The trail certainly looked a lot different than the last time I had been on it. I was hiking out that time, the upper sections had been covered in about a foot of snow and it was still snowing and no one had been ahead of me to blaze a trail. This time the trail was clear and dry, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the low 40's... perfect! I only traveled for about a half an hour before I had to loose my jacket. I was getting much too warm. This was near a little saddle that joins the rim to a large section of rock that juts out into the canyon. It was a perfect rest stop and it was here that I met a couple of hikers who were headed down to Horseshoe Mesa for the day. We got to talking about what a perfect day it was for the hike and ended up sticking together for the rest of the descent. The trail was a breeze all the way down to the mesa. By the time I reached the mesa I had to get rid of my sweatshirt as well and was now down to just a T-shirt. It was quite warm on the mesa already, probably in the mid to upper 50's and it was about 10:30. It turned out the the couple I was with was also interested in exploring the caves below the mesa so we headed for the trail that leads down to them and finally reached the caves about 11:00 or so.

I had been down to Horseshoe Mesa for a day hike a couple of years back but was not equipped for spelunking at that time. The prior year when I was here during the snowstorm I wasn't interested in caves, simply survival, so I didn't get a chance to see them then either. This time everything came together just right. I had my flashlights and even better, I had companions. Three people with flashlights really lit the place up, even when we all drifted a little apart from each other. We were all amazed at the size and complexity of the caves. At first I figured that they would just be a hole that you could climb into and maybe head back a ways under the mesa, more like a tunnel. What we encountered could not have been more different. There were places where you had to get down on your hands and knees to crawl through and one opening I remember actually having to get down on my belly and pull myself through.

When you finally manage to get through these openings you usually end up in another rather sizable room. Some of the ceilings had to be 40-50 feet up. At one point we encountered a large corridor that vanished in the darkness. One of the people that I was with started to head down it but came back in about 5 minutes and said that it just kept going. On our way out we discovered some alternate routes between the same rooms that we passed on the way in that were actually easier to negotiate. We spent about a hour exploring the caves and you could probably spend a lot more. It was quite warm and humid in there though and after about an hour I was actually uncomfortable. It felt good to get back out into the sunshine and fresh air. It was here that I split up with my hiking companions. There were going to stay at the cave entrance and have some lunch and then maybe do some more exploring. I already have a favorite picnic spot on the mesa and so we said our goodbyes and I headed back up to the mesa top.

My favorite picnic spot on the mesa top is right at the tip of the western arm. It took me maybe 15 minutes to get there once I got back on top of the mesa. There is not really a trail going out there. You have to follow the Grandview spur that brings you to the Cave of the Domes trail, that will bring you down to the Tonto Platform. When you reach the junction with this trail a faint path continues north along the western arm. Eventually this fades away and you have to do a bit of rock climbing but the view that you are rewarded with is worth the trip. There is a Pinyon Pine right out on the tip just a little below the rim and the "trail" goes right down to it. Someone has constructed a sandstone bench here and it is just a perfect spot to relax and contemplate the Canyon. You can look down on the Tonto Platform below and even see a small section of the Colorado River. I took of my pack and sat down and ate my lunch of turkey and stuffing... it was only two days after Thanksgiving.

After lunch I headed back to the Cave of the Domes Trail and headed down to the junction with the Tonto Trail. The Cave of the Domes Trail was terrible and I do not recommend it unless you have no choice, which you do, so... It is littered with boulders and rocks and other such debris. It is not really steep but the switchbacks are very short and your are constantly switching directions. I was glad when the descent was over and I could see the junction with the Tonto Trail.

At the Tonto junction I headed west, towards Cottonwood Creek and my camp for the night. It took maybe an hour to contour around the base of Horseshoe Mesa and reach the camping area. As luck would have it I was alone and had the whole place to myself. It was still fairly early in the day, only about 4:30, so I set up camp, took out a book, sat down under a Pinyon Pine and relished in the solitude of the place. Not a creature was stirring except for the mouse. Mice gave me a trouble the last time that I was here as well. They never really did any damage it's just the fact that you you know that they are there and they could do damage if they wanted to. I was constantly throwing pebbles at them to keep them away from my stuff. I wasn't looking forward to the night and it was going to be a long one.

I lucked out when I planned this trip and got to see a total Lunar eclipse from the bottom of the Canyon. I usually try to plan my Canyon hikes to coincide with a Full Moon as this will light up the bottom of the Canyon beyond belief. It makes it easier for getting around camp at night as you usually won't need a flashlight. If you are camped on sand or dunes at the river at night, the moonlight reflected off the sand will illuminate the whole inner canyon. It was quite interesting to watch the moon rise up over Horseshoe Mesa and then have the Earth's shadow obscure it. The whole process from first contact to mid-eclipse required about 3 hours. The best part was in the final phase when the Moon entered the Earth's umbral shadow and really started to darken. At mid-eclipse the Moon was reduced to a sort of dark orange-brownish glow that really did not shed much in the way of light. It was amazing how dark it gets at the bottom on the Canyon when there is no moonlight. It was equally amazing to see how much light the stars alone will provide. I did not watch the second half of the eclipse as I knew I had I long way to go the next day and needed my sleep.