sli74
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Here's my Grand Canyon trip Report, 5 days 4 nights from Grandview to Yaki Point. It was a fabulous trip, the pictures don't do it justice.
Monday April 5th
I drove to my cousin Vin's place in Newton to leave my car there for the 2 weeks. I woke up at 4:15 am though I didn¡¦t sleep very much all night because I was so excited. I woke him up at 5:10 am and he drove me to Logan airport. I checked in my 2 large duffel bags and went to the terminal. They were checking everybody¡¦s shoes and security was much tighter than it was the last time I flew. I slept most of the way to Salt Lake City and had the entire row to myself to stretch out. After the layover in Salt Lake where I had Pizza Hut for lunch, I flew to Phoenix. Before I picked up my bags I got my paperwork for Hertz for the rental car squared away. After getting my luggage I took the shuttle to pick up the rental and drove to REI which was about 15 minutes away. At REI, I bought a pair of waterproof neoprene socks for the Paria trip, a pillow and 2 canisters of fuel for the stove. Next, at about 4pm I headed to the Grand Canyon. I stopped in Flagstaff at about 6 pm and picked up Mexican food, ate in the car and drove on. I got to the Grand Canyon at about 8 pm. I was meeting Paige, someone I met on Backpacker.com forums. I couldn¡¦t easily locate Paige¡¦s car because it was dark and a maze of roads. I stopped into the Registration area for Maswik Lodge and they tried to put me through into Paige¡¦s room. There was no answer and the woman was nice enough to tell me which general area to search in for her car. I found Paige¡¦s truck, a red Izuzu Rodeo and there was a note with a room number on the front windshield. I figured they went for dinner and proceeded to repack my backpack and look at the maps. About an hour later, a car pulled up but it had 1 extra adult in it so I wasn¡¦t sure it was them. They waved and I got out and met Paige, Taylor, Dave, Bob and his friend Mike, my hiking buddies for the next 5 days. We all went into the room and though it was a bit cramped everyone was REALLY nice and super excited.
Tuesday April 6th - Grandview Trailhead to Cottonwood Creek ¡V 4.5 miles
We all got up, showered and changed and got our packs ready. We made some decisions about spotting cars and then grabbed some not so great but expensive breakfast at the cafeteria in the main lodge. Dave and I dropped the others and the packs off and spotted the cars, one near Yaki Point and drove back to Grandview to meet the rest for the hike. I left the rental at Grandview on the side of the road because there was no parking left. Just before noon, we took a prehike group picture and off we went down the Grandview trail to the bottom of the Canyon. The terrain required careful foot placement and was pretty steep particularly with a fully loaded pack. Bob and Mike were sharing gear and Dave, Paige and Taylor were sharing gear and my pack was heavy but not painful. We stopped 45 minutes into the hike to eat lunch and then continued our hike down into the canyon. Another 45 minutes later we stopped for another snack. At about 2 pm we reached Horseshoe Mesa under threatening skies and got our rain gear on just in time to avoid being soaked by the afternoon downpour. The trip down from Horseshoe Mesa to Cottonwood Creek was a STEEP one with lots of loose rock. The rain stopped without 30 minutes and once again the sun made its presence known. When we got to the Creek at about 4:30 pm we were VERY happy to see plenty of water flowing in the Creek. We spread out to look for a suitable camp spot to fit us all. Mike found a beautiful area with shade and an auxillary spot on a hill which Bob took. We set up camp and spent a bit of time in awe at the Canyon beauty surrounding us. Dave surprised all of us with a beer for each of us (except Taylor) that he hiked down and chilled in the stream. We ate dinner, drank some very good chai and chatted at camp. We even spent some time ooohhhing and aaahhhing over the beautiful stars that dotted the clear skies. Then we headed off to bed.
Wednesday April 7th ¡V Cottonwood Creek to Grapevine Creek ¡V 5.5 miles
We had some cool winds throughout the night and woke to another fabulously beautiful and sunny day in the Canyon. After a warm breakfast we got started at about 8:30 am. I stopped often to take pictures of the amazing beauty around us. Hiking with this group was a true pleasure; they were funny and a great fun to hike with . . . On the way, we met up with a solo hiker who was making his way from Hance Creek Trailhead, he sort of melded with our group and we grew from 6 hikers to 7. His name was Monty and I think he was from Colorado. The hike was easy with a few spots where the trail was only about a foot wide with a steep slope. Within minutes of arriving at camp the skies opened up for what was to be a daily afternoon ritual. This storm was accompanied by lightning and thunder and we spent about 30 minutes under some overhangs to keep ¡§dry¡¨ . . . The ¡§boys¡¨ went for a short hike down the drainage and I took a nap. We passed the evening with jokes and stories and went to bed early to prepare for our long hike the next day.
Thursday April 8th ¡V Grapevine Creek to Lonetree Creek ¡V 8.7 miles
The 7 of got a 9 am start and had a beautiful hike to Lonetree Creek and here we had to spread out a bit because the campsites were smaller. Bob, Mike and I wandered down a bit and set up camp on a rocky ledge. And even with about a half dozen large stones ¡§staking¡¨ out my tarptent it blew right over with the strong winds that has moved in and it began raining off and on so even though the boys braved the rains and played cards, I opted to read my book and hold my tent upright by placing myself in it ƒº
Friday April 9th ¡V Lonetree Creek to Cremation Creek (dayhike to Phantom Ranch) ¡V 3.5 miles (8 miles RT) ¡V Total 11.5 miles
Everyday we had access to water so since our hike to Cremation Campsite was only 3.5 miles, we each only carried 2 liters instead of our usually 4-5 liters but as it ended up Cremation Creek was pretty dry. Bob and I opted to stop and fill up all our water containers and my 6 liter carry bag with water from the various ¡§puddles¡¨ on the 3 rd arm of Cremation Creek. It took us quite a while to get all the water we needed and then we joined the others at the campsite they¡¦d chosen about a mile or so ahead. Dave and Mike had gone down the drainage to get water, they also found some about a 10 minute hike down, they also found a large snake that Mike decided he was going to pick up, ugh . . . just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. After we set up camp, we each took 1-2 liters of water and our fanny packs and headed off to Phantom Ranch at about noon. The trip was a ton of fun but we certainly pushed our physical limits with a huge uphill climb at the end of a long day on day 4 of a backpacking trip. The trip down was worth every minute however as the boys got a swim in the Colorado and all of us enjoyed a bagel with REAL cream cheese and a lemonade at Phantom Ranch. The beer we all talked for days about drinking was passed up given that we had about 4 miles to hike back to camp and it was hot as heck down there. We were all a little sad that our fun adventure was going to come to an end the next day.
Saturday ¡V April 10th ¡V Cremation Creek to Yaki Point via South Kaibab Trail ¡V 6.5 miles
We got an early start, well . . . like 8:30 am and we made our way up the South Kaibab Trail to Yaki Point and had the GREAT pleasure of seeing a Condor on the way up. Exhausted but very happy we made it out about 2 pm and gathered up all the cars and said our goodbyes. I am really going to miss my new friends and can¡¦t wait to get back out here next time, maybe for a rim to rim hike . . .
My pictures are at
http://community.webshots.com/user/sli74
Paige¡¦s pictures are at
http://community.webshots.com/user/sierrapaige
sli74
Monday April 5th
I drove to my cousin Vin's place in Newton to leave my car there for the 2 weeks. I woke up at 4:15 am though I didn¡¦t sleep very much all night because I was so excited. I woke him up at 5:10 am and he drove me to Logan airport. I checked in my 2 large duffel bags and went to the terminal. They were checking everybody¡¦s shoes and security was much tighter than it was the last time I flew. I slept most of the way to Salt Lake City and had the entire row to myself to stretch out. After the layover in Salt Lake where I had Pizza Hut for lunch, I flew to Phoenix. Before I picked up my bags I got my paperwork for Hertz for the rental car squared away. After getting my luggage I took the shuttle to pick up the rental and drove to REI which was about 15 minutes away. At REI, I bought a pair of waterproof neoprene socks for the Paria trip, a pillow and 2 canisters of fuel for the stove. Next, at about 4pm I headed to the Grand Canyon. I stopped in Flagstaff at about 6 pm and picked up Mexican food, ate in the car and drove on. I got to the Grand Canyon at about 8 pm. I was meeting Paige, someone I met on Backpacker.com forums. I couldn¡¦t easily locate Paige¡¦s car because it was dark and a maze of roads. I stopped into the Registration area for Maswik Lodge and they tried to put me through into Paige¡¦s room. There was no answer and the woman was nice enough to tell me which general area to search in for her car. I found Paige¡¦s truck, a red Izuzu Rodeo and there was a note with a room number on the front windshield. I figured they went for dinner and proceeded to repack my backpack and look at the maps. About an hour later, a car pulled up but it had 1 extra adult in it so I wasn¡¦t sure it was them. They waved and I got out and met Paige, Taylor, Dave, Bob and his friend Mike, my hiking buddies for the next 5 days. We all went into the room and though it was a bit cramped everyone was REALLY nice and super excited.
Tuesday April 6th - Grandview Trailhead to Cottonwood Creek ¡V 4.5 miles
We all got up, showered and changed and got our packs ready. We made some decisions about spotting cars and then grabbed some not so great but expensive breakfast at the cafeteria in the main lodge. Dave and I dropped the others and the packs off and spotted the cars, one near Yaki Point and drove back to Grandview to meet the rest for the hike. I left the rental at Grandview on the side of the road because there was no parking left. Just before noon, we took a prehike group picture and off we went down the Grandview trail to the bottom of the Canyon. The terrain required careful foot placement and was pretty steep particularly with a fully loaded pack. Bob and Mike were sharing gear and Dave, Paige and Taylor were sharing gear and my pack was heavy but not painful. We stopped 45 minutes into the hike to eat lunch and then continued our hike down into the canyon. Another 45 minutes later we stopped for another snack. At about 2 pm we reached Horseshoe Mesa under threatening skies and got our rain gear on just in time to avoid being soaked by the afternoon downpour. The trip down from Horseshoe Mesa to Cottonwood Creek was a STEEP one with lots of loose rock. The rain stopped without 30 minutes and once again the sun made its presence known. When we got to the Creek at about 4:30 pm we were VERY happy to see plenty of water flowing in the Creek. We spread out to look for a suitable camp spot to fit us all. Mike found a beautiful area with shade and an auxillary spot on a hill which Bob took. We set up camp and spent a bit of time in awe at the Canyon beauty surrounding us. Dave surprised all of us with a beer for each of us (except Taylor) that he hiked down and chilled in the stream. We ate dinner, drank some very good chai and chatted at camp. We even spent some time ooohhhing and aaahhhing over the beautiful stars that dotted the clear skies. Then we headed off to bed.
Wednesday April 7th ¡V Cottonwood Creek to Grapevine Creek ¡V 5.5 miles
We had some cool winds throughout the night and woke to another fabulously beautiful and sunny day in the Canyon. After a warm breakfast we got started at about 8:30 am. I stopped often to take pictures of the amazing beauty around us. Hiking with this group was a true pleasure; they were funny and a great fun to hike with . . . On the way, we met up with a solo hiker who was making his way from Hance Creek Trailhead, he sort of melded with our group and we grew from 6 hikers to 7. His name was Monty and I think he was from Colorado. The hike was easy with a few spots where the trail was only about a foot wide with a steep slope. Within minutes of arriving at camp the skies opened up for what was to be a daily afternoon ritual. This storm was accompanied by lightning and thunder and we spent about 30 minutes under some overhangs to keep ¡§dry¡¨ . . . The ¡§boys¡¨ went for a short hike down the drainage and I took a nap. We passed the evening with jokes and stories and went to bed early to prepare for our long hike the next day.
Thursday April 8th ¡V Grapevine Creek to Lonetree Creek ¡V 8.7 miles
The 7 of got a 9 am start and had a beautiful hike to Lonetree Creek and here we had to spread out a bit because the campsites were smaller. Bob, Mike and I wandered down a bit and set up camp on a rocky ledge. And even with about a half dozen large stones ¡§staking¡¨ out my tarptent it blew right over with the strong winds that has moved in and it began raining off and on so even though the boys braved the rains and played cards, I opted to read my book and hold my tent upright by placing myself in it ƒº
Friday April 9th ¡V Lonetree Creek to Cremation Creek (dayhike to Phantom Ranch) ¡V 3.5 miles (8 miles RT) ¡V Total 11.5 miles
Everyday we had access to water so since our hike to Cremation Campsite was only 3.5 miles, we each only carried 2 liters instead of our usually 4-5 liters but as it ended up Cremation Creek was pretty dry. Bob and I opted to stop and fill up all our water containers and my 6 liter carry bag with water from the various ¡§puddles¡¨ on the 3 rd arm of Cremation Creek. It took us quite a while to get all the water we needed and then we joined the others at the campsite they¡¦d chosen about a mile or so ahead. Dave and Mike had gone down the drainage to get water, they also found some about a 10 minute hike down, they also found a large snake that Mike decided he was going to pick up, ugh . . . just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. After we set up camp, we each took 1-2 liters of water and our fanny packs and headed off to Phantom Ranch at about noon. The trip was a ton of fun but we certainly pushed our physical limits with a huge uphill climb at the end of a long day on day 4 of a backpacking trip. The trip down was worth every minute however as the boys got a swim in the Colorado and all of us enjoyed a bagel with REAL cream cheese and a lemonade at Phantom Ranch. The beer we all talked for days about drinking was passed up given that we had about 4 miles to hike back to camp and it was hot as heck down there. We were all a little sad that our fun adventure was going to come to an end the next day.
Saturday ¡V April 10th ¡V Cremation Creek to Yaki Point via South Kaibab Trail ¡V 6.5 miles
We got an early start, well . . . like 8:30 am and we made our way up the South Kaibab Trail to Yaki Point and had the GREAT pleasure of seeing a Condor on the way up. Exhausted but very happy we made it out about 2 pm and gathered up all the cars and said our goodbyes. I am really going to miss my new friends and can¡¦t wait to get back out here next time, maybe for a rim to rim hike . . .
My pictures are at
http://community.webshots.com/user/sli74
Paige¡¦s pictures are at
http://community.webshots.com/user/sierrapaige
sli74
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