7:15 - Brahma-Deva camp

I slept pretty good. I managed to stay awake, or at least not trying to sleep, until about 930 last night. I dozed off and on all night and was awake for several clock checks. The moon which is just a little past third quarter kept things very bright for most of the night. Lots of stars and even the Milky Way were visible in the final couple of hours before dawn though. I really don't know what time I decided to get up but it was between 530 and 600. I've had my breakfast and now I am finishing my second cup of coffee. The sun has not crested the eastern wall yet but it will very shortly.

It was nice to not have to rush to get up to do anything this morning and feels good to not have anything to do today. I am probably going to spend the day seeking shade and just relaxing. I could very well end up finishing my book today which would not be good for the final days/nights down here. I really need to try and ration my reading.

I used 2 quarts of water with dinner last night, finishing the last of it overnight. I used another quart this morning with breakfast. I still have 5+ quarts in the bladders for today. I would like to drink at least 3 of those. I feel ok but my mouth was still very dry overnight.

I need to refill everything again later this afternoon.

Dinner tonight - 2 quarts
Breakfast - 1 quart
Deva hike - 3 quarts
Tomorrow night - 2 quarts
TOTAL - 8 quarts

That will leave me with nothing for getting out of here and back to Bright Angel campground. I will have to try and ration the Deva water and maybe I can get by with 2 quarts. It's doubtful though. I would really like to drink a quart tomorrow morning before I start that hike. I may not need the full 3 quarts for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow so I can polish off whatever is left of that before I start.

The sun is going to be in here any minute now so I need to move.

8:00 - Shade Sweet Shade

I found some good hard shade about a tenth of the mile down the creek bed next to some high cliffs. It should be many hours before the sun gets in here. I have all of my water and filter gear with me and a snack for later on.

I need to try and plan out exactly what I need for tomorrow's hike. I would like to have the backpack packed and ready to go as much as possible but I can't leave any food in it since it has to stay outside. I have an extra sack I can put the food for the hike in. It's only going to be a bagel with cream cheese (from Phantom) for my second breakfast before the Redwall ravine and then energy bars, almonds and peanut m&ms to keep the energy level up.

The early morning will be cool so I will probably start with my long sleeve shirt.
Aside from water, snack food, camera...
- headlamp, will probably need to start with that anyway
- something warmer in case it is colder/windy up on top

It's beautiful here right now. Some thin clouds came in right after sunset last night but they were gone and the sky was completely clear again within a couple of hours. The sky is completely clear right now. I can see the top of the Redwall cliff on the other side of the canyon and it does not look that far away. The Redwall ravine is about 1.25 mile up the creek bed as the raven flies and probably about 1.75 miles of walking. It's very quiet here with only the occasional sounds of birds and flies. I think a couple of mosquitoes have buzzed me as well but they are not very persistent.

11:50 - Shade Dwindling Share

I finally lost my good shade spot on top of a big flat rock but I had it for almost 3 hours. I have moved in closer to the base of the cliff and that will probably give me another hour or maybe a little more. After that there is a big juniper just a little ways up the creek bed that will probably do me for the rest of the afternoon until shade returns at camp later in the day.

I did a little reconnoitering down where I think the "trail" I was following was supposed to reach the canyon floor. There is some kind of trail there but it looks more like a game trail than anything else. Maybe that's all this thing really is. Not enough people come back here for there to be an actual human trail. Most people who do probably do not take the same route. It seems the most likely route is right along the top of the cliff edge as close to the canyon floor as possible though, climbing a little as you approach that little rise/saddle closer to where the Clear Creek Trail is. This "trail" starts out on some bare slabs right where a big side drainage comes in. I still think the big problem is the Google Earth image is taken from directly above and the trail is not obvious at all from ground level. I will try following this trail going out and hopefully it joins up with the some of the other stuff I followed on the way in. I think it's all still easier/shorter than the routes higher up that I used on previous trips.

I also went back to camp and picked up some snacks for lunch and the rest of the afternoon.

I really have been doing mostly nothing except relaxing and it's sort of amazing how good that feels after hiking with a heavy load for two days to get over here. I've been reading a little in my book but mostly have just been enjoying the Canyon. The birds have been singing pretty much non-stop while I have been here. I have also been seeing lots of tiger-swallowtail butterflies coming down the canyon but they don't stop at all so no photo opportunities.

The plan is to head back down to the pothole around 400 this afternoon and fill everything up again. I've already had 2 quarts of water this morning but I know I am still somewhat dehydrated. I need to try and fix that before tomorrow.

3:00 - At the pothole

I lost my shade next to the cliff completely around 200 and rather than hide behind the juniper where was no good place to sit I decided to look for some hard shade down canyon. There were some good spots a little higher up but I decided to check out the pothole because I knew there would be some shade by 330 at least, when I first got to it yesterday.

So now I have everything filled up again. I am drinking a quart while I am here and will then refill that one.

The plan I have for the next two days will leave me with 1 quart to get back to Bright Angel campground. I got over here with one so it should be possible to but I know I will be dehydrated when I get there. If there is still water here when I leave on Wednesday I will take another quart or two. I actually chugged down a quart right before leaving Phantom yesterday so I should use at least 2 to get me back and 3 would be heavenly. I could also go down to Clear Creek for water before leaving but that would be very much out of the way and would add another 2 miles to the hike, which is already long enough. I will just hope that there is still water here on Wednesday morning.

I walked down the creek bed a little from here to see if there were any other potholes but after only 100 yards I came to the big pour-off that goes to Clear Creek. On the way back I noticed a cairn close to the location where I came down yesterday. Now the decision is to try the other route I discovered this morning or to go back out the way I came in. Climbing up this mess would surely be easier than coming down was. Maybe? It would be shorter by some to go out the way I came in.