November 1995

Bright Angel west to Hermit

Unlike other trips, we decided to forego getting a room on the rim the night before. Our rationale for doing so had always been that we would get an early start if we got there the night before. What ended up happening every time is that we would sleep late the next morning, go to El Tovar for a long breakfast, head to Babbitts and not get on the trail until afternoon anyway.
We left Tucson at 4:30am, bought a takeout breakfast in Flagstaff which we ate in the car and arrived at the Canyon at about 9:30am. After the mandatory stop at Babbitts where we bought extra fuel and batteries, we were on the trail by 10:40am. It was sunny and cool, perfect hiking weather. Arrived at Indian Gardens at 1pm and after a half hour break for lunch we headed west over the Tonto Plateau to Horn Creek. We filled our water containers at Indian Gardens, as the water at Horn Creek is contaminated by a uranium mine (now closed) on the rim directly above it. We continued through the drainage and out the west side back onto the Tonto, where we set up camp on a flat area right on the plateau. Beautiful unobstructed views in all directions. It was fabulous. We ate dinner, shared a bottle of red wine and bedded down after our 8 mile hike.

The next morning we broke camp and headed west by 8:50am. A rainbow arched over the canyon to the west, a result of some weather in that direction. We reached Salt Creek by 10:30 (3.3 miles). There is an outhouse at Salt Creek, and 3 or 4 decent campsites upstream from where the trail crosses the creek. There was some water, but not as much as expected. We weren't planning on water until Monument Creek anyway, so it was no problem. We continued along the Tonto and had lunch about 1.3 miles from Monument Creek, on the plateau.

The Tonto drops steeply into Monument creek, and climbs out just as steeply on the other side. Campsites can be found on the west side of the creek, with a particularly good one tucked in under a nice overhang clearly visible from the trail on the east side before descending into the creekbed. The trail stays on the west side of the creek and there are maybe 7 or eight nice campspots. Monument is one of the most popular "remote" destinations in the canyon and so along with the developed campsites there is also an outhouse. We took the large site, probably a group site at the base of the sheer cliff right before the trail starts climbing out of the drainage. It had a beautiful view of the monument itself ( a vertical rock spire jutting straight up from the creekbed) as well as view of the north rim. To gain a perspective on the size of this spire, look carefully at it's base. I'm standing there with a blue sweatshirt. There were many little mice at this campsite and we were careful to hang our packs and food well out of their reach.

The next day was a layover day so we packed our daypacks and followed the drainage to Granite rapids, where we explored, read, slept, and just plain relaxed all day. It was glorious. To the east is a elaborate maze of hobbit like tunnels through the trees and brush, each leading to a very secluded camp site. This is probably where the river runners stay on their trips down the river.

As the day progressed it became obvious that Tom was coming down with the flu. He had been coughing the entire trip but now it was getting worse, and he had just about depleted his cold medication, which was at least letting him sleep at night. We decided to modify our plans, which had been to spend a final night at Boucher camp and exit the canyon via Boucher Trail, and decided instead to go directly from Monument the next morning and head up the Hermit, a trail we had been on previously and knew.
The next morning we broke camp by 7am. We were at the Hermit/Tonto junction by 8 and I was to the top of Cathedral stairs by 9am. Stopped for lunch at Lookout point and waited an hour for Dave and Tom to arrive. Tom was hurting and Dave was staying with him. It was decided I'd go to the top, hitch a ride back to the village to pick up our vehicle and come back to pick up the two of them. The rest of the hike up went smoothly, though the Hermit is very steep towards the end, climbing 1,300' in elevation in 1.3 miles. It just doesn't quit. We showered in the village and Tom was feeling a little better. He slept until we got to Flagstaff where we stopped for dinner, and ten slept all the way back to Tucson. It was a very enjoyable trip and yes, Tom did survive and is just fine now, eagerly awaiting our next adventure.