of town.

This was a pretty easy backpack trip, following the river downstream to where Dave’s car awaited us, about 12 miles down the trail. As you left the town, you immediately got into the canyon of the river, which remain the same look the rest of the way – nice straight red cliffs on either side of the river. It was much more scenic than I anticipated, it reminded me of the Zion area. Within a mile, a creek coming in from the left flowed into the river. This was Pine Creek.

About a year earlier I had explored the upper regions of this creek. That trip has started with a grueling 20 mile hike in Harris Wash, just Cinnamon and I. I was wearing new hiking sandals that day because it was mostly in the water of the creek in Harris Wash. When I was done that day, my feet were so sore that I could hardly walk. That afternoon I drove up north of the town Escalante on the Hells Backbone dirt road and ended up high in the Boulder Mountains at the trailhead of the Upper Box. This was the upper portion of the Pine Creek. You can take a nice trail from Upper Box to Lower Box, about 10 miles below. This trail followed the Pine Creek. I camped that night off the dirt road and near the trailhead, but my feet were still so soar the next morning that I could hardly walk. But I gave it a try, and made it about 2 miles down creek till the terrain got more difficult and I turned back, limping all the way.

Pine Creek empties about 2/3rds of the water in the river, so from here on the river was a much bigger flowing stream. Nothing else out of the ordinary appeared until we came upon the half way mark. This is where the side canyon came in from the north – Death Hollow. At the confluence we agreed to find a campsite, and we pitched our tents. We noticed some type of large animal in the trees across the creek, but couldn’t figure out what it could be, so we went to investigate. We came upon a llama tied up to a tree, so apparently some other backpackers were out here in the canyon but nowhere to be seen.

We were ready to explore the Death Hollow canyon wilderness. This was the highlight of the trip, going up the canyon. It was very narrow and nice little falls and cascades along the way. About half way on our journey up this wilderness, all of the sudden a stomping sound could be heard and it was heading towards us. We saw this beautiful large deer with antlers running swiftly right towards us and we had no where to go to get out of its way. Luckily it bounded right past us and continued on down the creek towards the river. We never saw it again. After about two miles we turned back to our campsite.

The next day we passed one more stream coming from the north – from the high country. We also saw 2 arches high up on the canyon walls; as well as a ruin up above us. It was a real easy, laid back 6 miles of hiking, and we arrived back at Dave’s car at the Bridge on the highway.

Jumpup and Kanab Creeks Grand Canyon Nt'l Park April 2005

1) Kanab Creek Wilderness
Spring of 2005, Dave and I took off on a 4 days/3night trip to the Kanab Creek Wilderness area and Grand Canyon Nt’l Park area. The route would take us down Jumpup Canyon to the confluence of Kanab Creek and down this canyon to wherever we ended up. We had permits to camp in the Nt’l Park in case we made it that far. Being early in the spring we really didn’t know if the roads would be OK or not, but the forest roads in this part of the Kaibab forest were at a much lower elevation and not as many huge pine trees as the higher parts where we usually explored. We didn’t experience any problems at all getting to the trailhead, which was at an old guard house above the head of Jumpup Canyon. One thing about this hike, there would be hardly any climbs or drop-offs at all, it was a easy decline all the way down the creeks.

After dropping down into the almost dry creek bed of Jumpup Canyon, we traveled down canyon, a nice easy stroll. It was a beautiful day and the view was a classic immense Grand Canyon view. Jumpup is a tributary of the Kanab Creek, which is a tributary of the Colorado. The first 3 miles or so were pretty wide, with dry creekbed. Both sides had big mesas reaching up, the one to the right was Jumpup Point and the one to the right was Indian Hollow area. At about mile 3, the canyon began to narrow somewhat and became a red slick rock terrain, and a little spring came out of a lush, green spot along the creek. For a little while longer, it was brushy going, with some little cottonwoods that formed a possible campsite, although we had quite a ways to go this first day.

Next, you had a real narrow ledge that got you around a 30 foot waterfall, at which time you had a precarious and old makeshift ladder that allowed you to climb down below the waterfall. This was Jumpup falls, the canyon namesake. I had to lower my pack to Dave, due to being a little nervous with the heights here and the rickety old ladder. But this was an ideal stop to load up and filter some nice clean, cold water coming down the waterfall.

From Jumpup waterfall to the confluence with the Kanab Creek, Jumpup Canyon was as scenic and diverse area as you’d find in the Grand Canyon area. For the first mile or so, it was slick rock layers of rock, with the stream causing endless waterfalls and cascades down the rock. We passed a couple of canyons coming in from the left, Sowats and Kwanset??? And Indian Hollow. The last 2 miles was more of a narrower and level canyon, with a gentle running water flow. This was getting us into the Red Wall layer of the Grand Canyon, so the rocks in the cliff were much harder and different color than above. There was one little side canyon that we went up until we came to a beautiful waterfall , Indian Hollow. We spent some time here. Dave tried to climb above the waterfall from both the right and the left. He said it was do-able, but a little scary. I chose, of course, to stay put and enjoy the waterfall from below. The water here in the pond below the falls was extremely cold.

With our packs back on we continued down Jumpup Canyon, and the last mile seemed to take forever. Every bend in the narrow cliffs on both sides we thought would reveal to us Kanab Creek. The confluence was where we planned on camping out, so we were eager to get to that spot and get rid of our packs. It was getting late in the afternoon when we finally saw the Kanab Creek. The only other time either Dave or I ever been to the Kanab Creek in this section of the Grand Canyon was a few years earlier when we hiked down the magnificent Hack Canyon (accessed from the Arizona Strip) and making it to Kanab Creek, which would have been about 6 miles north of where we were today. That day, which was in February, the creek was bone dry!! But today, in early April and 2 years later, it was running fast, high and wild. And the color was brownish, not clear at all. But there was a nice, wide sandy area right at the confluence with plenty of space to put up our tents. This would be our home for the next 2 nights. Surrounding us on all sides were Red Wall rock – 1000 feet or more high.

We had 2 options for the next morning. One was to take our backpacks with us and hike down the Kanab Creek and try to find a place to camp down below Scotty’s Hollow, which was about 4-5 miles further south and then backpack back up the next night. That would allow us to perhaps explore further down Kanab Creek and explore towards where it hits the River (although it was nearly impossible to make it all the way to the river if we did this option). The other was to leave our tents where they were and just do a more relaxed day hike without the heavy packs – go down Kanab and back up. We chose this, it sounded more relaxing and enjoyable. This would allow us an easier day going back out of Jumpup on our last day. Plus, with the water being as strong and high as it was in the Kanab Creek we figured it would be quite difficult due to all the river crossings up ahead - if had our heavy packs on it would be quite difficult. I’m glad we ended up with the second option, just walking down creek and back up that day.

So off we went, the first plunge into the cool, brownish, swift water is always quite difficult. You had to take your time due to how fast the water was flowing, but it wasn’t overall dangerous. It only came up to your knees, on the average. But it was silty, so our bodies were caked in brownish silt. Most of the hike allowed us to walk out of the water , some of it was quite brushy. So you had a choice of the water or bushwhacking. But overall it wasn’t that difficult; and the scenery was tremendous. The walls on both sides reached over 1000 feet, it was relatively narrow. There were a couple of places with seeps coming out of the side rock walls, which were covered in green ferns and vegetation. We were able to fill up our waterbottles at these locations.

Finally, about lunchtime, we made it to our main destination. A place called Scotty’s Hollow. This was a little side canyon coming in from the right (west). This is a small little canyon that actually begins way on top near Kanab Point, about 3000 feet above. Kanab Point ranks as one of my all-time favorite places out here in the Grand Canyon, perhaps even more so than the breath-taking Toroweap 80 miles downriver. Kanab Point is a 2 hour dirt road drive, out to the extreme point way up overlooking the entire Kanab Creek Wilderness and Colorado River 3000 feet below. I’ve been out there 3 or 4 times and have never seen another soul, other then those who I was traveling with.

Only a few feet from Kanab Creek, and up the water coming down Scotty’s Hollow, is a nice gentle and thin water fall of about 40 feet. This is where we took a nice dip in the water to get the silt from the Creek off of us. We ate a good lunch and cooled off , before continuing up the Hollow with a few nice little climbs past waterfalls. It was a little slot canyon, very shady. If we continued all day up and up, we’d eventually get to the top just north of Kanab Point. We think it involved 2 or 3 really tough rappels , but we’re not sure. But we didn’t intend in going to far up, so turning back we started retracing our steps up Kanab Creek back to our campsite, where another relaxing evening and night awaited us.

The next morning, we packed our gear and headed back up Jumpup Canyon. This was going to be a nice easy day of hiking. We decided to camp at the most scenic part of the places we’ve already hiked, a place along the slickrock in the part of Jumpup with all the waterfalls; a series of perhaps 10 nice good size waterfalls all evenly spread out. We found our spot right along a ledge on top of the smooth rocks above one such falls and below a nice smooth cascading waterfall. And to add to that, you had nice reddish walls on either side of us, and the huge cliffs off in the distance of Jumpup Point and it’s mesa.

Usually Dave and I go all-out when we backpack, going fast and steadily. Not that we don’t enjoy the sights that we pass, but it’s tough going; tough on the body and especially the back, shoulders and feet. But today was a nice little 4 -5 mile journey to where we set up camp. But once there, we had all day to rest and explore. We did a nice little hike to scout out one of the side canyons to the southeast (Sowat or Kwanset? Canyon?) . But most of the day was spent getting wet in the perfect little creek running along the slickrock and lying back staring at the blue sky.

And for me, thinking.
I was not happy at this time with my marriage. I had just gone through 1 year or more dealing with a serious illness of my daughter that almost took her life. I needed this down time in the Grand Canyon more than I can say. My mind was where it needed to be – after 4 days in the wilderness you really get to a perfect set of mind. I contemplated on where my life was going and if I could continue in my marriage. But it was heaven down there, perhaps one of the most enjoyable resting spots on any of my backpack trips.

The next day we put our packs on our back and headed back up the 5 miles to our car. I really hated the climb up and around and over Jumpup Waterfall, the ledge was so narrow over the falls that I couldn’t do it with my pack on. But on we went back to our car, a very easy level stroll. The last climb out of the canyon got us back to the car.

Powell Plateau Grand Canyon Nt'l Park September 2002

1) Powell Plateau – Two trips
I made two backpack trips to Powell Plateau in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The first one was with my Kayenta friend Dan Krupicka. We were planning a summer 2 day/1 night somewhere in the North Rim area, and one day I was looking at a nice detailed map of that vast area and saw a forest and national park dirt road that led to a deadend – and then a little trail that took you atop this plateau. We looked at the map together and decided to try it. To get there, you had to drive through the North Kaibab forest, the usual places that I camped and visited many times – including Timp, North Timp, Fence and Paraswampits Points. The road through the national forest section of this road is actually in very good condition, at least during the dry periods. It takes some good map reading abilities in certain parts of the forest, and you seldom see another car. You do see numerous deer as well as aspen trees.

But with 5 more miles to go to the destination, Swamp Point, you cross from National Forest road to National park. And this last 5 miles is extremely slow going; lots of curves, bumps, rocks, falling logs and narrow going. In fact, the Park Service tells you that if you come upon a fallen tree that blocks your way, you are ordered to turn back and not try to drive off the road. Luckily we didn’t come upon any obstacles like this, but during spring this could be a big problem – being out there before the rangers have had a chance to maintain the road. Finally, you get to Swamp Point, and what a view looking down the Bass Canyon to the south; and to the north Tapeats Ampitheater and the various points. Of course, there was nobody there at the point, and no cars.

Throwing on our packs, we started off. First you have to climb down a 800 foot set of switchbacks to get to the Muav Saddle, which was a nice little saddle hidden in trees. At this saddle, you have 3 choices. North Bass Trail is a grueling hike to the river (Dave has done this); to the right is perhaps one of the toughest bushwhacking excursion taking you through Tapeats Ampitheatre and eventually to the Thunder River area. We were taking the easier route, straight ahead. But before heading up, we took a look at a nice little cabin built in 1930’s by the CCC organization. It’s also a spot where Teddy Roosevelt used to camp out while he was hunting wildcats up on the Powell Plateau up ahead – where we were going.

But to get up there you had to climb up 800 feet to the Plateau. But once up there you are in Virgin pine trees, never logged, no cattle grazing, no human imprints other than hikers like us ( as well as many Indian relics and ruins, which I never saw). There is a very faint and little traveled trail that takes you from the top to the southern point of the plateau. At first it’s easy to follow, looking for blue blazes on the trees. But before you know it, you off the trail and going through heavy brush and trees. We tried our best to continue due south, and in doubt we went to the left towards the eastern rim. But that far over you also added to the climbs up and down, so we preferred the more level area in center of the peninsula. Finally we made it to Dutton Point, the very southeastern point of the plateau. About 300 yards from the actual lands end, we found a nice spot in trees real close to the edge with a commanding view of the Grand Canyon. We threw our packs down and continued to the actual Dutton Point. As we were hopping along the rocks we came upon a rattlesnake that was hidden in the crevices of the rock, getting shade from the heat in the hot air. We were startled at first, but then he got used to us and we got used to him. So we enjoyed the view and left him alone and he seemed content to stay in the shade – rather than harass us.

We enjoyed the view at Dutton Point. It offered a commanding view looking straight east up river, the little tiny ribbon of green snaking away down there, miles and miles away and about a mile below. This has to be one of the great views from atop the rim, and knowing that few humans have enjoyed this view added to the feeling. We called it a day and headed back to the campsite. Dan surprised me with a can of 7-up and a little whisky. Boy did that taste good, even though it was lukewarm.

That night I awoke, and looking out my tent window I saw this big bright white full moon popping up over the southeast rim over the Grand Canyon. This was one of the great sights of my life.

A few years later, in late September, Dave and I headed back to the same area to camp. This time we camped on the further northwest side of the plateau . We never made it to Dutton Point, which is too bad because it’s unbelievable. But we had a good view looking over to the west, towards Kanab Creek wilderness area and Deer Creek area. The next morning we watched the sunrise from the northern part of this area, and the sun was shining on the Zion Mountain cliffs some 80 miles away but it looked like the mountain were on fires, the way the sun hit the reddish mountains of Zion.

Thunder River/Tapeats Creek Grand Canyon Nt'l Park May 2005

) Thunder River/Deer Creek 2005
Dave and I did this 3 day backpack, taking the same trail as Chris and I 5 years earlier. We went all the way down to the Tapeats Creek campsite in the one day, which is about 5500 feet down and 12 miles. I was quite sore when we finally got to the campsite, with a nice stop at Thunder River just above. My feet and ankles were bruised and aching, I took some Pain Candy (better known as Motrin); as we took a nice long break along the scenic creek, with waterfalls in front of us.

We weren’t sore and tired enough to prevent us from taking off down Tapeats in the later part of the afternoon. We went down creek about 2 miles, and found a nice secluded, hidden part of the trail where we could jump in to the creek and lay out in the hot afternoon sun. We were refreshed from the cleansing creek, getting all the grime and sweat off of us.

Back at the campsite, we had a little treat that I brought down. I had a little bit of whisky that I brought and two Sierra Mists that I had frozen before our hike and at this time were the perfect composition of slushy ice and Mist – a perfect 7 and 7 drink for both of us. The campsite was sitting right along the creek, and about 3 other campsites. But it was quite quiet.

The middle day of the trip was to be a dayhike without our heavy packs since we were staying put at the Tapeats campsite the 2nd night as well. We had 3 choices:
1) head up Tapeats as far as we could. This would be the most technical and difficult option. Lots of obstacles to face as we proceeded further and further up into the Tapeats Ampitheatre.
2) Head down Tapeats Creek to the Colorado River, about 2-3 miles downriver
3) Head back up to Surprise Valley all the way to Deer Creek. This was by far the most exhausting option
We chose option 3, just barely winning over going down to the Colorado River. So much for this day off of healing and resting, this would end up being a quite grueling day hike. But it was worth it. First you have to climb about 1500-1800 feet out via Thunder River and back up to Surprise Valley. Then Surprise Valley is a long 3-4 miles of hiking in exposed sun. Luckily it’s relatively level. Finally you start climbing down to Deer Creek, and this ends up being another 1500 feet descent, which was fine now since it sure beats climbing up, but we knew we’d have to make this climb coming back up. More then halfway down you get to a nice oasis area where Deer Springs comes out of a recessed alcove area. This is almost as magnificent as Thunder River, but not as big. It’s a great rest area after being almost 2 hours in the sun. From there the trail goes through a thick brushy area before finally hitting the small Deer Creek, which is very shady with lots of vegetation.

This is the way the terrain is for about a mile until you get to the highlight of the Deer Creek area. Just above the Colorado River the creek narrows to a classic Grand Canyon slot canyon. The walls on each side of the creek are only a few feet apart and they curve in perfect unison and are 40-50 feet high. You can walk along the ledge right above the slot canyon and it gets quick narrow along the ledge. Due to my fear of heights, I had to stop going any further, even though I tried. I just was terrified; although Dave didn’t have any trouble going. He ended up going to the actual Deer Creek Falls, a 80 foot drop-off right before you get to the River. I kick myself for not proceeding any further, but that’s the way it was. I did go back to the head of this slot canyon section and just enjoyed the waterfall and cascading water while lying in the sun; getting wet and laying down enjoying the wonderful sights. Dave made it back and told what a great sight I missed because of my cowardness. This is still one my biggest regrets in all of my backcountry hiking experience.

After taking a nice long break in Deer Creek narrows, we headed back the way we came, a long 6 or so more miles with a 1500 foot climb and 1500 foot drop-off. The climb out of Deer Creek was tough, but so was the tough, long 3 miles across Surprise Valley, just being out in the hot sun all day. We did have a good supply of Deer Creek Spring water to keep us going; plus knowing that Thunder River was up ahead. So much for our restful off-day.

The next morning we packed up our gear, getting started a good 1 hour before the sun came up. I used my little flashlight and Dave had his headlamp. The going wasn’t too tough, even though we were climbing up the switchbacks that took us up from Tapeats Creek to Surprise Valley. This was a good thing to do, getting up before the sun. It was actually a little chilly going up, so much so that we didn’t even need a pit stop for water and rest at Thunder River, which is a must-do for most people. By the time we were half-way through the valley the sun was starting to come up, but was blocked by the cliffs to the east. So when we climbed up the 1500 feet to the Esplanade level we were still in the shade, which also helped out.

By the time we made it the Esplanade, it was actually getting cloudy and windier, and the smell rain (if not snow higher up, in the air) was in the air. Three days earlier coming down I had cached a water bottle right up along this rim where we just came onto. After searching and searching, I couldn’t find it, so I ended up just ditching it. The rest of the way up was the usual slow march with heavy packs, other than it was actually cold at this time, which sure beats the intense heat that you usually face. We did see a few backpackers going down and it sounded from them that a storm was moving in later that day, and you could feel the change in the air. But the clouds sure made the last climb of 2000 feet easier, if you call this easier. But we made it in record time, around 11:00 in the morning with a whole day left to enjoy ourselves.

Bright Angel Trail Grand Canyon Nt'l Canyon 10/05

10/05 Bright Angel Trail- I took off on this trip with DNally, just a few months after telling Nan that I had to call off our marriage. So I needed to get away. Dave and I originally planned to take off through the Arizona Strip and go to Surprise Canyon in the Grand Parashant area of the Arizona Strip. The weather seemed pretty good, nice blue skies when we left our home, and we had about 90 miles of dirt road to get to the trailhead in this extremely remote part of the Arizona Strip, which in general is one of the last real wild places in the lower 48 states. There are no facilities to be found once you left St. George, and you’re lucky to find another vehicle pass you for the entire day. The road was smooth and easy going until about 2/3rds of the way to the destination, when we started gaining elevation. All of the sudden, due to a big rain storm (and snow at this higher elevation of about 5500 feet) the night before, the road became real muddy and we actually came to some snow along the road. We started debating as to whether to continue or not, we saw a couple of cars doing the same; in fact one of them was a US Government truck doing some survey work down there. They explained to us that there was a big storm the night before and the road only got worse the further we went towards Surprise Canyon.

We decided to abort our trip to this section of the Strip, so we turned around - dejected. Dave suggested that we go to North Kaibab Plateau and the North Rim of Grand Canyon instead, which would be a good 4 more hours drive at least from where we turned around. I didn’t have anything better to do, plus I just wanted to escape the household, so I agreed. But he said he wanted to go home first and maybe we’d go the next day. I ended up just driving out there by myself that day, and Dave agreed to meet up with me at the trailhead early the next day.

We were approaching the last day of October, so when I got to the National Park that evening the North Rim was about to close up in a couple of days. In fact, the park’s campground was officially closed for the season, but they allowed campers to come in, there just would no maintenance or staff on board to help out. Didn’t matter to me, as long as I could find a place to pitch my tent, I was fine. I never camped in this campground , but throughout the season when it’s opened, usually mid-May to end of October, it is a zoo and jampacked with campers. But this last Sunday night of October, there were very few other campers – although there was one family with a very loud little child that disturbed me into the night. I did do some little hiking from the campground along the rim over to the Bright Angel viewpoint, which was right by the cabins and lodge. But most of the evening was spent relaxing with some nice cold drinks and looking at the aspens, some of which were still golden in color. That’s perhaps my favorite part of the North Kaibab, even maybe more so than even the Grand Canyon rim views, and that is the Aspens in fall - quaking Aspens, with the golden leaves quaking in the breeze.

The next morning, Dave and I met early and set off. This hike starts at the North Kaibab Trailhead and goes straight down – eventually to the river and Phantom Ranch. We weren’t going that far, we just planned a 1 night camp at Cottonwood Campground about 7 miles down along the Bright Angel Trail.

The starting elevation is over 7000 feet so you’re up in the Pines and aspens, and it’s nice and cool at this time in the morning. It’s steadily down, and soon you come to a great open viewpoint looking right down the canyon, and you can see the faint, small trail that you’ll be taking for the next 4 miles before it gets hidden around the bend of the canyon. There are points where you really can’t imagine a trail being, where it hugs along the cliff, but I’ve done this trail before and was confident I wouldn’t freak out along that section of the hike. At this viewpoint you could see 50-60 miles south to the San Francisco Peaks and Mt. Humphrey, which is Arizona’s highest peak at 12,800 feet (I climbed that about 2 years earlier). From there you keep going down, through a man-made tunnel, down to cross a bridge high above the creek bed, at-this time dry.

Then you come to the spot where you are hugging the side of a cliff, the trail being about the width of a city-sidewalk. Only here, there is a drop-off of over 500 feet down into the canyon below. I was a little nervous, carrying my backpack and all. All I could think about was a poor old man who was walking with his wife a few months earlier and accidentally (??) tripped and fell off into the canyon to his death. I was trying to picture where that could have occurred along this trail. But the views along this portion kept getting better, and finally the trail opened up a bit more and we started descending.

At about the 6 mile mark, you dropped down to the actual creek where water flowed, right where Roaring Springs came out of the cliffs across the canyon and creek. This was a lush and cooler area, thanks to the springs. It wasn’t as impressive as Thunder River, but it was a nice scenic spot never-the-less. From here on out we’d be walking along Bright Angel Creek, which was flowing real good and swiftly down, with falls and cascades all along the way.

At mile 6, with 2 more miles to go before our campground, we came to a little house that sits at the confluence of the 2 creeks. A park ranger named Bruce Aitkens and his wife live here, and have lived here for 33 years. He is part-time painter, and his Grand Canyon artwork sells from anywhere between $1000 to $30000. We were filling up our waterbottles at the pump outside in their yard, and using their bathroom, which they permit. Mrs. Aitkens came out to talk to Dave and I, and we talked for about 45 minutes. She told us that they were actually packing up and getting ready to move out of this nice cozy house; move date being about 5 days from now. She told us about how they raised their kid here a few years back, how they packed all their food and supplies in by using mules coming down that 6 miles that we just came down. We said goodbye and on we went.

We came to Cottonwood Campground in early afternoon, found a spot to throw our packs down. There were mostly vacant sites at this time, not too many people were going to stay here this night. We then proceeded down the trail along the creek for about another mile or two and then took off across the creek into a small canyon, where we climbed up a high hill and back a side creek, to eventually make it to Ribbon Falls. This is another one of those special places hidden away down in the Grand Canyon. It’s a nice place to strip down out of your smelly, grimy clothes and take a dip into the pool of water under a 60 foot ribbon-like falls. We stayed out there for awhile, then continued back to the campground.

Our campsite was ideal, quiet and cool. You could actually see straight up to where Bright Angel Point stuck out; the place where everyday hundreds of tourist hang out to get their first glance of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim. You couldn’t see anything as far as human existence from below, structures or people, but you knew it was up there, some 5000 feet above. The campground itself is situated not far from the creek, and pinned in to the high, colorful, reddish cliffs on both sides.

When I awoke at around 4:30 in the morning, I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I ended up laying on my back outside in the open air. And what I saw for the next hour or so till sunrise was one of the most spectacular sights in my life. There was a thin crescent moon just above the cliff to the west. This was faint enough to allow the viewing a tons of stars; but bright enough to cast a moon glow on the reddish Grand Canyon cliffs. And to top it off, there must have been a meteor shower going on that night. Every 30-60 seconds, one shooting star after another raced across the sky. It was like I was dreaming. I must have uh’d and ah’d all morning long. I debated if I should wake up Dave, and I didn’t. Figured if he had any trouble sleeping, he would have heard me- sounding like a young kid at a 4th of July firework show.

We took off back up the trail in the morning. Taking our time, it was a tough climb up that 5000 feet with backpack and all. Two miles into the hike and back at the Aitkens house, we freshened up a bit and Bruce came out to greet us. We ended up talking for at least an hour with him, he was very hospitable. One reason he was so nice, he saw my Farm Aid Shirt (Neil Young and Willie Nelsons annual benefit concert) and he and I both being big Neil fans ended up talking about Neil and what a great musician and person he is.

But the gist of the conversation was what was causing him to vacate his house down here in the secluded spot in the Grand Canyon, where he and his family had lived most of their lives. Bruce was a cool, old hippy-type of guy. Long, whitish hair, and very friendly. He said that he, and most employees of the National Parks, were quite disenchanted with the Bush administration and it’s policies regarding the environment in general, and specifically the national parks. Since this is right up Dave and my interest as well, we talked about this with Bruce. He said that the Park Service, led by the Superintendant of the parks who is non-friendly to the preservation of the parks, were phasing out his job down there and that it was even possible that in a few years they would propose making this house of his a stopping off point for very wealthy people (probably donors from the Energy and logging industries), where they would be helicoptered down. I don’t think this will ever happen, but it would a downright crime if they would allow people to fly down to a heliport and live in a remote canyon, in a place where now the only way down is to hike or take mules. Bruce went on and on, and we went on and on, about the environmental causes. We exchanged emails (yes, even down here you could email people).

The rest of the climb went on with no huge surprises. But that day, when I got back home and checked out my emails, I found an email awaiting me from Bruce. Attached was a photo he had taken that day, taken after a storm had moved out of the canyon. It was taken from his porch looking across the creek up the canyon with a rainbow streaked across the sky and from one side of the canyon to the other. That’s the last I’ve heard about this canyon man. See photo above

Thunder River Grand Canyon Nt'l Park May 1999

Thunder River
My first trip backpack trip in Grand Canyon was a last minute deal for me. Chris and his friend Ron had permits to do a 4 night trip but I didn’t think I could get away for that long from Andrea. But I figured I’d go out and camp one night with them at the starting point at Monument Point and maybe do a day hike part of the way down. While camping that night they talked me into going at least for 1 of their 4 nights, and although I didn’t bring my backpack tent Chris said I could squeeze into his tent. So I figured what the heck, I’ll go along.

Before I met them that late afternoon, I did take about a mile hike down from the trailhead to scout the trail, and it was definitely a rugged one mile. On the way up, I did walk along part of the way with a nice, attractive young lady who had completed a backpack trip down into the Canyon by herself. She was actually a writer for the Outdoor books, Lonely Planet. She had some good info that she shared, not only about the Grand Canyon, but also of some of her other adventures.

The next morning we began my first of what will become many backpack trips into the Grand Canyon. The first few hundred yards was innocent enough, along the rim at Monument Point. But then you began a very steep, rocky descent. With a backpack on you really had to watch each step, making sure you didn’t step on a loose rock or too slippery a foothold. The views were immense, looking south towards the wide canyon, different layers and colors of rocks and cliffs below blue, brilliant skies. There were 3 cliffs you had to go down in order to get to our destination, each at least 1500 feet in height, and there were switchbacks carved in these cliffs that allowed you to get down them. The first one was probably the steepest, it involved one spot where you had to get on your butt and slide down, perhaps also belaying your backpack below to someone below.

Once down from this top cliff, you came upon a trail junction – to the right it took you back to a trailhead on top of the rim called Indian Hollow Campground; to the left was towards Thunder River, the direction we were going. At this point, the trail leveled off for about 2-3 miles. This was on the Esplanade level, one of my favorite parts of this hike, as well as any other hike that had the Esplanade in the Colorado Plateau. It contained mostly slickrock, with beautiful colors and hue of orange and red. Nice little washes that when they contained water, would be beautiful running streams as well as magnificent waterfalls. There would be no rain today or any of the days on this hike, so these washes were bone dry. The trail had to take you far around on the ledge of this slickrock – you couldn’t go straight for the rim of the 2nd cliff because it would take you far down and the far back up to the same ledge on the further side. Finally it took you to the rim of the second huge dropoff, overlooking Surprise Valley.

Again, switchbacks took you down, down, down - this time to Surprise Valley. This was nothing like the Esplanade level above. It was desert, scrub, sand, rocks. No shade anywhere. When you finally leveled off from the long climb down to the valley, you came upon a junction in the trail. To the right would take you to Deer Creek (more on that in 2nd Thunder River backpack trip). We went to the left, towards Thunder River and Tapeats Creek. This was about a mile of relatively easy hiking. We were getting quite hot by this time, due to no shade and rising temps in the deeper and lower parts of the Canyon. We started at 7200 feet elevation way up on top and were at about 4500 feet here. We ate lunch under what little shade the vegetation provided us, which wasn’t much. But we also knew that not much further away was an oasis awaiting us – Thunder River. After getting to the rim on top of Surprise Valley, we could see and hear Thunder River, about 2 more miles and 600 feet or so down below.

We decided to throw our packs down on the edge of Surprise Valley looking down to Thunder River and Tapeats Canyon. We found a good spot away from the rim and off the trail a ways. But instead of resting here and pitching camp, we were way too hot and thirsty to waylay any time here. So we took the last big cliff down towards paradise, Thunder River. It’s about another 1500 feet drop from here down to the confluence of Tapeats Creek and Thunder River. But we had our sights and ears set only to the spot in the trail’s descent that first hit the upper part of Thunder River.

Thunder River is one of the most unique spots in the entire Grand Canyon’s vast wilderness. It originates up high along the high cliffs just off from the Surprise Valley. Vast amounts of water come gushing out of the cliff; a huge waterfall that you can actually see from 10 miles away from Timp Point high above on the North Kaibab Plateau. And for the 1st 400 yards from it’s source, the surrounding banks on both sides are lush, green vegetation, a number of shady cottonwoods. And the water is as clean as water can be, and the perfect cool temperature. After 5 or 6 hours hiking in the canyon, totally exposed to the high, hot sun - no shade or water , when you get to the Thunder River crashing down the rocks, you arrive at the perfect example of an oasis in the desert. They say that this is the shortest river in America at ¾ of a mile. It is also one of the only rivers that actually flows into a creek. It’s always a creek flowing into a river, but not in this case. But who cares about whether it’s a river or a creek or how long it is at this time. We took a nice dip into the river; and drank to our heart’s content. And rested in the shade.

Chris and Ron were in no hurry to go any further for awhile, and since I was going to not go any further the next day, while they continued down the trail to camp the next 2 nights, I went on ahead for a quick 4 mile hike without my backpack. Refreshed from the cool river, I was able to hike down the remaining 800 feet drop-off down to where Thunder River met the Tapeats Creek. I then went down the creek a ways, to the Tapeats campground where Ron and Chris would camp the next 2 nights. And I went a little further down the creek. Tapeats creek is such a wonderful flowing creek, nice little falls and cascades all along the way. From the campground to the Colorado River was about 2-3 more miles so I didn’t make it all the way to the river. But I got a good taste of Tapeats Creek and then went back to do the deceptive climb up back to Thunder River Falls where Chris and Ron were relaxing under the Cottonwoods. We then climbed the rest of the way, up endless switchbacks up to the top where we came back to Surprise Valley and within 100 feet to our packs. This was where we set up camp.

I crammed into Chris’s small little backpack tent, said goodnight and goodbye, since the next day we’d go different directions. They’d spend 3 more nights down there, and I would take off back to my car the next morning. I woke up at least an hour before the sunrise, and in the dark left them fast asleep. For the 1 ½ mile through Surprise Valley it was still dark, but the trail was easy to follow, I didn’t really even need to use my flashlight. And by the time I made it to the next 1500 foot climb up the cliff, it was that vague light of early morning that you’d see where the sun had not quite made it over the eastern horizon, but the earth was still aglow with the anticipation of the new day. This didn’t mean the climb up was easy, but it sure made it more bearable as compared if I would have left 2 or 3 hours later with the sun hitting me as I climbed. Even the early morning sun out in the Grand Canyon, especially when you’re climbing straight up, can take it’s toll on you. But there would be no sun as I climbed up to the Esplanade level awaiting me up there.

It was a nice break from climbing once I got to the level Esplanade section of the hike. And as I approached the part of the hike where I’d start the last climb, the sun was starting to pop up. But luckily as I climbed up this last 1500 feet , I was mostly in the shade due to the big mesa just to the east of me. By this time, legs start becoming weak; your lungs are screaming for oxygen. It seems endless the last section of switchbacks. Thank goodness I was doing this in the early morning and in the shade, because I can’t imagine doing it in the middle of the afternoon. But finally you make to the rim and back to Monument Point; and the car.

I got in my Jeep and traveled about a mile or two to a lunch break on top of Crazy Jug Point. This point gave you a Hawks Nest view of where I was the last 2 days; Surprise Valley barely visible because of being blocked by the Esplanade and it’s red rocks; Tapeats Ampitheatre and it’s canyon. And somewhere down there way below was the Colorado River.

Chris and Ron came out 3 days later and on their way up the last climb they came upon a German female hiker, alone. She was disoriented and dehydrated and lost. They assisted her, gave her some water. But she insisted that she would be fine and went her way, hopefully to where she was intending. But it’s easy to see how someone could get into such a state with their body and their mind. This is wild and rugged country. No water (except when you get to Thunder River), grueling terrain, unforgiving. But it’s a chance to see the heart of the Grand Canyon with very few other humans and a feeling of being able to be a small speck in the huge canyon.