As I said in the summary, trying to go from the South Kaibab trailhead all the way to Clear Creek in one day is a bit much. I gave it my best effort but as the afternoon progressed I sort of gave up on the idea.

I was awake at 04:30 and caught the bus to the South Kaibab trailhead outside of Yavapai Lodge at 05:35. The morning was cool but not cold and so, at the last minute, I decided that I would not take my heavier jacket along on the hike. I knew that there would only be a slight chance that I would need it for the first leg of the South Kaibab Trail and didn't want to carry it along for the entire trip just for that. I had been worried about being able to get an early start and since the road to the South Kaibab trailhead and Yaki Point is closed at this time of year, I thought I would need to park at the picnic area near the road entrance and hike in to the trailhead. It was very nice to discover that the shuttle buses start running a full hour before sunrise. I arrived at the South Kaibab trailhead at 05:45 and immediately started down. I was hoping to get to Cedar Ridge before the sun came up and I made it with almost 10 minutes to spare, reaching Cedar Ridge at 06:20. On the way down to Cedar Ridge I surprised some sheep just below Oo-Ah Point, which I at first thought was a rockfall - until I realized that the rocks had legs and were making more or less a controlled descent. I was also passed by a mule train, which was packing in supplies for Phantom Ranch, just above Cedar Ridge. These guys sure get an early start. The sun rose at 06:29 and the morning looked like it was going to be a very nice one for hiking. I sucked down some water while watching the sun come up and then started down the trail again.

At 07:10 I reached the top of the Redwall descent and started down. At 07:15 I found a good "sitting" rock and took a five minute rest before continuing down - I felt that I was making excellent time so far. While I was sitting there having my little rest, I thought about my cat, Tigger, who had given me a little present to bring along on the hike. I had discovered one of her cat toys in my day pack, which I also use for my carry-on for the plane, the night before while I had been sorting things out and repacking my big pack. Tigger is one of those unique cats that likes to retrieve things and I had been playing with here while I was packing the carry-on. Apparently at some point she decided to drop the toy into the backpack while I wasn't looking, possibly because she saw me putting other things in the pack and thought that her toy belonged in there as well, or possibly for some other reason that a human can just not comprehend. The toy was not even a real toy and was just those pull-off plastic tabs from the top of a milk jug, but she loves to play with them. I smiled when I found it in the pack and was just going to throw it away when something prevented me from doing so. There was a remote chance that there was more meaning to this and maybe Tigger was giving me a good luck charm and saying "Be careful, Daddy, and bring back my toy". OK, so it was going to be a strange trip. I finished off my small bottle of water, refilled it, and headed off down the trail again at 07:28.

I reached the bottom of the Redwall descent around 07:45 and at 08:00 was at the junction of the South Kaibab and Tonto Trails. At 08:15 I reached the first river overlook and had a great view of the Colorado River and Bright Angel Campground, still about 1,000 feet below me. I also had an excellent view across the river of Utah Flats and had a brief flashback to my prior hike just this past December. I talked with some day hikers who I had been hearing behind me occasionally ever since I left Cedar Ridge and discovered that they were day hiking to the river and back. They seemed to be in good enough shape and were definitely making good time so I did not expect they would have any problems. At 08:35 I started off down the trail, behind them.

At 09:15 I reached the river and felt good about being there so early. I was hoping to make Phantom Ranch before 10:00 and was relieved to be there at 09:30. I met the two day hikers there again and we talked some more while we rested. I also had my first cup of coffee of the day and my last for several more days, until I would get back out on the rim. I decided against using the stove for breakfast on this trip and would have to make do with cold breakfasts. I also has a nice talk with the woman who was working the counter in the cantina and she introduced me to the Phantom Ranch manager, Warren Tracy. We had exchanged e-mails in the past and it's always nice to put a face to those.

After a nice long rest at Phantom Ranch I took to the trail again at 11:00. I reached the start of the Clear Creek Trail at 11:15 and prepared for the climb back up to the Tonto level. At 11:45 I reached the Phantom Overlook, took a break, and met some other very nice people to talk to. At 12:00 I said my good-byes and headed off up the trail. At 12:20 I reached the bottom of the Tapeats and knew I was almost done with the climb.

At 12:30 I met a group of three people heading back from Clear Creek. I asked if there was anyone else over there and they claimed to have seen two other people who had headed up towards Cheyava and were not camped in the main camping area. Aside from that the place was empty. I relished in the thought of having Clear Creek to myself again.

At 12:45 I found some shade along the final climb to the Tonto Platform and stopped for lunch. At 13:10 I was moving again and was shortly up on the Tonto. The day was starting to get hot and I was starting to feel it. After about an hour on the Tonto I was looking forward to finding some shade and finaly found a patch behind a large boulder just below Bradley Point. My legs were starting to feel tired and I rested in the shade from 14:10 until 14:30. At this point I was beginning to wonder about making it all the way to Clear Creek and was having doubts about making the descent with legs that were starting to feel like rubber. I decided to push for the east side of Demaray Point, between there and Zoroaster Canyon, as I seemed to recall there being some nice camping spots along the trail there.

At 15:30 I rounded Demaray Point and had my first view of the Ottoman Amphitheatre and the Clear Creek area. I started looking for campsites but did not find anything and so I continued to press on. My legs did not really hurt, nor did my feet, but I was beginning to feel very tired. I did not find the campsites that I remembered until I crossed to the other side of Zoroaster Canyon.

At 17:00 I had an established camp. I still figured that I had about two miles to go to Clear Creek and so it should be an easy morning and I should be able to get there very early. I had dinner (Mountainair Chili With Beans) about 17:30 and was not pleased with it at all. I ate a little of it but I had to force it down and could not even come close to finishing it. I finally had to dig a hole and bury what was left.

After dinner I had problems with a bee buzzing around my tent. I had this problem the prior spring while camped over in Garnet Canyon and someone told me afterwards that the bee was seeing my tent as a huge flower and becuase it is blue and white it probably thought it was a huge Columbine from bee heaven. The bee finally went away and I hoped that this would not be the norm for the trip. Last spring I had been out for nine days and only had a problem with the bee for the two days I was camped at Garnet.

By 18:00 I was in the tent and ready for bed. I spent some time arranging gear inside and probably didn't get to sleep until 19:00. I must have slept pretty good for a while because I don't remember checking my watch before 01:30 and then again at 03:15. I slept fitfully after that though.