Grand Canyon New Year

    I celebrated New Year's Day 1998 by backpacking in the Grand Canyon with my brother Melvin and friend Carol. What an adventure! I packed late into the night to get ready (I had to pack for Melvin too) and had a pretty non-existent New Year's celebration. Carol and I went up early on New Year's morning to get a permit, then waited for several hours for Melvin to arrive (he had to fly into Phoenix, get a couple of teeth worked on, make sure his car was packed to return to Provo, then drive up to the canyon).

    After he got there we drove a car to our ending point and started cruising down the Bright Angel Trail. We got started about 5 pm and had a really slippery trail for the first two miles. Somehow we made it all the way down to the end of the ice (about 2 miles down) by about the time it got pitch dark. We got to our campsite at Indian Gardens, ate macaroni, played a game of Scrabble, got kicked out of a group campsite, set up at another campsite, and went to sleep in the freezing cold weather. (Actually it probably only got down to the mid to high 20's but we all got very little sleep).

    There was ice on our bags as we got up the next morning. We decided to hurry and start out on the trail and eat later, because we were so cold. We made our way westward along the Tonto Trail from Indian Gardens. We passed Horn Creek and Salt Creek Canyons, which were each impressive canyons in their own right, with Salt Canyon being the most elaborate, narrow, and high-walled. It was fun to use the topo to pick out formations across the Colorado River during rest breaks. We finally made our way down into Monument Canyon, where we set up camp. We set up a funny little tent for Carol without using any tent poles. After getting camp set up and eating rice pilaf, Melvin and I cruised about 1.5 miles down Monument Creek all the way to the Granite Rapids on the Colorado River and back before it got dark. My favorite part of this hike was when we had to wedge our way down a narrow waterfall section. Here we would put arms on one side and legs on the other side of the narrow canyon to make our way down without getting our feet wet. I love adventures like this! It reminded me a little bit of Clear Creek. After we got back, we enjoyed watching the mice coming boldly out after our food, Melvin and I played Scrabble again (what a classic game!), and we went to sleep. We took precautions to be warmer this night, plus we were at a lower elevation, so we slept quite a bit better the second night.

    On the last day we tore down camp and got an early start to get out of the canyon. We observed from above the narrow canyon Melvin and I had made our way through. We also passed the impressive monument which this canyon was named after, a monolith looking something like a giant totem pole right in the middle of the canyon. We saw the lofty saddle to our west which we could tell from the map we would make our way up to later as we climbed up from the Hermit Canyon side. We passed a magnificent vista of the canyon, and were of course compelled to stop and take a picture using my tripod. Then we made our way to the confusing Tonto/Hermit Trail junction but "chose the right" and made our way up many switchbacks to the saddle and beyond. Some well-conditioned Russian students passed us on the trail, and Melvin decided to hurry ahead and catch up with them to ask for a ride to his car. He wanted to hurry because he still had the long drive to Utah to make. Carol and I then proceeded at a bit more leisurely pace, enjoying the incredible scenery as we continued. The sky was quite overcast all day, which of course only added to the mood and tenor of the canyon as we continued. We came to the point near Lookout Point where I had backpacked down to the previous February with five friends before deciding we weren't going to make it and turned around. I felt vindicated this time though, having in the meantime backpacked in the Grand Canyon five times since then (including Havasupai and this trip). What a year it has been! I must confess I am getting addicted to the canyon. We made our way up the rock-strewn pass and continued a short ways before being surprised by Melvin's voice. He had gotten lost at the rock field and had continued below it contouring around walls right on the edge of the canyon for quite a ways. He was lucky no harm had come to him. We helped him find his way back to and up the rock field. From this point on we stayed together better, only really hiking apart on the steep final climb.

    It was a beautiful day, and I was glad that everything worked out so well for our trip. I continue to be amazed at the sheer walls and narrow canyon of upper Hermit Canyon. Someday I'm sure I'll have to return and explore it. I also long for the day when I take the Boucher - Hermit loop. Like on other trips, a tune kept going through my head which seemed to fit the scenery and the experience perfectly. This time it was Beethoven's Third Symphony, with its alternating dark and bright passages. This seems so appropriate, since I associate Beethoven's Ninth with my first trips to Hermit Canyon and Beethoven's Sixth describes Clear Creek so well. We reached the top just before a light snow began to fall, but hardly facing any ice on the trail at all. At the top we quickly regrouped, and Melvin made his way up to Utah, and Carol and I returned home.