Grand Canyon Backpack - March 12

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
I just returned from my 26th backpack trip into the Grand Canyon. Never gets boring. Always amazing. For those who have never been down there, and want to go, please do. It's such an amazing place. On this trip my buddy Charles and I chose to go uber light. Each of us carried no more than 18 pounds fully loaded. That permitted us to go quicker than usual, stop less frequently, and cover the maximum mileage we needed to cover. Great trip.

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Sunrise on the Tonto Plateau about 1000 feet above the river or 4000 feet below the south rim. That's my favorite level in the canyon.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
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You really can't experience the full magnitude of the canyon without making the trip to the river. This was a nice little side trip down Hermit Creek.

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Monument Creek is a beautiful place to camp. That spire is easily 200 feet tall. The scale of the canyon is still hard for me to wrap my head around.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Just as we arrived at Granite Rapids, we happened to catch one of the few River Ranger patrols go by. What a job. Two weeks on the Colorado per "shift." Again, what a job to have.

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Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Scott, we were down for three nights with four days walking. The first day we went down the Hermit Trail to the Boucher. That stretch was gnarly enough to warrant a stern letter from the Park Service warning us of the difficulty. I had to submit a mini canyon resume and sign a waiver to get them to agree to issue our permits for that first day. That turned out to be eight solid hours of brisk hiking over very aggressive terrain. Maybe 17 miles or so. The other days weren't too bad. The last day was from Monument Creek out via the Hermit. I think that was only 10.5 miles. We knocked that out in a fast five hour push. Even for two dudes who have logged a lot of canyon miles, today I can barely walk. :) Ouchie. Stepping off a curb hurts.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Looks like fun, hoping to do Bill Hall trail in the fall.
That's a great trail, and naturally the best time to do it is in the fall. The top of the Bill Hall can be tricky with route finding. It's also slow going as it's a bit loose and rocky. I haven't been there in many years, but I do remember it being very enjoyable and quite rugged, which is why I liked it. I imagine it can go months on end with virtually no real traffic.

The GC is pretty amazing.
 

chicken corners

Adventurer
That's a great trail, and naturally the best time to do it is in the fall. The top of the Bill Hall can be tricky with route finding. It's also slow going as it's a bit loose and rocky. I haven't been there in many years, but I do remember it being very enjoyable and quite rugged, which is why I liked it. I imagine it can go months on end with virtually no real traffic.

The GC is pretty amazing.

Thanks for the info, yes the Grand Canyon is great. I have camped on the rim in a few places. Hiked to the bottom at Whitmore overlook.
 

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