morning at Horseshoe Mesa
This is the second of a 3-day, September backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon on the Grandview – Tonto – South Kaibab Trail loop. I had three days and two nights available for the trip – here’s the itinerary:
9/8/08 – Day 1: Grandview Trailhead to Horseshoe Mesa (3 miles, plus extra exploration mileage)
9/9/08 – Day 2: Horseshoe Mesa to Grapevine Creek (7 miles)
9/10/08 – Day 3: Grapevine Creek to the South Kaibab Trailhead (20 miles)
The reason behind the absurdly long mileage on the last day is simple – Grapevine Creek was the last reliable source on the route, leaving 20 miles with no water. To account for this I placed a two gallon cache near the Tipoff on the South Kaibab Trail prior to this trip.
On this second day I would hike from Horseshoe Mesa to Gravepine Spring, where I would take a long, mid-day siesta before moving on to a random location east of Boulder Creek to make a dry camp.
Immediately along the trail to Cottonwood Creek I noticed this “historical trash heap” of old rusted cans.
Seen on the right side of the horizon, Angels Gate is a prominent north rim peak along this section of the Tonto Trail.
Cottonwood Creek is a lush side canyon, named for the trees found along its length. It’s the main drainage directly to the west of Horseshoe Mesa. Water can usually be found here with a little exploration, though I did not see any.
Winding to the north and south along these side canyons is the most typical course of the Tonto Trail, though it follows an overall east/west orientation. Here I’m looking back south along Cottonwood Creek, with the Redwall rising up to the west side of Horseshoe Mesa to the left.
Now the trail skirts the rim of the inner gorge above the Colorado River, with dramatic wide open views. I love the way the ancient lava flows are frequently evident in the Vishnu Schist.
This is the only other human being I would see until reaching the South Kaibab Trail
east
I come to the mouth of Grapevine Creek, and look south toward the long perimeter of the canyon that I must traverse to reach the other side. The Tonto on the far side of the mouth of the canyon is visible from here, but it will be something like 6 miles of hiking, and near the end of the day before I get there.
This is Grapevine Spring, where I find water and stop for a few hours to escape the mid-day heat. This will be the only place with water for over ten miles until I reach my cache, so I cook my primary meal for the day, drink as much as I can, and fill up all my containers.
Grapevine is big and deep, now lit in mid-afternoon.
Finally I reach the south end where the Tonto crosses Grapevine Creek, and begin heading back north along the west side.
Don’t miss the next page (This day continued)
