A November Hike

11-15 November 1988.  Grand Canyon, Arizona. 

Camped at Hance Rapids after an 8 mile walk down from the rim.  The trail was fair but very steep and rugged.  My knees were screaming at me by the time I was halfway down.  I've not hiked much lately and my pack is damn heavy with five days gear.  Leroy loaned me his hiking staff which helped a lot.  I'm glad tomorrow will be a short day.  Good planning, Mark.  It's 5:20 now and evening is coming on quickly.  A few red clouds are peeking over the inner rim on the north side but the mostly clear sky contrasts with the Canyon's darker hues.  The river is generally clear and green; the rapids provide a constant sound.  After a long, hard trip down, it feels very nice to be warm, fed and relaxed.

Second night out finds me at Hance Creek after a six mile walk.  Not a bad day.  My legs are considerably better--I had little trouble on the Tonto today although the downhill sections required a bit of careful stepping.  We had nice views of Mineral Canyon as we contoured across it and the same for Hance Canyon as we came to the creek.  Both are deep sheer caynons with rocky ledges.  Hance Canyon has lots of water and lots of vegetation, including some tall cottonwoods.  The cottonwoods are the largest thing I've seen growing in the Canyon and are showing fall color.  Today has been a rest day mostly.  We spent the afternoon laying about--it's been wonderfully lazy--in preparation for three 10 to 12 mile days.

Another day's hike brings us to Grapevine Creek where water is scarce but available in potholes.  It's the last water for 16 miles so we'll have to be careful in our use while maintaining our physical requirements.  The hike over from Hance Creek was fairly easy; we covered 10 miles in about five hours.  The route offers good views of Horseshoe Mesa, Cottonwood and Grapevine Canyons.  The light in Hance Canyon this morning was soft; it streamed through gaps in the buttes.  Weather was cool and excellent for walking.  Last night also turned out to be quite nice.  The canyon is very lush and green and looked quite pretty against the deep red walls.  Wildlife was abundant today--we saw two groups of bighorn sheep:  a ram and four ewes and another ram and three ewes.  Tomorrow is the first of our two 12 mile days that will spring us from the Canyon.

On this fourth night I guess I'm glad I brought my little tent after all.  Camped at Cremation Creek, waiting out a shower that looks to be part of a large front that started moving in yesterday.  Last night was the Night of the Wind Tunnel with strong gusts blowing through Grapevine Canyon all night.  Now the wind and rain are whipping about the tent but I am reasonably snug and dry.  So far.  I just hope it lets up for dinner.  The storm is about the only adverse thing that's occurred on this trip.  My legs loosened up once I got going on the Tonto.  We've been covering about two miles an hour since.  We hiked 12 miles today, carrying all of our water for tonight and four miles of tomorrow.  We could see all the way up the Canyon to Desert View from our route today.  Every now and then we caught glimpses of the Colorado in its black gorge.  The river looks almost turquoise today.  In all this has been a great trip:  five days in the Canyon has taken my mind off everything except this wonderful place.

Now I'm heading back to Phoenix after coming out the Bright Angel Trail.  Last night was a fierce one.  The first shower let up long enough for us to eat dinner but a second storm hit just as we finished up.  I literally dove into my tent to wait out what became a heavy two hour downpour.  My tent leaked a bit at the seams (poor maintenance!!) but I stayed warm and dry despite the leaks.  Rain continued off and on throughout the night with some fierce winds but the sky cleared by morning so we were able to pack up and get out dry.  The storm left behind much colder temperatures and snow on the rim.   

Hiking out of Cremation was quite spectacular, with the morning light playing off the snow on the buttes, mesas and rim. We moved out briskly in the cool morning air and were at Indian Gardens by about 10:30.  We reached the rim two hours later, after hiking up a cold, icy trail.  Showers on the rim felt great but I am sad to see such a great trip end.  Despite the difficult walk down Red Canyon on the first day and the subsequent soreness, I felt pretty good throughout the trip.  Company was good and I enjoyed once again the wonderful confines of the Grand Canyon.