Spring Trip: April 3 – April 6, 2002
Tanner Trail, Beamer Trail
"A Teenage Hiker's View" by Daniel DeFraia
Photos by Gary DeFraia
The Hikers: Standing - Achilles (“Cheech”) Calenti, Cameron (“Cam") Skold, Daniel Skold, John Avello, Thomas Ralston. Kneeling – Daniel DeFraia, Gary DeFraia
Our Trip Plan
Day 1: Hike the Tanner Trail from Lipan Point to the river. 11 miles. Camp at Tanner Beach.
Day 2: My Father and I planned to search for Anasazi ruins near Unkar Creek, to the west and camp again at Tanner Beach. The rest of the party planned to hike up the Beamer Trail set up camp somewhere along side the river, and then try to make it to the junction of the Little Colorado.
Day 3: Hike up the Tanner and camp above the Red Wall.
Day 4: Hike from the Red Wall to the rim.
April 1st New York to Tucson
My second Canyon adventure started with my father and I flying out to Tucson (extremely early in the morning). We arrived in Tucson, sometime in the mid-afternoon where we were supposed to meet the “Canyon Master” (my father’s nickname for Cheech Calenti). We were to go back to his home before we set out the next day. Unfortunately there had been some miscommunication (basically, my Dad screwed up) and we ended up waiting for hours for Cheech to find us. Eventually we were found and we stayed the night with Cheech and his family.
April 2nd Tucson to Grand Canyon Village
We picked Cheech up at work in the afternoon and started our lengthy car ride. I can’t really give you any details of how it went because I was asleep for most of it. One thing I do remember about the trip was my father getting a free meal at Taco Bell (because they forgot his order) and playing a song game, which is terrific for passing the time. It goes like this: One person starts off by saying the name of a band, and then the next person has to say the name of another band that begins with the letter that other band ended in. So if I say “Everclear,” the next person has to say the name of a band that starts with a “R”. After the long ride we finally arrived at out destination, Grand Canyon Village. We stopped for a while and took a look at some of the most unique and spectacular views I’ve ever seen. These views from the rim are a must before you head down into the Canyon.
After we got to Maswik Lodge we unpacked and relaxed while waiting for John. (There had been a mix-up with our room reservations so I recommend making sure that everything is in order with the lodge - before you get there). We took a look at some of the souvenir shops, which in my opinion aren’t that great, but if you have some free time they are worth checking out. After relaxing we decided to take a bus trip to the rim. We got back in around 6 or 7 PM and met up with John. We decided to eat dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge, which had fairly decent food.
April 3rdLippan Point & Down the Tanner
We woke up very early (around 7:45 AM) and had breakfast at
the Maswick Lodge. The food was decent. I’d recommend getting up even earlier
because it’s very difficult to do an all-day hike during the hottest part of
the day. We drove out of Grand Canyon Village on East Rim Drive, towards Lipan
Point. We arrived at around 8:30 AM and met the rest of our party - Tom, Cam,
and his son, also named Dan. We started hiking around 9:00 AM or so. It
actually took us a little while to find the trailhead because Tom (who said he
knew where he was going) couldn’t find it. (It’s not hard to find because
there’s a big sign marking the trail right on the road!)
On this trail there is very little shade so it’s better to
start off really early and bring a lot of water. Also, wear a lot of sunscreen.
This was our most physically challenging day because we had to hike from rim to
river. It’s a tough 11 miles and the trail drops very quickly. It doesn’t start
to level out until you reach the 75-Mile creek saddle. This is a fairly good
place to stop and eat (but when you are really hungry and tired every place
looks good to stop and eat!) There are great views throughout the hike so bring
a camera. It took us about 4 hours to reach the top of the Red Wall - down
about 2000 feet. To get there we had to go around Escalante and Cardenas
Buttes. The Red Wall is an excellent place to stash water for when you are coming
back up. I believe I cached two liters there.
Descending the Red Wall is difficult. Once again, there’s no shade and it’s a constant down hill so your legs get no rest. Once in Tanner Canyon, the trail still descends constantly. My father had trouble with this section, as did Cheech who had problems with his knee.
If you are doing the rim to the river in one day and leave early your time will probably be anywhere between 6 to 7 hours, depending on hiker speed. I arrived around 3:30 PM. Tom and Dan S. where already there. Later John and Cam came into camp. My father arrived around 4:30 PM, saying, “That trail kicked my ass. I will not be doing THAT again”. By 5:30 PM, Dad was getting a little worried about Cheech, who was still not in camp. Tom, Cheech’s close friend and hiking partner for many years didn’t seem worried at all. My father later told me this story: He overheard a conversation between Tom and some hikers who came in after us. Tom greeted them and asked how their trip down was. They mentioned they had seen a skeleton a ways back and Tom asked, “Hey. Did it have a blue backpack on it?” (Cheech has a blue backpack). When they said “no”, all Tom said was, “Oh…Good” and just went back about his business! Finally, Cheech arrived in camp at 6:00 P.M and told us of his difficulty with his knee.
As you can see from the
photo of John and Cheech, you should always bring the “essentials” when hiking
the Grand Canyon. After we all got to
the river we settled in, relaxed, and splashed around in the water, which is
freezing. It’s hard to stay in the water for more than a minute. Then we set up
camp west of the trail junction along the beach. There were wonderful places to
camp on the sand. There was a lot of space and it’s close to the river so you
can get water for boiling easily. Tip: If you want ice cold water to drink, you
can build a small dam with rocks and put your water bottles in the river. Just
be sure they don’t get washed away. The only disadvantage about these campsites
is that there’s not a lot of shade. If you have a tarp, tie it to the trees and
make your own. After we were settled in, we hung out and then ate our supper.
April 4th – Tanner Beach
My father was so wiped out from the rim to river hike on the
first day, we decided not to look for the Anasazi ruins. Tom, Cam and Dan S.
also decided not to camp on the Beamer Trail. We would all camp again at Tanner
Beach. Cheech and I stayed in camp all day and it was a lazy day. All we did
was eat and sleep. We saw a lot of rafters and hikers. We made a great spot for
shade but Cheech invited all these women hikers to share it and I had to sit on
this uncomfortable rock for hours! The other members of our group went up the
Beamer Trail for about 3 miles. They stopped at a nice swimming spot and then
came back to the campsite.
Tom, Thinking About a “Big Leap”
Dad told me how Tom was convinced that he could dive off a ledge into the river. Tom scratched his head about it for a long while and then Dad and the others were able to eventually talk him out of it.
Gary on the Beamer Trail. Desert View Tower is on the rim behind, 4,600 feet up.
My father said it was a great afternoon in a beautiful and isolated part of the Canyon. He also said the Beamer is not an easy trail and there was NO WAY he could have made it to the mouth of the Little Colorado in one day. That night we all played a card game called “killer.”
April 5thTanner Beach to top of the Red
Wall
We left our campsite as early as possible so we wouldn’t have to hike in the heat during the day. If you want to save time you can eat a dry breakfast. This hike is basically all up hill and it’s hard on the legs. We reached our destination (the top of the Red Wall) at about Noon and picked up the water that we left along the way. After eating lunch under some shade, Cheech and I napped once again and my father dubbed us “the napping buddies”. The Red Wall has fantastic views. The only problem with this campsite is that it was extremely windy. You should be sure to tie everything down.
April 6thRed Wall Camp to the Rim
This was our last day in the Canyon and I was fairly anxious
to get out. I hadn’t showered in days and I wanted some real food. I wanted to
sit in a comfortable chair and most of all I wanted a toilet! We got up early
and tried to eat the rest of our food or give it away because we didn’t want to
carry it out. We hiked quickly and we all emerged at the rim between 11:00 AM
and Noon. We had our first “real” food at the Bright Angel Lodge. Cheech claims
that I ate my burger in three bites (which I probably did).
After Tom, Cam and Dan S. left the rest of us went to the showers to clean up. Afterwards we said goodbye to John, who went back to Nevada. Finally with a wonderful feeling of satisfaction, we said goodbye to the Canyon - until next time.
April 7h – Tucson to New York
On the way home when I again referred to Cheech as the Canyon Master, Dad got quite aggravated and said, “Dan, think about it. What did Cheech do on this trip? Tom made all the arrangements for the trip and planned the route. Who carried the filters? We did. And you carried the water from the river every day and filtered it. Who carried the stoves and fuel? We did. Who set up for dinner and cooked the meals? We did. After the first day the most he moved was to lift his glass of wine and hold his cards! This Canyon Master stuff is just a scam. It was all about getting everyone else to do all the work!”
This was my second trip and so far, I can say that it seems to get better every time. I do plan on going again, sooner or later. I would like to thank Cheech and Tom for being our guides, Dan S., Cam and John and for all the great stories and laughs and my father for introducing me to the remarkable experience of the Grand Canyon.
Daniel DeFraia