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May, 2003 - Thunder River and Deer Creek |
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Trip number 28 - April/May, 2001 : Phantom & Haunted Canyons
Trip number 29 - April, 2001 : South Bass, Royal Arch
Trip number 30 - October, 2001 : GCHBA Bright Angel, Phantom & Clear Creek Work Project
Trip number 31 - April, 2002 : Point Huitzil, Royal Arch, Tonto, South Bass
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This was my second time to Thunder River and Deer Creek but it would be the first time for my wife, Robin. Robin got to visit Deer Creek during a river trip we did in 1997 but we never got up to Thunder River as part of that trip and I thought she would enjoy finally getting to see it. I also had a friend, Sue, along who I had met online via the LiveJournal web site and she brought her boyfriend, Tom, sign on for the trip as well.
Sue claimed to be a hiker and said she had done some hiking around Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire's White Mountains. It wasn't until we were already well into this trip that I discovered these were really just day hikes and the only real camping she had done was car camping. Tom had never done any hiking at all. It all turned out fine in the end though they did pack a little on the heavy side. Sue had brought along a very large hard-bound book that I don't think she ever opened. For food they had Army surplus MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) which are quite convenient but also quite heavy. The weather at the start of this trip was still a little on the wintry side and we had a little difficulty getting to the Bill Hall trailhead. It had snowed the night that we stayed at Jacob Lake and there was still some snow on the Forest Service roads on the way. There was also lots of mud where the snow had melted and there were a couple of steeper grades where the jeep was slipping and sliding in the mud. It was covered in mud by the time we got to the trailhead and that mud would harden to rock while we were on the trail. It was a challenge to clean that thing off when we got back to civilization. The first trip I had done down these trails was just out and back to Deer Creek and the Colorado River from Surprise Valley and then out and back to upper and lower Tapeats Creek camps and back to Surprise Valley as well. That trip was later in May and Surprise Valley was searchingly hot. This trip was much nicer. Going down the west side of Tapeats Creek was more difficult that I had remembered from that first trip and the trail seemed much more eroded. Tapeats Creek was flowing very high though and I was no about to risk trying to cross it to get to the trail on the east side. Luckily we had all day to go from upper to lower Tapeats and we could take our time. I really enjoyed the section of trail along the river. It isn't much of a trail actually and required some route finding in places. Still it was a lot easier than it had been coming down Tapeats Creek. The views of the Colorado River and the inner gorge are fabulous. Everyone really enjoyed Deer Creek and playing in the water over there. I did not have much opportunity for this on my first trip as that was very rushed. On this trip we actually had two nights and a lay-over day at Deer Creek which was very relaxing. Both Sue and Tom did very well on this hike despite a considerable lack of experience. Sue is short and had problems with some of the higher steps on the trail. They both handled the ascents on the hike out with no problem at all. For their first trip in the Grand Canyon they really had a gem of a trip. Not much a springtime hike to Thunder River and Deer Creek. The full trip report is here. |
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Next >> Trip number 33 - October, 2003 - South Kaibab to Phantom to Kwagunt to Tanner
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