Grand Canyon backpack, 10/8-10/14

Sunset from Plateau Point



Canyon wall from Salt Creek, by moonlight



Cooling off at Ribbon Falls



Our six-night itinerary:

• Saturday 10/8 - Hermit Creek
• Sunday - Granite Rapids
• Monday - Salt Creek
• Tuesday - Indian Garden
• Wednesday - Bright Angel
• Thursday - 2nd night at Bright Angel - day hike to Ribbon Falls.
• Friday - out via South Kaibab.

Daily highs in the mid-to-high 80s in the canyon; lows in the high 50s to low 60s. Not a drop of rain.

Thanks to Bill, Dave, Tara, Hanna, and especially to Tim for organizing the trip.

Photos

some short videos - Granite Canyon sunrise (time lapse), sparring mule deer, Granite Rapids whitewater, Ribbon Falls.

Nice itinerary. I'm hoping for a short backpack in the GC next year.

Did you keep a journal? I'm very interested in hearing about whether the Hermit Trail was scary for anyone, and trail tales in general.

Nice!

So great to see this! My hiking friend and I (Mary) did a nice corridor backpack through the GC a couple of weeks ago. North Rim start, camped at Cottonwood night 1, camped at Bright Angel night two, and out Bright Angel trail day 3. So beautiful!

I am mentally planning/daydreaming of my next trip there, hoping to do some backcountry multi-night trips like yours. Can't wait to hear more details!

blaze, very nice. I like photo 108...nice job not over-exposing the water...also, seems odd to have such different geology on the two banks of the creek. So many nice photos, but I'm partial to Plateau Point....isn't that spot amazing?

The night time photo is freaking amazing but thank god the waterfall one wasnt a nudie....

-Mr. Kill

Verrrry nice! Love that place.

So beautiful! Love the vids to.

Thanks to all for the kind comments!

audrey said:

Did you keep a journal? I'm very interested in hearing about whether the Hermit Trail was scary for anyone, and trail tales in general.

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I don't believe anyone kept a journal. I can tell you though, at times you're hiking near some colossal drops on the Hermit Trail. Sometimes the magnitude of the drop wasn't fully apparent until later. We looked back up the Hermit Creek canyon toward the end of that first day, in disbelief that we'd just come down that way.

To put this in context, this is from a person who is moderately uncomfortable with heights. I'd rate myself as a 6-7 out of 10, if 1 means you skip across the Knife Edge, and 10 means you are too paralyzed to proceed.

I was able to compartmentalize my discomfort and enjoy the trip. I would do it again.

Great photos as usual Jonathan. Sounds and looks like it was an incredible trip!

audrey said:

Nice itinerary. I'm hoping for a short backpack in the GC next year.

Did you keep a journal? I'm very interested in hearing about whether the Hermit Trail was scary for anyone, and trail tales in general.

Click to expand...

The Hermit trail is not as difficult as some of the trail descriptions would lead you to believe. The corkscrew section through the redwall down to the Tonto Platform is switchbacks and there is no exposure. There are a couple of sections of trail where rockslides have obliterated the footpath for a few yards, necessitating boulder hopping, but nothing more difficult than scrambling over the cone of Mt Washington. All in all, it's no worse than the South Kaibab!

Fantastic set of photos. Looks like it was an awesome trip!

max said:

The Hermit trail is not as difficult as some of the trail descriptions would lead you to believe. The corkscrew section through the redwall down to the Tonto Platform is switchbacks and there is no exposure. There are a couple of sections of trail where rockslides have obliterated the footpath for a few yards, necessitating boulder hopping, but nothing more difficult than scrambling over the cone of Mt Washington. All in all, it's no worse than the South Kaibab!

Click to expand...

I did the Hermit Trail for the first time a few days ago and it could almost be described as a walk in the park for a long time White Mountain hiker. There are long sections where the original Sante Fe cobblestone is still intact, or has been restored. Though the trail is described as "not maintained" there was a five-person crew working there (funded by a foundation I've forgotten the name of) as part of a long-term project to fix up the lower middle section, which is a little rough but really OK as is.

As far as exposure, my fear of heights is about 9 on the scale, and I had to talk to myself reassuringly a couple of times but no big deal.

Swimming in the Colorado in November on the beaches at Granite Rapids, a few dozen yards downriver from the video referenced here, is an experience none should deny themselves.

I go to the Canyon a lot. Off trail as much as possible. The younger people I go with are starting to leave me behind on the uphills. I am actually looking to the possibility of trips with people who comfortably match White Mountain book times on the flats, lag a little on the downhills 'cause the knees are going, but are somewhere in the area of 2/3 book or even worse on the uphills.

Maybe a VFFT Canyon trip for the slightly-past-prime could be arranged someday.

dr_wu002 said:

thank god the waterfall one wasnt a nudie

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I don't think I've ever seen Ribbons Falls without at least a modest crowd there, except in cold temperature seasons where nudie would be even more uncomfortable than inappropriate. Plus shrinkage.

Regrettably the "ribbons" down the falls, the sheets of growth, are dissipating because of human interaction. Used to be almost a solid mass of green and now it's punched full of holes, and non-existent in large sections.

Great trip, photos and videos.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Nice trip report and incredible photos. Thanks for posting!

really nice!!!! thanks for posting

Ah, those photos take me back--what a special place. Thanks for sharing!