Sometimes I just need to get away and be quiet, and the Grand Canyon in summer is a very still place.

I busted out of work Friday afternoon, and 3 hours later had my permit and was headed down.

Here’s a rain cell moving over Bright Angel canyon and the north rim lodge.

Looking back up, 4 miles, 2500′ feet, and an hour later. The El Tovar sits just off the rim in the rightmost quarter of the frame.

Zoroaster Temple in the evening light. Gotta climb that some day.

I got to camp seven miles in, a pleasant little wash called Horn Creek, with a few trees and big boulders, and (surprisingly for the hot time of the year) some seeping water. I pitched camp by throwing my tarp, thermarest and ploy bag liner on the ground, and sat on a boulder to eat pineapple and macadamia nuts while the sun set and bats came out.

At 3500′ I slept well in just the sheet, woke up at 0500, and was on the trail in 30 minutes.

Zoroaster at dawn.

Side canyon of Salt Creek, 5 miles in on the second day. Very nice temps at 0700.

First good view of the river, which during the Monsoon is actually it’s proper color. Monument Creek is the prominent side canyon on the left.

Saying hello in the beginning of a short granite slot, running with gorgeous clear water. Upper Momument Creek. A good place to refill and take a short soak before the heat ahead.

Interesting light at 0800.


Monument Creek Spire; the aforementioned slot runs immediately left of the spire and ridge.

The spire up close. Note excellent east side crack system, though humping a rope and rack 13 miles and 3600′ down and up is a bit of a demotivator.

Flowers looking west at 0940. Incongruous given the heat.

The trail turning in towards the Hermit Trail, which begins just over the small pass in the distance. It’s starting to get hot now. The thermometer on my Suunto, which usually hovers around 31-2 degree Celsius from body heat, stayed at 40 for most of the next two hours. Adding insult to injury, the stretch through the Redwall all the way to the base of the Supai group (roughly 3500′ to 5100′) had no air movement of any kind. I usually measure my pace in the canyon by using the meters per minute vertical log on my watch; 10-11 is average with a load, 8 is crawling, 15 good, 17 hauling ass with a daypack. Keeping 11 felt way harder than usual, the heat acting like a 10 lbs weight sitting on the top of my hat.

Just as the breeze was kicking up, and thunderheads were forming, I reached Santa Maria Spring. There, theres an old miners shack with grapevines shading the open front.

Very nice.

Also a trough of water from the spring pipe. Some comments in the trail log, from people who live in places like Cleveland and Yorkshire, expressed disappointment in the springs tiny flow. The trough however was enough for a quick dip of sorts before the remaining ~1500′. Very nice indeed.

I ground it out, pack light with two liters of water and not much food left. That and a cold soda waiting at the Hermit’s rest snack bar. I knew I was close when I started seeing people again, suffering more in the noon heat than I was. I knew I was really close when I saw a corpulent woman in flats struggling to negotiate an 18″ step down. I hadn’t talked at all in the last day, so when she asked me “How far till we can actually see anything?” in a vexatious tone I didn’t know whether to laugh, croak, or punch her in the face. I stared, said nothing, and kept walking.

5 minutes later I had a Root Beer, ice cream sandwich, and a bench in the shade.

Seeing the canyon in all seasons is a good experiment, though February is much kinder. I’m happy with the experience. Of note, between 0500 and 1330 yesterday I drank almost 10 liters of water, and still at the end my piss was far yellower than I am usually comfortable with. Hydration under those conditions is truly a challenge, as I was forcing myself to drink more than I wanted (and I usually drink tons).

Even now, new and more absurd challenges spring to mind in that most harsh and rewarding of places.

Of note to those single male readers, the Grand Canyon in summer is an excellent place to meet a like minded partner. The proliferation of 20-something athletic (or at least semi) females was truly impressive. They tend to travel in small packs, so be warned.