Grand Canyon: Tapeats, Deer and Kanab Creeks - FAIL

[shade]

I have too far to drive to count on runoff, but that would be a good way to get in there lightly. Maybe plan it out so you could go hard to a more reliable source if puddle grazing didn't work out.

I've comfortably carried 10L of water (maybe more, I'll have to check) and the rest of my kit in a Zpack's Arc Haul Zip pack, and I still have an old 80L Gregrory if I decide to go crazy. The nice thing about targeting Indian Garden is having reliable water for the hike out.

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

@shade please be sure to read @jgaz thread on his latest trip and IG water issues:

Grand Canyon Heads Up

I just got back from a four day backpacking trip with my sister and her 10 year old grandson. We hiked to the river and back on the Bright Angel Trail. I did this in order to keep the daily mileage around 4.5 to 5 miles. I shouldn’t have been concerned. The kid did great! He carried about...

expeditionportal.com

***

Update: now that I had my first post-op appointment, I will share the latest diagnosis: fractured fibula and "shattered ankle". I am not sure that "shattered ankle" is an official clinical term, but that is a direct quote.

Apparently, the surgeon wasn't quite prepared for the number of bone fragments to be cleaned up ...

Anyhow, none of this changes the prognosis. Six weeks of cast/boot and then PT.

Pink for my daughter and breast cancer awareness month.



A couple of other things:

- I have all sorts of pictures of my ankle on day 0, 7 and 14. I will not post them because in a word, they are gross.

- I know it is ultimately irrelevant, but still a mystery to me how I managed to f@@k myself up so badly.

- My Jeep is down too with a leaking front driver's said axle seal, and a bad thermostat. Odd huh?

My local mechanic was able to get in this week, and I decided to also splurge with some other upgrades: Fox shocks, new springs and a big brake kit.

 

[shade]

Hang tough.
Suspension upgrades all around.

Thanks for the link. Reading now.

 

[jgaz]

Hang in there.
Best of luck with your recovery.
IIRC your Jeep is a manual trans, correct?

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

Hang tough.
Suspension upgrades all around.

Thanks for the link. Reading now.

Thanks!

Hang in there.
Best of luck with your recovery.
IIRC your Jeep is a manual trans, correct?

Thanks!

Yup; it is a manual. No driving for now. It will be a looong recovery. Sigh.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Thanks for sharing your experience. i hope you have a complete recovery thats as speedy as possible.

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

Thanks for sharing your experience. i hope you have a complete recovery thats as speedy as possible.

Thank you!

 

[zelseman]

Yeah, 100% agree on the surgery. I suppose it's like anything else, buy once cry once. Do it right the first time.

Have you done the Grandview-Tonto-BA route before?

I completed it with my buddy (same guy as above) in 2009. A couple of thoughts if you don't mind:

- We spent our first night on Horseshoe Mesa. The closest water is at Miner's Spring. And it is a major PITA to get water, because the trail is very steep and demanding. IIRC, the round trip is over a mile.

- In addition to the East Grandview Trail, there is also a West trail descending from the Mesa to the Tonto. The Grandview Trail takes you by Miner's Spring. The West Trail is adjacent to Cottonwood Creek.

- If Cottonwood Creek is running, I would try to spend my first night there.

- We had real hard time finding the Tonto Trail after exiting a drainage, a couple of miles East of the S. Kaibab Junction. We did not have GPS on this trip.

- There is a natural water source (name escapes me) on the Tonto, about 1.5 mile West of the S. Kaibab Junction. BUT, the water source is considered to be too radioactive for non-emergency consumption.

- We hauled our water after topping off at Miner's Spring, and completed the Tonto section in one day, Grandview Junction to Indian Garden, with a detour to Bright Angel - completely unnecessary but we did it anyhow.

This is a fantastic hike. Enjoy!

We have done this same trip and you will have to carry water, lots of water. There was basically no monsoon season this year and the Tonto is dry. This hike requires carrying a ton in a normal year. Cottonwood is a reliable source IMHO and I think the other source you are thinking of is Cremation Creek and it is hit or miss. We hiked this route in April 2018 and there was usable water there, but someone we talked to on BA last week said they had to scramble a bit to find it. Water is also off for the season on the Bright Angel Trail per NPS Facebook. They got single digits at Indian Garden when we left at the beginning of the week, so obviously be prepared for anything weather wise. Good luck and have a good trip!

 

[shade]

We have done this same trip and you will have to carry water, lots of water. There was basically no monsoon season this year and the Tonto is dry. This hike requires carrying a ton in a normal year. Cottonwood is a reliable source IMHO and I think the other source you are thinking of is Cremation Creek and it is hit or miss. We hiked this route in April 2018 and there was usable water there, but someone we talked to on BA last week said they had to scramble a bit to find it. Water is also off for the season on the Bright Angel Trail per NPS Facebook. They got single digits at Indian Garden when we left at the beginning of the week, so obviously be prepared for anything weather wise. Good luck and have a good trip!

Thanks. If it doesn't warm up, I may ditch GC and head elsewhere. If it's going to be cold, I want to be wearing crampons or snowshoes.

 

[zelseman]

Thanks. If it doesn't warm up, I may ditch GC and head elsewhere. If it's going to be cold, I want to be wearing crampons or snowshoes.

Definitely a good call if you can weather the cold. Horn Creek was probably our best night this time around...

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

Thanks. If it doesn't warm up, I may ditch GC and head elsewhere. If it's going to be cold, I want to be wearing crampons or snowshoes.

@shade - did you have the opportunity to hike the canyon last month?

I made the mistake of looking at the "Truck Gun" thread. It was a fun thread, but now it has gone off the rails.

Anyhow, it reminded me that you were contemplating a hike.

You gotta share a trip report!!!

 

[shade]

@shade - did you have the opportunity to hike the canyon last month?

I made the mistake of looking at the "Truck Gun" thread. It was a fun thread, but now it has gone off the rails.

Anyhow, it reminded me that you were contemplating a hike.

You gotta share a trip report!!!

My trip report is that hiking the valley while using Phoenix mass transit isn't a bad way to go. Work got in the way of my departure, and I had to be in Phoenix for a concert on the night of the 4th, so I flew out & back. That wasn't my plan, but I still had a good time. I'm going back to the canyon in May for a few nights on the main trails, so it's not so bad. I do want to cover that stretch of the Tonto, though. Maybe next fall in October, so I won't be up against the water being turned off at Indian Garden.

For anyone visiting the area, I wasn't kidding about the valley's transportation system. Combined with Google Maps and a good pair of shoes, I covered a lot of ground on shopping trips, and just checking things out.

When people get their knickers twisted instead of just having a discussion, the result is what happened in that thread. It's not the first time I've seen it happen around a particular set of knickers that were involved, but that's apparently what the ExPo gods want.

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

My trip report is that hiking the valley while using Phoenix mass transit isn't a bad way to go. Work got in the way of my departure, and I had to be in Phoenix for a concert on the night of the 4th, so I flew out & back. That wasn't my plan, but I still had a good time. I'm going back to the canyon in May for a few nights on the main trails, so it's not so bad. I do want to cover that stretch of the Tonto, though. Maybe next fall in October, so I won't be up against the water being turned off at Indian Garden.

For anyone visiting the area, I wasn't kidding about the valley's transportation system. Combined with Google Maps and a good pair of shoes, I covered a lot of ground on shopping trips, and just checking things out.

When people get their knickers twisted instead of just having a discussion, the result is what happened in that thread. It's not the first time I've seen it happen around a particular set of knickers that were involved, but that's apparently what the ExPo gods want.

Sorry that the canyon didn't work out this time for you, but sounds like you had a good time in Phoenix.

Downtown Phoenix has come a long way recently, imo, with lots of new restaurants and bars and attractions. I assume your concert was at Comerica theatre. Comerica, which is not new ofc, is a good venue. I was last there in late September to see Jason Bonham.

My wife used to take public transit (when she commuted into Phoenix) some years back, and then the homeless were sometimes problematic. But, so it is in any big city.

If you are in Phoenix again and are looking for an old-school pre-Starbucks-coffee-joint, I recommend these guys. Also some really good Thai and Sushi places.

Serafina Coffee Roasters

Join us for your perfect morning brew

www.serafinacoffeeroasters.com

That other thread ... Sigh. It does need some moderation. Anyhow I like it, because I like firearm porn.

 

[shade]

I was there for A Child's Garden of Dreams. The program notes are almost as interesting as the music.

I only smelled urine on one bus. Other than that, everything was clean, on time, and in good working order. $20 for a week pass is hard to beat.

 

[jgaz]

Maybe next fall in October, so I won't be up against the water being turned off at Indian Garden.

@shade I may have given you, or more likely, someone else the wrong impression about the water situation at Indian Garden in my “Grand Canyon Heads Up” thread.

My intention was to impress upon hikers the importance of checking on the current water availability at the time of your hike. Also, and more importantly, to have a back up plan for making water safe to drink. I think you are well versed in this area.

The water shut off I almost had to deal with was a very rare situation. It was due to the pump replacements at the Garden water plant.
The water at Indian Garden remains on all year round to the best of my knowledge.

I agree with @GB_Willys_2014 that downtown Phoenix has come a long ways recently. I think ASU moving the college of nursing downtown was a big help in this respect.
Of course, I always thought Phoenix was an improvement over the parts of downtown Detroit I was familiar with. Hahaha.

I also agree 100% with the above comments on the Truck Gun thread.