This will be a long thread with a LOT of pictures.
Several months ago MuseJr. and I started kicking around the idea of doing a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. By the end of February/early March we start getting a strong pull to get out of the cold weather and snow of Southern Idaho and Northern Utah and hit the road looking for sun and fish. For a little over a year I have been reading of some fishing in a small feeder creek that flows into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. From a few reports the fishing sounded good and the weather potentially warm by late Feb.
The challenge came as we continued to do our research. We found that due to the limitations of the environment of the park and very few trees, hammocks are not a favored shelter by the rangers that oversee the campgrounds in the park, even though the NPS does not have a set rule against Hammock use in parks. With hours of searching we had a feeling that we may be able to use some of the shade shelters that are part of some of the campgrounds and that we may be able to hang upwards of 4 of us. So we threw out the invite to a couple of longstanding forum members, Te-Wa and Dejoha, to make it a mini group hang. With our group set, we submitted for our back country permit.
Several weeks later our permit was approved but with a note stating that hanging was not likely going to be an option. Long story short. Dozens of emails, more research, a lot of luck and commitments to not damage the shelters and provide feedback on our experience to the park so that in the future they may work on a permanent hammock option for the campgrounds(more on that later) and we were given a green light.
Gear lists were made, changed, double checked, changed, adjusted and flat out thrown out the window. Custom Suspension parts and pieces were made and packed, last minute quilts were built, flies were tied, food lists were made and adjusted and all was packed.
Here is a couple pics of my gear just 2 nights before heading out - It only changed a little both before leaving home and at the trail head.
FOOD: 10 Tortillas, 2 smoothie mixes, 3 bags of 3 Oatmeal packets, 3 dinners, 1 dark chocolate bar, 3 snickers, 3 fruit bars, 4 packs of peanut butter, 2 packs of PB crackers, 4 gatorade mix packs, 1 bag with peach Oolong tea + tea bags, and 2 packs of Parmesan cheese. I ate everything but the Parmesan Cheese (gave one to Dejoha) and one bag of Oatmeal. At the small store at Phantom Ranch I purchased 4 more double Snickers, 4 drink/electrolyte powder mixes and 2 beers.
Main Gear Pile. From Top Left: Food bag with all pictured above, Bear Pillow, FlameThrower Socks, Thermal pants, Green REI Thermal Shirt, Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves, Buff Half Finger Sun Gloves, Underwear, Buff, 2 Pair Smartwool Socks, Black Rock Hat, Bathroom Kit (used very little of this), Thermal 1/2 Zip Shirt, Tilley Hat, Headlamp, flex neck light, First aid kit( with extras spread out below...spare contacts, Advil, tums, eye drops, soap, tweezers, tooth brushes, Chapstick) pants, 2 tarp stakes, suspension extension and chain links, Stick Pick, camera and my trekking poles on the far right edge.
The Rest: Trash bag/pack liner, AHE stuff sack pack, Golite rain pants, Wind jacket, 2 bottles of water, stove + pot, wind screen, spoon, pot gripper, fuel, Sawyer squeeze, pack towel all spread out below and right of water bottles. Mid pic: Diaz tools Frog Leg Knife, Folding Tenkara net, Fly box, lines, tipper and bag + Headphones for iPhone and rods in Green bag. 1/2 tarp + guy lines and map with permit on the right side.
I took a RidgeRunner No net + Spindrift sock, custom FlameThrower UQ and a new Top Quilt that we built just before the trip.
Working hard to get orders caught up and shipped before I headed out at 6PM to hit the road for the drive to Salt Lake where I would meet up with MuseJr. We set out at about 11:30 for the Canyon and drove through the night to get to the park entrance around 8:30AM. We were met with temps that hovered in the single digits as the sun was coming up. We played tourists for a little bit....
.....found some souvenirs for the family and found some breakfast. I snapped a few pictures and got changed from road trip to hiking clothes.
When Dejoha made it to the parking lot, him and I headed over to the Backcountry Office to meet up with the supervisor who had given us special permissions for some of the hammock locations for our trip. Dejoha had a copy of his book to leave and a few handshakes and we were headed for the trail. Te-Wa sent me a text saying he was running a few minutes late and to head out, he would catch up.
The upper portion of the trail is snow and ice covered, with much of it in perpetual shade this time of year.
There were a few slippery spots but most of it was fine with careful steps and the help of trekking poles for balance.
We spent a lot of stops taking pictures.
At about 1.5 miles Te-Wa caught up to us and we began to transition form the upper frozen sections into muddy patches and then finally into warmer and dryer lower areas.
Just below the 3 mile rest shelter we hit one of the denser sets of switchbacks.
Looking Back Up
Eventually the trail levels out and makes a more gentle decent as you cover the final mile to the first campground, Indian Gardens.
Upon arriving we set about work to see how we would be able to hang our hammocks without the use of trees. At I.G. there are a couple of options that worked for us (remember this was with specific approval to hang.)
The shade shelters that are in place at each site would prove to be near perfect for setting up smaller gathered end style hammocks. Combined with the stout pack hanging poles, to keep your gear up away from mice and squirrels that will devour any salty item, came into use. Dejoha was able to set up hanging diagonally in one shelter, while I attached one end to the same shelter and a pack pole. MuseJr and Te-Wa set up on another again using one of the poles on one end of one hammock.
My RidgeRunner with Spindrift for the night
As the sun started to drop over the canyon walls the cool air off the rim began to flow into the gully and down onto the campground. The temps dropped quickly as late afternoon turned into early evening and darkness settled into the campground. Dejoha layered up and soon took the new trail name Ninja Turtle.
Dinner time:
It did not take long for us all to retreat to our hammocks and some warm insulation. With Musejr. and I both working on 30 some hours of being up we were quickly snoozing.
Dejoha in his Grand Trunk with a poncho for a weather shield.
One thing to understand about these hiker campgrounds in the canyon is that each site is packed in right next to each other. I awoke around midnight to the sound of our groundling neighbors working to start a chain saw a few yards away. Now I know that each of us, myself included, had been sawing logs so I can't say anything bad but this guy was working with industrial grade gear. I lay awake for a bit then gave in and took some ZZZZQuill that I had packed and was soon back out working on competing for loudest snorer in the campground.
Morning came early and was cold. MuseJr. had hot tea ready and with some oatmeal in the guts and rays of sunshine down the canyon beckoning we were soon on the trail.
Dejoha and Te-Wa had decided to take a spur trail and connect to one of the other trails to the river while Musejr and I would take the Bright Angel trail to the bottom and we would meet up at the campground. So shortly out of the campground we split up for the morning.
MuseJr and I made good time and worked our way down the mostly gentle decent in good time.
Before long though we hit the main switchback section of the lower trail. A series of short but fairly steep switchbacks drop elevation quickly.
I had to stop with the morning sun and try out a fresh StickPic that Rod had gotten out to me for my new poles just before the trip.
A little more down the trail and we had a couple of slick crossings of the nearly dry feeder creek.
And finally the river came into sight.
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