BLKNBLU
Explorer
So I had another little adventure to the Grand Canyon this week. This one one took some twists and also put me in a bit of a mood. The mood part I'll save for another thread. Originally this trip was to be a 5 day 4 night backpack to Bright Angel campground and Clear Creek. The whole thing almost didn't happen as none of the usual suspects I do this kind of stuff with were able to go for one reason or another. Part of that lies with me though, as I generally just get a permit for a trip and then post it up along the lines of "Here it is. Who's in?". It seems if I don't do that and try to get everyone to agree on a date, there is never a concensus and nothing ever gets done. This seems to work better for me, although I get a clunker like this every once in a while when nobody is up for it.
Fortunately, this time a co worker that was out, was suddenly back in so we were able to make a go of it. Unfortunately, he had some difficulties with the hike and we had to adjust on the fly to keep safe. Ray ended up not feeling well by the end of the trip in to Bright Angel. When I spoke to the ranger at Phantom Ranch he was good enough to scratch our day over to Clear Creek and give us a 2nd day at Bright Angel campground. This way Ray would be able to rest and we could re-evaluate at that point what to do next. This of course presented a new problem as Clear Creek was a full day of hiking to get to and we would now only have the one day to get there, leaving us with no time to actually spend at Clear Creek.
On our "free" day at Bright Angel we mostly rested and took a light hike around to stretch out the legs and work out the kinks. Ray felt better, but not great, and we knew we were probably going to have to cut the trip short. The next morning we checked in with the rangers as was suggested by them to see if an alternative could be worked out. Sadly it could not and all they could really recommend was to hang out at Bright Angel most of the day, then hike up late in the afternoon to the Tonto plateau and primitive camp in what is technically the Clear Creek area, though not at the actual creek. We could then hike back down to Bright Angel/Phantom in the morning to hang around and then have the last night of our trip which was already scheduled for Bright Angel.
After a bit of discussion Ray and I decided we weren't really interested in moving him any further away from the South Rim which is where we needed to eventually be. So we decided to hike out that day and cut the trip short. It was a longer hike than I had hoped to have to make at that point but we agreed we would take as much time as necessary to get it done. We would avoid the heat as best we could even if it meant hiking in the dark near the end. We had plenty of food due to cutting 2 days off the trip and water would be available at regular intervals along the trail. In the end that worked out well and Ray got out in good shape albeit late and we are now home safe and sound. We've got a new story to tell now though it isn't the one we expected to have.
The pics.
Ray and I raring to go and a bit of a view of where we are headed to my left
The 1 and 1/2 mile rest house and a bit of the trail and a bit better view of where we are headed
A look at the trail condition
Some of what we down climbed
Half way down by mileage but 2/3 of the way down by elevation is Indian Gardens. As the sign explains, the area has been used for centuries by native peoples for farming and then more recently by miners. Now it mostly serves as a cool respite for hikers...
...though not as cool as we would have liked. There was also a thermometer in the shade that only registered 93 degrees.
The trail levels off for awhile after Indian Gardens
Garden Creek which is responsible for Indian Gardens but is most often underground or just a seep, finally shows itself...
...before disappearing down a chute to later join back up below with Pipe Creek.
The one major down climb for the second half of the hike occurs at the Devils Corkscrew
Fortunately, this time a co worker that was out, was suddenly back in so we were able to make a go of it. Unfortunately, he had some difficulties with the hike and we had to adjust on the fly to keep safe. Ray ended up not feeling well by the end of the trip in to Bright Angel. When I spoke to the ranger at Phantom Ranch he was good enough to scratch our day over to Clear Creek and give us a 2nd day at Bright Angel campground. This way Ray would be able to rest and we could re-evaluate at that point what to do next. This of course presented a new problem as Clear Creek was a full day of hiking to get to and we would now only have the one day to get there, leaving us with no time to actually spend at Clear Creek.
On our "free" day at Bright Angel we mostly rested and took a light hike around to stretch out the legs and work out the kinks. Ray felt better, but not great, and we knew we were probably going to have to cut the trip short. The next morning we checked in with the rangers as was suggested by them to see if an alternative could be worked out. Sadly it could not and all they could really recommend was to hang out at Bright Angel most of the day, then hike up late in the afternoon to the Tonto plateau and primitive camp in what is technically the Clear Creek area, though not at the actual creek. We could then hike back down to Bright Angel/Phantom in the morning to hang around and then have the last night of our trip which was already scheduled for Bright Angel.
After a bit of discussion Ray and I decided we weren't really interested in moving him any further away from the South Rim which is where we needed to eventually be. So we decided to hike out that day and cut the trip short. It was a longer hike than I had hoped to have to make at that point but we agreed we would take as much time as necessary to get it done. We would avoid the heat as best we could even if it meant hiking in the dark near the end. We had plenty of food due to cutting 2 days off the trip and water would be available at regular intervals along the trail. In the end that worked out well and Ray got out in good shape albeit late and we are now home safe and sound. We've got a new story to tell now though it isn't the one we expected to have.
The pics.
Ray and I raring to go and a bit of a view of where we are headed to my left
The 1 and 1/2 mile rest house and a bit of the trail and a bit better view of where we are headed
A look at the trail condition
Some of what we down climbed
Half way down by mileage but 2/3 of the way down by elevation is Indian Gardens. As the sign explains, the area has been used for centuries by native peoples for farming and then more recently by miners. Now it mostly serves as a cool respite for hikers...
...though not as cool as we would have liked. There was also a thermometer in the shade that only registered 93 degrees.
The trail levels off for awhile after Indian Gardens
Garden Creek which is responsible for Indian Gardens but is most often underground or just a seep, finally shows itself...
...before disappearing down a chute to later join back up below with Pipe Creek.
The one major down climb for the second half of the hike occurs at the Devils Corkscrew
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