@TripLeader - excellent photography as always.
Sorry that you guys didn't make it to the Confluence. There is always a next time, tho!
We did this trip in 2 parts:
The first part was in October 2016: Tanner to Confluence, via Beamer, and ascend in reverse.
Our initial plan was to spend night 1 at Tanner, and night 2 at the confluence, before reversing course with a dry camp on the ascent (we cached food and water during the descent).
However, we changed our plans when we reached Tanner. Two factors:
1) During our descent, we stopped and talked to a party of old dudes ascending. They had come down the salt River, and were crusty, figuratively and literally. One of them was a student of Buchard. Anyhow, they strongly recommend not lugging all our gear across Beamer. They also told us how to find the cabin.
2) The descent beat us to s_h_i_t. Full Stop.
So, we slept in the morning of Day 2, and spent Night 2 at Palisades Beach.
On Day 3 we completed a ~14 mile day hike to the Confluence and Cabin. We left at the break of dawn and returned after dark. We carried enough equipment for a bivouac just in case. Anyhow, the Confluence was muddy and unfortunately underwhelming (we expected to see the bright azure waters), but the Cabin very interesting.
On Day 4 we returned to Tanner.
Day 5 was the ascent. We planned to cover in 2 days. But, we were able to complete the hike in 1 day as we felt so good and made such good time.
Side note: we have encountered lots of "characters" over the years: remarkable people that are odd ... Years ago, some guy with nothing but an iron bar not far from the junction of the Tonto and the west-side Grandview Trail. This trip delivered too: as we made our ascent, we stopped to talk to a made up older woman draped in jewelry making her way down to Tanner. She seemed in good shape and spirits. Oh, yeah, this was her first inner canyon trip ...
The second part was in October 2017: Tanner - Grandview via Escalante Route.
I like the idea of the bicycle shuttle. We solved that problem by parking at Grandview, and taking a taxi to the Tanner TH. The taxi logistics took some planning and work, but was successful.
BTW, we opted against a Hance ascent because Grandview offered water (Miner's Spring) and we aren't ... um masochists.
Some pictures from the 2016 trip:
Beamer's Cabin:
A Menorah, or at least what I THINK looks like a Menorah. We stopped for water between Palisades and Tanner, and I looked over to the North Rim, and saw this erosion pattern:
Yeah, I have a vivid imagination, but hey Hanukkah starts tomorrow so ...
