A Walk in the Park

I was recently invited by a hiking buddy to join him on a 6-day, 5-night backpack in Grand Canyon National Park. It's been several years since I did an overnight hike below the Rim and my work schedule was strangely compatible with taking a week off for the adventure. So, I enthusiastically accepted the invitation. We entered the Canyon on October 27 and rimmed out on November 1.

Here, are some selects from the hike, made with my Fujifilm X-T20 and 18-55mm f/2.8-4 kit zoom lens.


Horseshoe Mesa: Our itinerary was built around a circumambulation of Horseshoe Mesa off the South Rim. The mesa is accessible via the Grandview Trail. There are three routes off the Mesa to get to the Tonto level below. We spent two nights in Hance Creek Canyon to the east (right) of the mesa, two nights in Cottonwood to the west, and our last night atop the mesa before hiking back out to the Rim via the Grandview.


Day 1: In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Horseshoe Mesa was an active area for copper mining. John Hance owned and operated several mining claims in Grand Canyon. (It was not yet a national park.) This is the entrance to the Last Chance Mine on the east side of the mesa just below the rim. It's been cut into Redwall limestone.


Day 1: We made the 5-mile hike from Grandview Trailhead (7,400 feet in elevation) to Hance Creek Canyon (3,400 feet in elevation) where we would spend our first two nights below the rim. This photo was made along the Tonto Trail and is looking northeast toward the head of Hance Canyon and the South Rim.


Day 2: A stone sits wedged between rock layers in Hance Creek. It was probably placed there by a flash flood during the last few hundred years.


Day 3: My hiking companion, Rob, admires the view north toward Vishnu Temple (tallest temple at right) from the Tonto Trail along the rim of Hance Canyon. The Tonto carves a 95-mile path from Hance Rapids in eastern Grand Canyon to Royal Arch Creek in the west.


Day 4: A panoramic stitch looking upstream through the Inner Gorge of Grand Canyon. The Colorado River cuts deep through the billion-year-old Schist and pink granite stone.


Day 4: A Grand Canyon pink rattlesnake takes refuge amidst prickly pear cactus to avoid the attention of a curious hiker.

[ATTACH alt="Day 4: The "Hotel De Willow Creek" inscription in Grapevine Canyon. This is from the 1890s and is among several historic inscriptions we found here an in Hance Canyon."]3354865[/ATTACH]
Day 4: The "Hotel De Willow Creek" inscription in Grapevine Canyon. This is from the 1890s and is among several historic inscriptions we found here an in Hance Canyon.


Day 5: Sunrise light kisses Angels Gate as seen from our campsite in Cottonwood Canyon. As much as I appreciate the elegant name this formation has been given, it reminds me of Snoopy from the Peanuts comics.


Day 5: A day hiker makes his way up trail from the Tonto level to Horseshoe Mesa.


Day 5: Late-day light paints Wotans Throne (flat-topped mesa at left) and Vishnu Temple with a warm hue as seen from our campsite on Horseshoe Mesa.


Day 6: A constructed section of Grandview Trail cuts through the Supai en route to its ultimate destination at the South Rim.

--
Bill Ferris Photography
Flagstaff, AZ

Since no one has replied, I enjoyed these very much. Well captured and they tell a good story. Peace.

Nice images. I've yet to hike inside the canyon, and your pics and words give me a good idea of what to expect. Thanks for posting

Gary

Very interesting. I enjoyed your images and your description.

I backpacked in that area very many years ago. We went down Grandview, off the mesa to the west to the Tonto trail and followed the Tonto trail to the west. I went up Bright Angel, my 2 companions continued and went up Hermit trail a day later. They were younger and tougher than I was. I spent 5 days, 4 nights and they spent one additional day and night. This was my first backpacking trip. We did not go down to the river.

About 10 years later I hiked down the south Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch and back up Bright Angel in part of one day. I wasn't carrying a backpack but I was carrying a Nikon FE so that tells you how long ago it might have been.

Thank you, Larry.

Thank you, Gary. Please, feel free to reach out if you have any questions about good hiking trails in the Canyon.

Those are great hikes. One of the things I like most about the Tonto Trail is the sections where you can open up your stride and just cruise. It's also a great way to experience the isolation one can find in the Canyon. I hope you have the opportunity to return for another below-the-rim experience.

A very interesting and informative travelogue. I've not hiked into the the canyon, so it's nice to see some of the many photographic opportunities there.

Thank you, Rich.

Wow, you've still got legs. Congratulations. And respect.

I've forgotten some things about the Grand Canyon. What did you do for water?

Thank you.

Both Hance Creek and Cottonwood Creek are perennial water sources. My hiking partner used Aqua Mira tip treat his water. I filtered.

There's no water source on Horseshoe Mesa so, on the first day, we cached water (3 liters, each) and food on the mesa before continuing the descent to Hance Creek. Shedding roughly 10 lbs (a bit more than 4 kg) felt really good during the final descent to Hance

Very funny thread title. Nice pictures and FUN. I like your classic landscape shots... #3, 6, 9, 11. What a great adventure... and not too far from home. Back in early September 2017, my wife and I visited the Grand Canyon (for one day). We STARTED at the south rim and hiked DOWN the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point. (The river is another 1300 feet down). It was 100F. We had one water bottle each. Figured it would be an easy hike similar to what he have here in the Seattle area. LOL. After hiking back up (with a full camera backpack)... when we got to the south rim tourist area (3000 ft. climb)... I had 2 of the coldest, most refreshing, and best tasting beers I've ever drank (at the bar in the Bright Angel Lodge). Very memorable! Lots of great pictures. Grand Canyon is excellent (understatement). First time I had ever been to Grand Canyon (and I have lived on the west coast since 1961). Thanks for the visual tour.

In 2 days on the Tonto trail I think we only saw a couple of other people.

On that part of the Tonto trail I don't think we could even see the south rim, and halfway between Grandview and Bright Angel I realized that if we wanted to it would have taken us 2 days to get out no matter which way we went. Back in those days we didn't have any form of electronic communication that we could use to call for help. I don't know how much cell service there is down in the canyon but I would think that cell signal is probably available some places, and these days I typically carry a Garmin Inreach Mini so I can send messages via satellite.

1971_M5 said:

Very funny thread title. Nice pictures and FUN. I like your classic landscape shots... #3, 6, 9, 11. What a great adventure... and not too far from home.

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Thank you. It's ironic that one of the ways I fell back in love with photography was by carrying a camera with me every time I hike the Canyon. I did that quite a bit for about a decade. In fact, during a summer visit to the North Rim in 2015, I photographed two bison bulls sparring over access to the cows in the herd and wildlife photography became a passion for me. It was through that interest in photographing animals in nature that I stopped hiking the Canyon. I do love it - wildlife photography - but it's a love that's come with a price. I don't know when my next Grand Canyon hike will be but I do hope it comes sooner than the five-years that went by between my last overnight hike in 2017 and this most recent trek.

1971_M5 said:

Back in early September 2017, my wife and I visited the Grand Canyon (for one day). We STARTED at the south rim and hiked DOWN the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point. (The river is another 1300 feet down). It was 100F. We had one water bottle each. Figured it would be an easy hike similar to what he have here in the Seattle area. LOL. After hiking back up (with a full camera backpack)... when we got to the south rim tourist area (3000 ft. climb)... I had 2 of the coldest, most refreshing, and best tasting beers I've ever drank (at the bar in the Bright Angel Lodge). Very memorable! Lots of great pictures. Grand Canyon is excellent (understatement). First time I had ever been to Grand Canyon (and I have lived on the west coast since 1961). Thanks for the visual tour.

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I know your love of a cold beer after a day in the Canyon. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you have an opportunity to return and set foot below the Rim once again.

Yes, there is cell service is some parts of the Canyon. Fortunately, if you tell folks there isn't, they'll believe you. Being disconnected from the outside world is, after all, one of the great benefits of a below the Rim hike

Nice travelog, images and especially observations. I had to look up "circumambulation," I thought you might have made that up as a fun word. For some reason I envisioned it as a description of us older folks ambling along as best we can in our passing physical condition.