It took about 1½ hours to get down to the junction with the Dripping Springs Trail. The morning was still fairly cool and a lot of the descent was in the shade once we went over the rim. We stopped for a while to look at the fossilized animal tracks and take a short break. We took a longer break at the trail junction before heading out again along the Hermit towards Lookout Point.

It took maybe ½ to ¾ hour to get to Santa Maria Spring. We took a very short rest here as I knew already that we were going to have some trouble with the heat. We stopped just long enough to take the packs off for a few minutes and stretch a little. Most of the shade was gone at this point as the sun was above the rim and it was starting to get hot. The rest house at the spring provided some relief.

The stretch from Santa Maria Spring to Lookout Point was longer that I remembered from a prior trip, but then again that trip was done in December and was nice and cool. By the time we reached Lookout Point this time it was around noon and the sun was toasting us and my wife, Robin, was starting to complain about problems with her feet. I don't know why I figured that the Canyon would still be cool this time of year. I think summer must start there by around the 1st of May and we were already at the end of the month. We took a leisurely lunch break and prepared for the worst.

It was a long haul along the Hermit from Lookout Point over to Cathedral Stairs, where the Redwall descent begins. I was hot but was drinking a lot and was in no pain. Robin, on the other hand, was really starting to "feel" the trail. I kept telling here that all we had to do was get down this section and then the trail would be flat and easy. Little did we know what awaited us on the Tonto.

We still managed to find little patches of shade in the Cathedral Stairs descent. The problem started just beyond there. There is a gradual descent down to a set of switch backs on the north side of Cope Butte that take you down to the Tonto Trail junction. This section was brutal, the tips of my toes were starting to feel a little sore, so I knew what Robin was going through. I still kept saying that it would all get better once we reached the Tonto. Not!

It was probably about 3 PM by the time we reached the Tonto Trail junction. It felt good to have the descent behind us and I knew it couldn't be far to Hermit Camp. It wasn't that far but because of the hear it really dragged on. It took about 1½ hours to go that last mile or so. The heat was unbearable and there was absolutely no relief from it. Drink water and lots of it. At least the trail was flat and my toes weren't feeling too bad. The bright light at the end of the tunnel would be running water at Hermit Creek, cold water that you could sit in.

We finally made it to Hermit Camp, I think it was a little before 5 PM. I had already given up hope that Robin would want to make the hike down Hermit Creek to the river, and to be honest I really wasn't much in the mood for it myself. It would simply have to wait for another trip, another time. We picked a nice camping spot above a nice pool with a waterfall and set up camp. There were not many people around. A group of about 4-5 guys that were just getting ready to leave and another couple camped further up the creek. After setting up camp I also decided against the hike down to the river. We had so much water here already, so why bother. We went for a swim in the pool and just relaxed.