|
Day 10 - Hermit, Dripping Springs, Waldron day hike |
|---|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
10:30 pm - I am so tired! It has been a very long and tiring day and all I want to do is sleep. I kept dozing off while waiting for the pix to download from the camera to the laptop and I am finally done with that and ready to let sleep take me. I was up at 4am this morning because I figured as long I was going up to the Canyon I might as well go up for sunrise. There was also still a very thin crescent Moon and I wanted to see that in somewhat darker skies. I got to the Canyon around 515, before the entrance station was even open for collecting fees. I have a pass anyway so that's no big deal but it's always sort of nice to just be able to drive right through the entrance station. There were a few dozen people at Yavapai Point also waiting for sunrise and it was an absolutely beautiful morning. The temperature was right around freezing but it didn't feel that bad because of the low humidity out here. The sunrise was glorious and it came up right over the top of Wotan's Throne. It was interesting to see how far north the sunrise had moved in the 9 days since I had last done this. When I was up there on April 16, before the backpacking trip, the sun rose behind the southern slope of Wotan's Throne, in the notch between it and Vishnu Temple. After sunrise, since I was up there early anyway, I decided to partake in yet another El Tovar breakfast... why not, eh' I fought with myself over skipping it and just taking an early shuttle to Hermit's Rest but all I had with me as far as food for the entire day were three Clif bars. So breakfast at the El Tovar it was, for the third time on this trip, a new record. I have now gone through all of their Mexican breakfasts: 1) breakfast quesadilla; 2) Sonoran eggs; 3) breakfast burrito. w00t! I was there right when they opened and breakfast was quick. Afterwards I walked back to the car and changed into my hiking clothes and hopped a shuttle to Hermit's Rest. I started down the trail at 825, a little late but not excessively so. It was a beautiful morning for a hike, cool and sunny. I had my sweatshirt with me but it didn't seem cold enough for that and it just stayed in the backpack all day. I ended up covering about 12 miles, only slightly more than the 11 I planned. It turns out there is no way to drive to either the Waldron or Dripping Springs trailheads so you either have to walk to where they start on the rim or access them via the Hermit Trail. I actually did a little of both. The day played out pretty much like this:
0825 Hermit trailhead
Total elapsed time 8:20 It was very nice to finally complete the Drippings Springs Trail to the rim and also nab the Waldron Trail at the same time as this is a loop I have wanted to do for some time now. The only trail segment left on the south rim that I have not yet done is a little piece of the Grandview Trail that connects the east side of Horseshoe Mesa with the Tonto Trail. That might be a possibility for Thursday as I have not been able to figure out what I want to do. I am still toying with the idea of the Hermit, Tonto, Bright Angel death march... except that I don't really want it to be a death march. My legs were very tired after 12 miles and I can't imagine doing 25 in one day. I would have to get a very early start for that one as well and would need to skip breakfast and bring lots food for the trail. It's also getting pretty warm in the inner canyon already at this time of year... hopefully I can talk myself out of it. Getting that final section of the Grandview would be nice and I could do a loop around Horseshoe Mesa and come up the Grandview from the Cottonwood Creek side. I don't know what the total mileage would be for that but I am guessing something around 10.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
|---|
