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Grand Canyon: Tanner to Grandview
This five-day, 40-mile trip follows several of the more rugged trails on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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| Author: | J Dorn |
| Activity: | Backpacking |
| State: | Arizona (AZ) |
| Distance: | 37.34 mi |
| Average Speed: |
Overall: 1.2 mph - 0:51:29/mi Active: 1.2 mph - 0:51:27/mi |
| Duration: |
Total: 1d 8:02:25 Active: 1d 8:01:04 Resting: 0:01:21 |
| Difficulty: | 8 / 10 |
| Rating: | Unrated |
For our annual New Year's backpacking trip, I took my wife Heather and daughters Hadley, 12, and Abby, 10, on the biggest wilderness adventure we've enjoyed as a family. Starting from Lipan Point in 20 inches of fresh snow, we descended 8 miles and 4,500 feet on the Tanner Trail, reaching a sandy campsite at the Colorado River just after sunset.
On day 2, we dayhiked up-river to Lava Rapids, an easy 8-mile roundtrip on the Beamer Trail that featured a few precipitous cliffside moments that scared the bejesus out of Heather, who suffers from a fairly severe fear of heights. The weather was warm -- 60 in the sun -- and would stay that way all week. (Nights were colder, around 20.)
On day 3, we gave our tired legs a break and hiked only 3 miles, setting up camp just below Unkar overlook. That evening, we hiked a half-mile down-river to the top of the overlook, which offers a sprawling view of the river's many S-curves in both directions. Not a person or raft in sight. (We would see only 4 hikers and a few rafters the entire trip. Winter basically guarantees solitude in the Grand Canyon, especially on the more remote routes.)
Day 4 brought a big, long effort, especially for the kids, who were carrying their own clothes, gear, and some fuel. We covered 8 rugged, often cliffy, very rocky miles on the Escalante Route between Unkar and Hance Rapids. It was the most spectacular day of the trip, with long sections traversing dark red crumbly rock, fields of cacti, shady canyons with two-story icicles hanging from sandstone pourovers, yawning 600-foot-deep chasms with trail tiptoeing along the edge, an entertaining 30-foot-high wall to climb, and a final exhausting rock scramble just above river's edge. On New Year's Eve, we munched a single dark chocolate bar with cherries in celebration, then fell into the tent and fell fast asleep. Not even the ubiquitous river mice woke us.
We'd planned to exit the canyon by climbing the New Hance Trail on day 5, but the volume of snow and difficulty of the trail (the park calls it the most challenging and technical South Rim path) convinced us to go another route. So we shoved off early, climbing quickly to the Tonto Plateau, where we joined the sinuous Tonto Trail for 7 long miles of winding in and out of mid-canyon ravines. Then, just after 1 p.m., we finally hit the turn for Horseshoe Mesa and commenced four hours of steep hiking up past Page Spring, onto the mesa, and then up to the South Rim via the Grandview Trail. The last three hours were in snow -- deep but soft, with no technical sections. At sunrise -- another glorious one -- we crested the rim, deeply satisfied with our 12-mile, 4,500-foot climb and laughing inwardly at the astonished looks of tourists huddled against the cold wind in heavy jackets and scarves.
| Position Format: | Datum: |
Tracks
Current Track: 28 DEC 2008 12:12
| Distance: 7.52 mi | Points: 637 | |
| Total Time: 7:06:36 | Speed: 1.1 mph | Pace: 56:44 / mi |
| Active Time: 7:06:23 | Speed: 1.1 mph | Pace: 56:42 / mi |
Current Track: 29 DEC 2008 13:21
| Distance: 7.26 mi | Points: 590 | |
| Total Time: 5:20:21 | Speed: 1.4 mph | Pace: 44:08 / mi |
Current Track: 30 DEC 2008 12:17
| Distance: 2.71 mi | Points: 258 | |
| Total Time: 2:51:47 | Speed: 0.9 mph | Pace: 1:03:23 / mi |
Current Track: 31 DEC 2008 11:01
| Distance: 9.27 mi | Points: 787 | |
| Total Time: 8:00:20 | Speed: 1.2 mph | Pace: 51:49 / mi |
| Active Time: 7:59:12 | Speed: 1.2 mph | Pace: 51:42 / mi |
Current Track: 01 JAN 2009 09:56
| Distance: 10.58 mi | Points: 958 | |
| Total Time: 8:43:21 | Speed: 1.2 mph | Pace: 49:26 / mi |
Points of Interest
105
Location: 36.032787, -111.853188LIPAN POINT: START OF TANNER TRAIL (HEAD 100 FEET BACK DOWN THE ROAD FROM THE PARKING LOT; TRAILHEAD ON LEFT/NORTH BY SIGN)
106
Location: 36.032627, -111.852564TANNER TRAILHEAD: START DESCENDING STEEPLY DOWN CENTER OF RAVINE, THEN ON WEST SIDE
107
Location: 36.038437, -111.848488NICE OVERLOOK AT BOTTOM OF STEEP GULLY
108
Location: 36.044103, -111.845266STAY HIGH ON LEDGE AFTER SADDLE RATHER THAN DROPPING INTO GULLEY
109
Location: 36.060288, -111.833355FIRST VIEW OF THE COLORADO RIVER
110
Location: 36.065900, -111.834624TAKE SHORT SPUR TRAIL LEFT AND UPHILL 50 FEET TO GREAT VIEW.
111
Location: 36.103236, -111.833510CAMP 1: JUST SOUTH OF DRY STREAMBED (QUIETER SITES AVAILABLE ON UP-RIVER SIDE)
112
Location: 36.103018, -111.831934OUTHOUSE
113
Location: 36.101962, -111.831523START OF BEAMER TRAIL: HIKE NORTH ALONG RIVER (SEVERAL EXPOSED, CLIFFY SPOTS!) TO REACH LAVA RAPIDS IN 4 MILES, OR CONTINUE TO THE MOUTH OF THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER IN ~8 MILES
114
Location: 36.138073, -111.816558LAVA RAPIDS
115
Location: 36.111118, -111.826286EXCELLENT VIEW OF COMANCHE POINT LOOMING HIGH ABOVE ON THE SOUTH RIM
116
Location: 36.086985, -111.864572CAMP 2: ON BEACH JUST BEFORE UNKAR OVERLOOK
117
Location: 36.080529, -111.871262UNKAR OVERLOOK
118
Location: 36.061349, -111.885023SCENIC SPOT FOR A MIDMORNING SNACK OR LUNCH
119
Location: 36.057036, -111.896383ESCALANTE CREEK: MOST BEAUTIFUL SECTION OF THE ESCALANTE ROUTE CONTINUES FROM HERE THROUGH RED CANYON; SEVERAL SPECTACULAR SECTIONS ALONG/ABOVE/THROUGH 600-FOOT-HIGH SIDE CANYONS
120
Location: 36.052264, -111.900549NEVILLS RAPIDS: 30-FOOT-HIGH ROCKCLIMB STARTS IMMEDIATELY ON SOUTH SIDE OF STREAMBED (EASIER AND SAFER IF THE STRONGEST MEMBER OF THE PARTY CLIMBS UP WITHOUT A PACK, THEN PASSES PACKS UP)
121
Location: 36.045363, -111.907465WALL: 30-FOOT-HIGH ROCKCLIMB STARTS IMMEDIATELY ON SOUTH SIDE OF STREAMBED (EASIER AND SAFER IF THE STRONGEST MEMBER OF THE PARTY CLIMBS UP WITHOUT A PACK, THEN PASSES PACKS UP)
122
Location: 36.044830, -111.920149CAMP 3: MULTIPLE SITES ALONG NARROW STRETCH OF BEACH AT HANCE RAPIDS/RED CANYON. NO OUTHOUSE (PACK IT OUT!)
123
Location: 36.017361, -111.959768HANCE CREEK: WATER IN SHADED CANYON BOTTOM; SOME TREE COVER AND SEVERAL CAMPSITES
124
Location: 36.021119, -111.964272STAY LEFT, LEAVING TONTO TRAIL TO CLIMB TO HORSESHOE MESA
125
Location: 36.018106, -111.975387MINE SITE NEAR PAGE SPRING: HOME OF BIG-EARED BAT COLONY
126
Location: 35.998148, -111.987788GRANDVIEW POINT
IMG_0102.jpg
Location: 36.032846, -111.853137Abby (10), Hadley (12), and Heather pose for a trailhead photo at Lipan Point, varying levels of apprehension and excitement on their faces.
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Location: 36.034811, -111.850938In some spots high on the Tanner Trail, the drifts of snow were thigh deep on 5’1” Hadley.
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Location: 36.041847, -111.846871Trekking down through the last bits of snow on the Tanner Trail, having recently removed our gaiters
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Location: 36.050105, -111.841421My favorite photo from the trip: Hadley surveys a very big country, clearly comfortable and confident in her ability as a backpacker.
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Location: 36.056489, -111.838846Note the difference in snowpack on south-facing vs. north-facing slopes.
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Location: 36.061589, -111.833696One of the first sightings of the river below. We’d just passed through the snow line at about 5,000 feet.
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Location: 36.065058, -111.834254A view of an old tower on the South Rim from midway down the Tanner Trail.
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Location: 36.066463, -111.834834About halfway down the Tanner Trail, we emerged from the main upper canyon to even broader views of the Colorado River. Reach this view via a short spur off the main trail.
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Location: 36.137779, -111.816165Abby shows off a giant chunk of Styrofoam at Lava Rapids.
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Location: 36.137485, -111.816326Blair Witch was here?
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Location: 36.137381, -111.816316Heather takes a well-deserved siesta on day 2 just down-river from Lava Rapids, resting muscles abused by our steep, arduous descent of the Tanner Trail.
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Location: 36.134028, -111.816562Life mimics art.
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Location: 36.111513, -111.826444View of Comanche Point on the South Rim from the Beamer Trail
IMG_0142.jpg
Location: 36.111270, -111.826444The horizontal version of the same shot -- too good not to post!
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Location: 36.109432, -111.825199Strange wildlife sighting along the Beamer Trail
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Location: 36.092078, -111.841636On family backpacking trips, Dad’s load can be as big as one of the kids.
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Location: 36.087027, -111.864622Not a bad place to pitch a tent
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Location: 36.087040, -111.864660Little castle, big castle: Wind and water win tear both down, inevitably.
IMG_0155.jpg
Location: 36.087014, -111.864644Chilling in camp on day 3, after an easy 3-mile hike from Tanner Rapids
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Location: 36.081916, -111.869638At the end of December, the sun hits the bottom of the canyon for only six hours, at best. By 3 p.m., riverside campsites are in shadow, and the temperature drops rapidly—on this day, from 60 degrees into the low 40s by 5 p.m.
IMG_0159.jpg
Location: 36.080902, -111.869359The humbling view (at sunset) up-river from Unkar Overlook. A river made all of this.
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Location: 36.080477, -111.871451I inched on my belly to the edge for this shot 400 feet down at Unkar Rapids. Heather couldn’t watch; her vertigo makes her see me rolling off the cliff.
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Location: 36.080641, -111.871655Don’t follow this cairn.
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Location: 36.080381, -111.871140My happy trio of blondes, all in black to soak up the winter sun’s weak solar warmth
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Location: 36.070817, -111.866055Kilt hiking! Love those refreshing breezes!
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Location: 36.070106, -111.866226Modern canyon cairn art
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Location: 36.061728, -111.885667A bold (and cold?) party of rafters float flat water between rapids on New Year’s eve. We saw them later—wearing dry suits to insulate themselves from water that was so cold I could only swim in it for 60 seconds.
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Location: 36.061971, -111.885839Looking back on Unkar Overlook from about 3,500 feet on the Escalante Route
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Location: 36.054442, -111.886182A rare burst of rich color on the desert floor
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Location: 36.054442, -111.887813I was struck by how the late-afternoon sun turned this sea of spines a gentle gold.
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Location: 36.054893, -111.887255A prickly native, up close
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Location: 36.051580, -111.898069A nervous smile—“Dad, don’t make me stand too close to the edge!”
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Location: 36.050045, -111.896535Abby tiptoes along the edge of the yawning chasm of a tributary to the Colorado along the Escalante Route.
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Location: 36.051276, -111.899325Abby is dwarfed by the massive walls of the side canyon we’d just walked above. This is the widest part of a twisting slot that starts 150 feet high and 20 feet wide, and deepens and widens over a mile of walking on polished cobblestones on its way to the Colorado River.
IMG_0183.jpg
Location: 36.031124, -111.941671Icicles hang from a sandstone pourover in a shaded side canyon along the Tonto Trail.
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Location: 35.999275, -111.987569Abby (left) and Hadley peer over a snowy cliff near the top of the Grandview Trail, just 10 minutes below the South Rim, as sunset begins to fade into darkness.
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