Hermit Creek and Tonto Trail exploration--October 18, 2024:
We had quite a thunder concert in the night, along with rain. A beautiful sound when you're (mostly) safe and snug. It was the first night I'd ever used my tent in the rain, and it did well.
In the morning, a foggy, slightly drizzling morning met me, gorgeous in its own mysterious, color-deepening way:
I lazily ate breakfast and invited my neighbors from last night to shelter in my alcove while they did the last of their packing and snacking. By the time I was ready to go exploring, the rain drizzle had stopped, but a few delightful sights like this met me as I headed west on the Tonto Trail.
Then things started clearing up and I got views like this:
I only went about 2.5 or 3 miles before I turned around and sat at the best viewpoint, overlooking Hermit Rapid (pictured above) and ate lunch.
When I got back to camp, a new set of neighbors had arrived. Two older women backpacking together on a seven-night trip: down the Bright Angel and across the Tonto to Cedar Springs, then a night at Granite Rapids, two nights here, two nights at Boucher, one night halfway up the Boucher trail. They amaze me. I chatted a lot with one of the women, who has been on even longer trips here, solo. She's my new hero.
In the afternoon I headed upstream along Hermit Creek, which both sets of neighboring campers had recommended because it was so pretty. I found a gorgeous little cascade and thought, "This must be what they were talking about."
But they just kept coming--one little waterfall after another. It was incredibly beautiful.
Again, I was thankful for my water shoes that let me explore with so much ease.
Besides the two women in camp with me, I saw absolutely no one else the entire day. Which is amazing for a place as popular as this. I'm even more convinced that the bad forecasts contributed to the emptiness here. I feel bad for those who must have cancelled...but selfishly happy for me. It felt like I had the canyon almost entirely to myself.
It was a beautiful, beautiful day.
