We were up at around 5 am and ate some more bagels, peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. We took our time getting ready and it was 6:30 before we had what we would need for the day packed into our day pack and we started down Clear Creek towards its confluence Colorado River. While we were getting ready for our day hike the people camped just downstream from us broke down their campsite and headed out of Clear Creek. We were now alone.

We passed the junction with East Clear Creek around 7 am and were soon in virgin territory. The canyon walls closed in for a while as we followed the twisting and turning bed of Clear Creek. The trail, if that's what you call it, is constantly crossing from one side of the creek to the other and frequently a route exists on both sides. Sometimes it goes away completely and just dumps you in the creek, which you follow until you find the (a) trail again. We expected this to some extent and opted to wear our Tevas instead of our hiking boots. The creek water was nice and cool and it was actually quite refreshing to be sloshing through it so early in the morning. Sometimes we stayed in the creek even when there was a trail, just because it felt so good. The water was not very deep and in most places only came up to our ankles.

After 45 minutes or so of this we came to a small cascade in the creek. The trail goes high up as it works its way around some very high schist and granite above the cascade. It's not very high at all, actually, but relative to the creek bed itself it was high. We stopped here for a while as it was a very pretty spot. Beyond this spot the canyon opened up again. We also started hearing thunder in the distance and after determined that it was getting closer. Robin got concerned when a couple of flashes of lightening came pretty close and the roar from these echoed up and down the canyon. I wasn't too worried about the lightening as the canyon walls were very high and it should be striking well above us. I was concerned about a possible flash flood but there wasn't much in the way of rain, just a few drops, and we were in an area where there was a still a little high ground. I knew that it could be raining quite a bit upstream or on the north rim so I just keep listening to the thunder to make sure it was dying off and was really thunder. If it starts and keeps getting louder that usually means that it's not thunder and that a flood is headed your way and you better find some high ground.

After a half hour or so of this nonsense it finally stopped and the sky started to brighten. We were coming to the end of the open area and the walls started to close in again. The creek and trail started its little cat and mouse game again as the creek bed meandered down through its rocky course. One thing that I neglected to mention earlier was the number of Canyon Wrens that seem to occupy the area. Their eerie call was to be heard everywhere along the creek and they seemed to be our invisible companions the entire time we were at Clear Creek.

No, that's not it's real name. I don't think it has one but something that is such a pain in the butt should. Maybe Pain-in-the-Butt Falls would be a good name as well. I was concerned about this part of the hike from the start. I knew that there was only one obstacle along the Clear Creek route, a chokestone fall, about one-mile up from the river, and here it was. As soon as I saw it I knew we had trouble but I needed to check it out in more detail. We had come too far to give up and I really wanted to get to the river, there had to be a way around this thing. Advice that I had from people who have done it indicated that it was possible to walk around it if you had good friction soles. That was another for wearing the Tevas instead of the hiking boots but I didn't see how they would help here, the walls were almost vertical There was a ledge along the right side cliff that went further 30-40 feet downstream beyond the fall so I decided to take a look from out there.

From the other side of the ledge the angle did not look nearly as bad but it still not look like you could walk down it. I could see enough places to get a grip on the rock itself so that I could probably climb down but I wasn't sure about being able to get back up. I could probably get back up with the rope and I had one with me so that what I decided to do. The rope would also make it a hell of a lot easier going down. I had the distinct impression, however, that Robin was not going any further. She is not fond of heights and I am surprised that she puts up with half of the stuff we do, I had a feeling that just the descent into Clear Creek coming over from Phantom would be pushing it.

Anyway, I went back and told her that I was going to attempt to go on. She didn't fuss and didn't say that she wanted to try herself. I took the rope and did a trial run without the camera or anything else. I found a nice secure boulder to loop the rope over and it was quite easy going down with the rope. Coming up not as easy but definitely not too tough. I grabbed the camera, water and a hiking pole and was off again.

We had arrived at the fall about 10:15 and it was about 10:45 when I headed for the river. The lower section of Clear Creek is definitely the most interesting part and I am sorry that Robin missed it. The walls are all of polished granite and the canyon gets very narrow. I moved down the canyon at great haste and it only took about 20-25 minutes to reach the river. You have to stay right in the creek bed for most of this distance as there is no room on either side of the canyon for a trail. The water is still only ankle deep in most sections but there are a couple of smalls falls/cascades that have deeper pools beneath them. Even these are not a big deal and are maybe only calf or knee deep.

The confluence of Clear Creek and the Colorado River is unlike any other I have seen along the Colorado. Clear Creek is just a polished granite chute that dumps right into the river. You can walk down the creek almost to the river and it just gets deeper and deeper and colder and colder. You cannot walk all the way to the river as the creek bottom drops off about 40-50 feet before it gets there. There is a considerable amount of river water backing up into the creek and it forms some nasty currents that would probably drag you under or suck you out into the river. I did manage to work myself out along some granite fins that extend out into the Colorado along the east side of the creek. From there I could see places where it looked possible to climb around either side and was told that there was a boat beach over there somewhere. I would not have time to look for it. I wanted to leave Robin alone for a minimum amount of time and after taking a few photos began the hike back up the creek. I took my time going back and stopped more often to appreciate the views and snap photos. In about a half hour I was back at the falls and promptly climbed back to the ledge.

We headed back upstream from the falls at around 11:45 and went for another half hour until we found a good spot for lunch. It was a good spot and we relaxed and took our time eating and just enjoyed being there. After lunch we head back to camp and arrived there around 4 pm. There was no one else camped there yet but it was still early enough in the day that we could have company. We didn't get any and had the whole canyon to ourselves... except for the few Canyon Wrens, assorted toads and frogs, numerous lizards and the single rock squirrel who lived there.

Dinner that night was macaroni again but with spaghetti sauce this time. Pasta is easy and is a great food for cooking in the backcountry. If I only had remembered to bring some Parmesan cheese! We used some extra tortillas to soak up the left over sauce. The tortillas are easy to pack because it's pretty much impossible to crush them to make a sandwich you just put stuff inside and roll it up. They also seem to stay fresh for a very long time.