Up late today. Was awake for a while but no real hurry to get out of bed. Eat breakfast.

07:10 - Overhang Camp

Out of camp. Follow trail from Overhang Camp on west side of creek. Trail appears to end at cliff 20 feet above the creek. Look around and finally spot a cairn going up a slope to the west. Trail stays on west side of creek - high above creek.

07:30 - Phantom Creek

Reach conflueunce with Haunted Canyon creek. Very annoying little bugs (gnats?) all over me. Need to keep moving. Trail above creek eventually disappears. Easy going for a while but the gets more difficult. Head down to creek, cross, and try other side. Not much better. Eventually give up and just decide to follow the creek bed. Not too bad. Not nearly as much water in the creek upstream from the confluence. Most of the water below must be coming from Haunted Canyon.

08:30 - Phantom Creek

Water in Phantom Creek disappears just before big alcove in Redwall on the Colonade. Rest until 8:45. Bed should be a lot easier to follow from here. Less water means less brush. Gnats are gone now as well. Boy, were they annoying.

09:15 - Phantom Creek

Bed is dry for about 15 minutes and then water returns in the Bright Angel shale. Stop to drink the water I have and refill the water bottles.

09:30 - Phantom Creek

Round the bend in Phantom Creek taking it north. I am in the shade again. Canyon splits and I head up the eastern arm. Dont know why but it looks longer than the western one on the map.

10:00 - Upper Phantom Canyon

Water in Bright Angel and Muav, sometimes just in pools but sometimes a trickle of water flows between them. Seep spring about 1/2 mile up. Some dry falls to bypass but nothing tricky at all. Finally reach Redwall. Canyon looks like it is going to dead end up ahead but takes a curve to the east and continues up through Redwall. Come to high fall, maybe 30-40 feet with biggest choskstone I have ever seen. No way up. Find a route going up through a brush clogged ravine on the left (west) side. Brushy and steep but passable. Pools above and below fall with a trickle flowing down. Frogs everywhere, jumping from rocks into pools as I approach. I guess they dont see many people up here. Rest 10:25 - 10:35, nice and cool and shady.

10:45 - Upper Phantom Canyon

Continue up canyon. Can see section up ahead where it gets really narrow. Come to Redwall narrows. First falls is easy enough to get up but the ones beyond that are impassable: high and sheer. Take some photos and then start back around 11:00. Stop of look for fossils in Redwall and actually find a couple. Crinoids, I think.

11:40 - Upper Phantom Canyon

Ravine next to chockstone pretty easy to go down.

11:50 - Upper Phantom Canyon

Stop for lunch at shade below curve in canyon. Not sure how much more shade there will be. Start going again at 12:10.

12:35 - Upper Phantom Canyon

Back at Phantom Canyon split.

13:20 - Phantom Canyon

Stop for rest and water resupply. Drink whats in the bottles and then some.

14:30 - Overhang Camp

Back at camp. Found a trail most of the way back, on south side, above high (upper) creek bank. Dont know if it is human or animal but it works. It dropped me off in the creek bed near the Phantom/Haunted confluence though. Went to look for it. About 2 or 3 times more water in Haunted than Phantom. Must be from snowmelt. It was very dry when I was here in December 1998. Left water sitting in bucket in the sun all day and it is nice and warm now. Use it to wash my hair and take a sponge bath. Feels very good to be clean again. Go to find pool in creek to sit in and cool off. Rinse out socks and T-shirt as well. Creek feels good - cold but not enough to make you want to get out right away. Very refreshing. Go get camera and take some photos. Just hang out and veg by and in the creek. Build a small dam to make pool larger. Go back to camp at 5 and get food and bring it back. This is a much nicer place to eat dinner.

18:00 - Overhang Camp

Back to tent. Lay down for a while. Update journal as soon as it is dark enough to use Jornada. Left it charging for a couple of hours when I got back to camp. I like having a PC in the backcountry!