On October 17, 2024, I headed down into the Grand Canyon for my second backpacking trip.
My first trip was back in May--the classic route of South Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel campground, then to Havasupai Gardens and up the Bright Angel. It was fantastic. See my entries here:
South Kaibab to Bright Angel Campground
Bright Angel Campground to Havasupai Gardens
Havasupai Gardens to Rim
I loved that trip so much I decided to take another. This time, I hiked Hermit Trail to Hermit Creek Campground, stayed there two nights, exploring the area, and then climbed back out the same way. It was a very different experience...and no less fantastic. Here's a little about day 1:
I started around dawn, because the original forecast had been for unseasonable warmth (and sunrise is such an amazing time in the canyon). But about a week before the trip, the forecast changed to cold and snow on the rim, rain and thunder down below. Either way, best to start early.
Hermit trail, at the beginning:
Wow, so fancy! All those paving stones and nice borders. Who says this trail is "less maintained?"
A little down the trail--not so fancy, but so pretty:
Still trail-like:
And then...hey, what's a little rockslide? See that stretch of trail on the other side, just get yourself there!
What part of this doesn't look like a trail to you?
SOOO much fun navigating this trail. There were a few places where you did have to pay attention, and a few places you had to use your hands a bit to get over big rocks. The last picture was a recent rockslide, where you just sort of found a way across. But nothing was particularly scary--even for someone with a moderately significant fear of heights, and none of the trail-finding was difficult. But...it's definitely not the Bright Angel. :)
I loved it.
There were so many places where I'd look ahead at these sheer cliffs with a little sloping area above them and then another sheer cliff, and I knew the trail had to go on that sloping bit, but I couldn't see it and it looked slightly terrifying. When the trail got there, however, it wasn't terrifying at all. The trail found a way. Here's an example:
When I got to the Cathedral Stairs, I understood why they were called that--soaring walls, spires, beautiful views out window-like gaps...and steep descent. It was 10:00 AM and I still mostly had shade here.
I'd only met one set of people going down and about four sets of people going up, and when I got to Hermit Creek Campground, I had it all to myself. I set up my tent in the prime spot, under the alcove.
I'd planned to spend the next day hiking down to the river and having a beach day, but I knew that it might rain later, and the creek might swell, making the trail tricky or dangerous, so I started hiking to the river on Day 1, with a bright blue sky above. I was shortly astounded by Hermit Creek's beauty.
Earlier in the day, that one set of hikers I'd met going down was a young couple with smallish packs. They had reservations at Monument Creek but had heard a terrible forecast of rain and wind, and they'd about decided to do it as a day trip. I warned them that it was a very ambitious day trip, but they didn't seem intimidated. They were from somewhere flat in the midwest and it was their first time here, and after we separated, I wished I'd warned them more strongly. Anyway, I met them again in Hermit Creek. Apparently they'd made it all the way to the river and were headed up. At about 1:15 in the afternoon. Starting the 7+-mile trek up 4500 feet. I should have offered them to stay with me in my campsite. I hope they got up safely, and that they weren't hating the Canyon by the end.
There is a trail that follows Hermit Creek down to the river, but it's hard to follow. I lost it a dozen times, but it follows a creek, so you're never really lost, and I had water shoes and was having fun playing in the creek, so I didn't mind so much. TAKE WATER SHOES if you go on this trail. It was the best $9.00 I ever spent. :)
Here's the Colorado River upstream:
Hermit rapids downstream (with rafters! How lucky was I to be able to watch that?):
That water in my bottle is straight, unfiltered, from the river. Can you believe how clear it is? I of course filtered it before I drank it, but the clarity was amazing, as was the beautiful blue-green color. I've been at the river four times now, and twice it was like this. Twice it was muddy brown.
I lounged around at the beach for a while, explored, then went back to camp, where I met my very friendly neighbors--but only one set of them. Hermit Creek Campground has permits for 4 groups, I believe, but it was only me and the one group. Awesome. Probably a combination of the BEWARE! UNSEASONABLE HEAT! e-mail we got a few weeks ago and the BEWARE! SNOW! RAIN! COLD! forecast we saw a few days ago. But it had been an absolutely gorgeous day: blue sky, not too hot.
I talked with my neighbors, who are avid Grand Canyon backpackers, and who invited me to tag along with them a day longer (they were going to Monument Creek and then back here), since they'd had a couple of cancellations on their permit. If I'd had a way to communicate with the people expecting me above, I might have done it, but phones are useless down here, and I didn't want to worry them.
I hung my food and backpack on the handy pole provided for the campsite and went to bed.
When it started to thunder late that night, I went and retrieved my empty backpack and pulled it into the tent with me, making for some very tight quarters. And then the rain started. Perfect timing. Thunder, lightning, rain...and me, safe in my tent. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
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