I was up at 5:00. It had snowed a small amount overnight and there was about an inch of snow on the Jeep. I took a quick shower, packed and checked all my gear, ate a quick breakfast and was on the road and headed for Monument Point and the Bill Hall trailhead at 6:05. The day looked like it was going to be dark and gloomy. The sky was quite overcast and the cloud cover was extremely low. I passed through some sections of both snow flurries and drizzle on the way to the trailhead. I lost about 15 minutes on the trip to the trailhead due to a wrong turn and finally arrived at the trailhead at around 7:30. The road had been quite muddy and the Jeep looked like it had been wallowing in it. There were 3 other 4WDs in the parking lot as well as a normal auto. A couple of guys that were also planning on starting the hike today had camped in the parking lot overnight and were just starting to pack up their gear. We talked briefly as I unloaded and assembled my own gear.

The Bill Hall trail begins just outside of the western end of the parking area. I was on the trail at 7:40 and headed first for Monument Point which is less than 1/4 mile from the trailhead. There is a real monument here, to Forest Ranger Bill Hall, who was killed in the line of duty, while trying to assist a person involved in a motorcycle accident. The scene from Monument Point overlooks Tapeats Amphitheatre and Bridger's Knoll.

From Monument point the trail continued westward along the rim, with a couple of ups and downs, before reaching the start of the real descent in about a 1/2 mile or so. When the trail finally did go over the edge it did so quite quickly and at a very steep angle. This quick descent was only for 1/4 mile, more or less, and brought me down to the saddle between the Monument Point and Bridger's Knoll. From here the trail got considerably easier as it contoured northwestward for maybe 3/4 mile along the western edge of Monument Point, just below the Kaibab and Toroweap formations. There are a number of rock falls which the trail passed over along the way, the last of which is biggest and most impressive. Most of the rock in these falls appears to come from the Kaibab Limestone and Toroweap Formations and contain numerous shell fossils. There was an incredible variety of Spring flowers in bloom because of the time of year. The most prominent in the upper sections of the Bill Hall trail being the Wyoming Paintbrush.

Shortly after I crossed that last big rock fall the trail began its descent to the Esplanade and the junction with the Thunder River trail. It does this first with a few easy switchbacks. And then I came to the cliff. Well it's not really a cliff but it looks like a cliff when you've got 40-50 pounds on your back. It's really only about a 20 foot drop at a pretty steep angle but it made me feel most uncomfortable. I didn't see anyway down with the pack on so I took it off and roped it down. Climbing down without the pack was no problem at all, nor would I encounter any problem climbing back up on the way out with the pack on. Most of my paranoia in situations like this comes from being a solo hiker. I think solo hikers tend to take fewer "chances". At least if they're smart solo hikers.

After the cliff the switchbacks continued, some easy, some steep, some rocky, but for the most part pretty good. After about 1/2 mile, as I started closing in on the bottom of the descent, the switchbacks got longer and began to level out a bit. Finally they gave way to a trail with more of a direction in mind as it headed out onto the Esplanade and the junction with the Thunder River Trail which was still about 3/4 mile away.

Once the junction with the Thunder River Trail is reached the trail began to meander a bit as it contours its way southward over the its on its way toward the Redwall descent about 3 miles away. This section of the trail was a little bit difficult to follow at times as it crossed numerous sandstone benches were there was no trail to follow, only cairns. Sometimes it was difficult to pick out the cairns among all of the other scattered rock in the area. They are there though, it's just a matter of picking them out. Some of the eroded features on the Esplanade were quite fascinating. I didn't stop to take any pictures as the light just wasn't right - it was still overcast - and I was hoping that it would be better on the hike out. To get a truly good view try climbing to some of the higher spots to get a little above the plane of the Esplanade itself. I did this on my way back, on the hike out. Be careful not to walk on the cryptobiotic soil that seems to exist everywhere in the area. If you damage this soil it can take hundreds of years to recover. I remember seeing places were people had obviously walked through it and wondered how long ago it had been and how long it would remain obvious. If you must walk overland try following the drainages as these seem to be clear of the cryptobiotic soil. There is often a lot of other stuff growing in them that you have to navigate around but at least you're not damaging anything.

Once I got to the rim of the Esplanade the trail took no time in locating the break in the Redwall Limestone that allowed me to pass through to the floor of Surprise Valley. The Redwall break on the Thunder River Trail is one of the easiest that I have seen along any Grand Canyon trail. It switchbacked over what appeared to be a natural break in the rock layer caused by either a fault or massive slide or both. About 3/4 mile more got me through this and I was at the bottom of Surprise Valley. The clouds had burned off at this point and it was starting to get hot. It was only a little after noon at this point and I knew it would be getting a lot hotter as the day progressed. I was now walking directly into the sun as well, which made it a lot worse.

After I reached the floor of Surprise Valley the Thunder River Trail continued its southward trek. In about 1/2 mile more I came to the junction with the Deer Creek Trail which leads off to the west. This section of the trail is very easy to follow and reminded me a lot of the Tonto Trail on the other side if of the river. It's different though in the fact that Cogswell Butte on the south side blocks access to the river and creates Surprise Valley. The terrain and the trail itself felt like the Tonto but the scenery just didn't look right.

After about another 1/2 mile I came across two guys hiking back out to the rim from Deer Creek. We talked briefly and I asked them about the river route between Deer and Tapeats. They knew nothing about it and had hiked over the previous day from Thunder River through Surprise Valley. I wandered on for about another 1/2 mile and was starting to get hungry so I began looking for someplace to eat lunch. There was no shade to be found anywhere so I eventually gave up trying to find it, dropped my pack and ate lunch in the middle of the trail. It was getting real hot down here. I realized that I had made a major mistake at this point as my arms were starting to burn and I had forgotten to pack sunscreen. This would make for an interesting afternoon. I woofed down my lunch and continued on.

After another mile or so the trail began to head downwards a bit as it started its descent into the upper regions of the Deer Creek area. It began by following a drainage that eventually leads to a fall that you cannot get down. At this point the trail broke off to some switchbacks to the north which allowed me to descend into Deer Creek proper. By the time I got to the descent into Deer Creek my arms were beginning to felt like I had them in an oven. Which I did actually so I don't know why this surprised me. Shortly after this I started to hear running water, lots of running water, and not too far off. If there was water there was likely to be trees and shade as well. You have no idea what it feels like to hear something like that when you are being baked alive. I threw myself into overdrive.

The descent down into Deer Creek was steep, rocky and not at all pleasant. This is not a fun way to end a day of hiking, especially if you have come all the way down from the rim. About 3/4 of the way down I came to the spur trail which leads right down below Deer Spring. This was a pleasant relief as it was cool and shady back there. I took some time to splash some water on myself in an effort to cool down before continuing on. The descent from this point to the floor of the drainage was considerably easier. In about another 1/2 mile or so I came to the spot where you can cross Deer Creek just north of the point where it joins with Deer Spring. The other side of the drainage was already in shade created by the western wall and I took another rest.

Since camping is not permitted below the Narrows section in Deer Creek I then proceeded to look for a good camp site. Since I was the only person here that did not appear it would be a problem. I found a nice site that had lots of room and some good flat rocks to serve as stove and dining table and was also well shaded. I unpacked my gear, setup my tent, hung my food and proceeded to head for the river. I decided to put my sweatshirt on to get some protection from the sun. I knew it would be hot but I could not afford to risk burning any more than I already was. DO NOT FORGET TO PACK SUNSCREEN AGAIN!

I had camped less than 1/4 mile north of where the Narrows begin. The first falls was only 6 or 7 feet high and had a very nice pool below it. As I continued on the drops became more numerous and closer together. By the time I reached the river, which was only about 3/4 mile away, I could no longer see Deer Creek as it had plunged away into the dark depths of the Narrows. The trail followed the contour line from the top of the Narrows right out to the river. It was quite narrow in places and there are a number of spots that would have been difficult to negotiate with a large pack. I would have had to get down and crawl or creep along sideways and hope that I didn't fall into the narrows. Luckily I didn't have this problem. Since I couldn't camp down here or at the river and there is no where else to go I decided it would be better to leave all my stuff back up above the Narrows. A very good idea.

When I finally get to the river I was still a couple hundred feet above and 1/2 mile or so from the bottom of Deer Creek Falls. The trail headed west and began to switchback down some rockfalls to the beach below. There are also a couple of tight spots along this section of trail as well that would not have been pleasant with a pack on. One particularly nasty section goes over and down some very large boulders with some tree limbs hanging overhead that provide very little clearance. This was difficult at best without a pack and would have been impossible with one.

The trip to the beach was worth it when I finally got to see Deer Creek Falls though. I thought that Deer Spring was nice but this is nicer by a hundred times. The water gushes out of the Deer Creek narrows maybe a hundred feet above you and plummets into the pool below. From here it flowed along a short bed and over a couple of small falls before it reached the Colorado. The creek was easy enough to cross and I went over to the beach on the other side to talk with some river runners who had pulled their rafts ashore and were preparing to take a hiking party up through the Narrows. I asked again about the river trail and they didn't know about it. One woman said that there was a trail above the Narrows that headed east over a small saddle on the west side of Cogswell Butte and that it went over to the Tapeats area. Could this be it? I would have to check it out when I got back.

I wandered around on the east side of Deer Creek for a while. I climbed up as high as I could go to see if there was any sign of a trail. I didn't find anything, no cairns or any other signs so I eventually gave up and headed back to camp.

When I got back to camp I got out my binoculars and started looking for this supposed trail. I couldn't find it. I found the saddle, I think, and it looked reachable but I could not find any signs of a trail leading up to it or going over. Having no idea where the trail was or what it would be like I gave up on the idea and decided to go back through Surprise Valley. This would be longer but I would also stand a better chance of staying out of the sun longer, if I started early, than I would if I was travelling along the river.

It was around 6:00 or so, so I decided to make supper. I wanted to eat before it got dark as the mice in the canyon have given me problems before if I waited too late to start cooking. Once the light starts to fade they seem to come out scrounging for food. I was lucky on this trip and would not be bothered by a single mouse. After dinner I read for a while and then laid down inside my tent and watched the stars come out. It was a beautiful night and I slept pretty well.