I just started up, got a late start from camp this morning---8:15 or so. I spent some time talking with the guy who is camped just downstream from me, met him along the creek.

I am in no big hurry for today anyway---slow day. The weather is still being weird---as weather will. It was a beautiful night, nice starry sky and the crescent Moon was out until 9 or 10pm. I read a chapter in my book, went outside to look around a bit, and was going to read another chapter but I just faded away. I awoke several times during the evening and the stars were always there. There were a couple of windy periods when I expected to see clouds roll in. They never did though, until just after sunrise this morning. Right now it is sort of a hazy overcast and it looks like the clouds might break up. I am away from Clear Creek up here and I can just barely hear it off in the distance. There is no water flowing up here and no wind so it is pretty quiet---just sounds of the few birds that live up this way.

12:48 - Just below Bright Angel gorge

I just finished my lunch and will be turning back to camp from here. I got up part way through the Bright Angel gorge in the drainage that comes down from Thor Temple and Honan Point but climbing out of the gorge and fighting through the scrub oak to get around obstacles became more trouble than it was worth. I can see the end of the road just ahead anyway, a Redwall amphitheater. The sky keeps looking like it will break up but it hasn't yet. There was a very short rain shower a little while ago and it has been cool and cloudy---great for hiking, lousy for photography.

15:15 - Base of Redwall up Cape Royal arm

Now I've done it, it's going to be a long, mad dash back to camp from up here. It is very pretty up here though---water from a spring and lots of green.

16:20 - East Clear Creek upper Tapeats gorge

I am taking a short break for a CLIF bar and some water. Still about 1-1.5 hours from camp.

20:00 - Nighty, nighty

I got back here right around 18:00 and tried to call Robin but could not get a connection. I tried a few more times over the next hour and a half before I finally got through. Nice reliable hardware these satellite phones. Good thing I wasn't dying... or I could be dead. I guess they are still better than nothing though, at least I did finally get through.

The wind whipped up right around the time I got back here and continued for about an hour. Perhaps that had something to do with the phone problems but I don't see how. It's still fairly cloudy too though it keeps trying to clear. I've had sprinkles of rain several times during the day---as recently as a few minutes ago. Yet I can still see the crescent Moon up there trying to shine through. I hope I have a good day for the hike back to Phantom tomorrow.

I am just about out of food now. I have some trail mix for breakfast and a half can of Pringles and three CLIF bars. That's it.

I am hoping to get up at 5:00, pack things up, and be on the trail by 6:00. I hope that will get me back to Phantom between 13:00 and 14:00. I will have breakfast on the trail and have lunch when I get back to Phantom. I will probably just pick up some sausages, bagles and pretzels. I need something for dinner tomorrow night as well as breakfast on Tuesday.

Going up that other drainage this afternoon was probably a mistake and I am total exhausted from it all. It was a long day. I just let my curiosity get the best of me. Still it was nice to see what was back there.