On day three we went from the Upper Tapeats camping area to the Lower Tapeats camping area at the Colorado River. We used the trail on the west side of the creek which was a big mistake.

19:30 - Lower Tapeats camp at the Colorado River

The descent down along the west side Tapeats Creek was worse than anything else we have encountered thus far and I actually had t carry packs across two sections of very narrow trail this time. The trail has really degraded considerably since the last time we did this trip six years ago and I don't even recognize the route from the way it was the first time I did it back in 1995. Back then there was an upper and a lower route along the west side and now the lower portion seems to be gone completely in places. There used to be a way around some of the up-and-around climbs by going behind the willows along the creek bank but that's all gone now. There must have been a flash flood that washed it all away.

It didn't help anyone being able to see the really easy trail on the other (east) side of the creek. We should have tried to cross the creek but I really didn't expect as much trouble as we had, except for the one spot I had to carry packs last time. There was a place where it looked possible to cross right below the Upper Tapeats camping area but below that it was pretty narrow and there was a lot of water flowing.

There are now three up-and-over sections on the west side to get around spots where the cliffs come right down to the creek. I looked around at all of these for lower routes along the creek but there is nothing. The first two (when heading south) are not bad as far as climbing but the trail is very narrow and exposed and anyone with a fear of heights will not like it. The last one has a slightly wider trail but climbs up and then back down a lot and the descent is on a very rocky and unstable trail.

The west side route should be avoided at all costs if it is at all possible to cross the creek. This probably isn't possible in the spring time when there is even more water coming down Tapeats Creek. The only problem on the east side is a small cliff (10-12 feet) just above the lower gorge, after the trail cross from the west side to the east. There looks to be some kind of a trail on the east side even going through the lower gorge but it could just be game trails.