Grand Canyon Clear Creek Trip Report - Nov 2008

[dkerr24]

I know this trip report doesn't relate to Big Bend, but thought I'd post it here if anyone would like to read and see the sights I saw while on my backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon last week:

http://hddman.googlepages.com/nov2008grandcanyonclearcreekreport


Moderator note: "off topic" trip reports not related to Big Bend are fine, as long as they're posted here in the Non-BIBE Trip Reports forum.
P.S. Great report!

[TexasAggieHiker]

awesome report!!

[walkingman06]

Thanks for the report and the pics.  Great job!

[Robert]

Thanks for a great report. I've hiked to Phantom Ranch as well as to the Thunder River from the North Rim. I've always wanted to go back and hike Clear Creek (and your report might be as close as I get).

[Undertaker]

Spent quite a bit of time in Arizona middle 60's, hiked the grand canyon, Bright Angel trail on three occasions as I remember, love the area loved El Tovar for food and view enjoyed the Canyon before bus traffic and fences slowed the view and travel. Still a wonderful ever-changing view. 

[dkerr24]

To Moderator:  Sorry, I must have missed the 'non-BB' trip report section when I first posted.
No problem. We just created it while you were out hiking.

That long 9 mile hike to Clear Creek was definitely tough, as the trail meandered up and down several dry washes.  Not as many flat sections as one would assume.

They reopened the Hermit Road to regular vehicle traffic.  It was pretty cool to drive my own vehicle out to the Abyss and Hermit's rest without dealing with the shuttle buses.

[homerboy2u]

Most excellent trip report Darin,

[mule ears]

Great report and pictures. Glad you made it to Clear Creek this year to overcome last years disappointment. How did you like the new camera? Did you shoot those pics in RAW or JPEG?
Thanks.

[dkerr24]

Great report and pictures. Glad you made it to Clear Creek this year to overcome last years disappointment. How did you like the new camera? Did you shoot those pics in RAW or JPEG?
Thanks.

I did shoot most pics in JPEG format, but did shoot a few in RAW.  The RAW pics turned out great, but are HUGE.   Of course, the jpeg's on that web link were shrunk down quite a lot and don't look nearly as good as the originals.  Googlepages limits me to 100mb of space for all my stuff, so I had to compress the pics quite a bit

The thing that impressed me most about the Canon G9 was its low power consumption.  I had 4 battery packs with me, but only used one and started on my second one after 6 days of shooting.  I ended up shooting about 8gb of pics (including a number of AVI video files), and had 20gb of SD cards with me, so no shortage of storage space.

[Joe]

That's a great trip report, Darin; it made me feel like I was there again. I've hiked the first few miles of the Clear Creek trail as a short day-hike from Phantom Ranch, and I've hiked from the river to the base of the 15-foot pour-off several times. I knew there was supposed to be a way to get around the pour-off but I could never figure out how. After seeing your photo, I'm not surprised I never saw the route. Even if I had found it, I doubt if I would have attempted it - nothing wrong with knowing your limits.

And your description of the narrow trail and dropoff at Horsehoe Mesa reminds me of the Narrows above Deer Creek Falls. I've seen quite a few people turn around instead of taking the trail through the Narrows.

Thanks again for the report and photos.

[russco]

Awesome report Darin!....My hiking buddy and I took that Goat trail the NPS calls the Tonto off the east side of Horseshoe Mesa in October when we went from Grandview to Tanner. It is ROUGH to say the least...my buddy started making billy goat noises about halfway down...said it made him feel better!!! I don't blame you for turning around and finding a better way....We were a bit spooked by it and both of us are avid Rock Climbers!! Anyhow great report...I'm looking forward to visiting Clear Creek soon! Cheers!

[dkerr24]

Yep, that 'trail' headed to Page Springs on the east side of Horseshoe Mesa is definitely in a hurry to get down.  The trail down the northside of Horseshoe Mesa didn't look nearly as steep.  I've been down the west side trail that leads to Cottonwood Creek, and it wasn't bad at all.