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October, 2005 - Indian Hollow, Cranberry Canyon & Kanab Canyon |
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Trip number 34 - March, 2004 : Hermit and Tonto to Monument Creek, NPS Tamarisk Control Work Project.
Trip number 35 - May, 2004 : Phantom and Haunted Canyons
Trip number 36 - May, 2004 : Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch & Phantom Canyon
Trip number 37 - April, 2005 : Nankoweap, Mystic Falls, Kolb Arch and Little Nankoweap
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This way another trip that had been on my bucket list for a long time and when the opportunity presented itself I just could not refuse. I was really looking forward to finally getting to see and hike along the river to Kanab Canyon and then up Kabab to Jumpup Canyon. I had hiked with Chuck and Mike before and always enjoyed those trips and was looking forward to doing it again.
Any trip with Chuck was a trip likely to have surprises and this one was no exception. It started off with a nice lunch at the Vermillion Cliffs Cafe on the way to the Indian Hollow and the Thunder River trailhead. For dinner at camp that night we were treated to a BBQ of pulled pork and baked beans. We also had chips and salsa and there was plenty of beer to go around as well. It was an awesome start to what ended up being a pretty spectacular trip. On the first day we start off down the Thunder River Trip but only took that down as far as the Esplanade before leaving it to head out cross-country. We headed southwest towards the head of Cranberry Canyon and stopped at Ghost Rock along the way. Ghost Rock was a wonderful treat for me. We followed the east side of Cranberry down to the inner gorge and the found a break in the Redwall in a little alcove to the east, between Cranberry and Deer Creek. The second day was just a nice hike along the river to Kanab Canyon. One of the guys on the trip had brought along a lot of canned food and his pack was way to heavy. Ranger Chuck flagged down a river trip at one point and asked if they would take the pack and drop it off at the mouth of Kanab. Day three started off nice with a visit from some Grand Canyon bighorn sheep at camp. After breakfast we packed up and started hiking up Kanab. It was glorious. We stopped off at the Slide of Susurrus and all had a little swim there and also passed around a bottle of Captain Morgan spiced rum. Yum! We camped a little further up Kanab. Day four was going to be a long one up Kanab Canyon to Jumpup Canyon, about 10 miles. The beauty of Kanab continued to impress me. We passed by Scotty's Castle and Showerbath Spring on the way to Jumpup. Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not make it to Jumpup. There were numerous creek crossings and some deep pools to bypass and it was just very slow going. Dave made a fabulous dessert for us by combining three separate desserts. We did finally make it to Jumpup Canyon on day five and that was even more impressive than Kanab. I was surprised at how very narrow the opening to it was and was not expecting anything like that. The narrowness continued for a long way and it is definitely not someplace you would want to get caught during a flash flood as there is no place to go. After a couple of hours in Jumpup we arrived at Indian Hollow and started up that. Obstacle Pool was a bit of a challenge and after looking for a way around we finally decided to just wade across it and up the other side. We hiked for a few more miles past Obstacle Pool and made an early camp for the last night. The last day was following Indian Hollow up to the base of the Coconino and then slowly working our way through a series of cliffs. The landscape was very pretty as Indian Hollow started to open up. There were lots of twists and turns in the upper reaches of Indian Hollow as it meanders through the Kaibab and I distinctly remember the small from all of the sagebrush. It was wonderful. After we got back to the vehicles we packed up and headed back to the Vermillion Cliffs Cafe for a fabulous post hike meal. The full trip report is here. |
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Next >> Trip number 40 - April, 2006 - Nankoweap backpack plus Dripping Springs and Horseshoe Mesa day hikes
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