A fine trek that featured plenty of vertical descent and ascent, hiking on slickrock, talus slopes, beach sand, boulders and rockfalls. Water was not a problem provided you placed caches appropriately. Two rattlesnake encounters added to the excitement. Varied weather that included heat, wind, rain and snow made for a rather complete adventure.

Our route brought us down the Bill Hall Trail from Monument point, joining the Thunder River Trail which we followed South across the Esplanade, down the Redwall formation, across Surprise Valley which we exited from the East. We descended to Thunder Falls and follwed Thunder River until it’s confluence with Tapeats Creek. We stayed on the West side of Tapeats Creek to the Colorado River, then turned downstream to follow the river route to Deer Creek. After day hiking down Deer Creek Narrows to Deer Creek Falls on the Colorado River, we headed East from Deer Creek, across Surprise Valley, rejoining the Thunder River trail up the Redwall, across the Esplanade to the Bill Hall Trail where we exited The Canyon at Monument Point. All in all, about 40 miles in 7 days of hiking.

Friday, May 28; After leaving Bob and Rita’s at 7:00 PM we drove through Flagstaff for gas and late night food. Around 11:30 PM we slept in the volcanic cinders of nearby Sunset Crater off of the loop road that bypasses SR89. It was a beautiful clear night with a nearly full moon.

Saturday, May 29; We stopped briefly to look at the Wupatki ruins, a beautiful thousand year old stone and mud construction dwelling apparently abandoned after one of the more violent eruptions of Sunset Crater. We then drove to Cameron Trading Post and ate breakfast. When we arrived at the Marble Canyon bridge just below Lee’s Ferry, we stopped to walk out on the old bridge and look down at the Colorado River below. Two motorized baloney barges full of river rafters waved as they passed 600 feet below. Driving west along the Vermillion Cliffs, we noted that this section of highway was being kept clean by "Scary Larry". We vowed to stop on the return and snap a picture of the Larrys next to the sign. After gassing at Jacob Lake, we drove South to the FR22 turnoff just past Kaibab Lodge. About 35 miles later, we were parked near Monument Point, the start of the Bill Hall Trail. There was some discussion of which route out of the parking area was the actual trail, but it finally became clear that the route from the Southwest corner of the parking area led to the trail. A lightning caused fire in 1996 burned the area around Monument Point, but there were many flowers blooming among the burned junipers. We officially started hiking around 3:30 PM.

The Bill Hall Trail cuts 2.5 miles off of the trip each way, but, not without a price. Monument point is 1000 feet higher in elevation than the Indian Campground trailhead of the Thunder River Trail, so, there is a steep downclimb (or upclimb on the return) to be negotiated. The trail is typical of the unmaintained Canyon routes. There are several talus rockfalls to cross. There is a 15 foot downclimb at the top of the section referred to as "49 switchbacks" on the route description. Some hikers have belayed their packs at this down climb point, we opted for the "twin cheek belay, and did not remove packs". After the 49 switchback section, Bob and Rita cached a gallon of water near where the trail joins the traditional Thunder River Trail. We were now on the Esplenade, a layer which is visible only West of Powell Plateau on the North side of the river, and Garnet Canyon on the South. The Esplenade is a Hoodoo of wind carved sandstone with many of the rocks looking like UFO’s on pedestals. There are numerous tijneas (potholes) that retain water after it rains, but they were all dry today. Around 7:30 PM we were at the top of where the Esplenade tips over into the Redwall, we camped and cached food and water for the return trip. A word on the cache. Larry Walker and Marty put their food cache in a 1 gallon empty metal paint can (purchase at a paint store for about a dollar each). Bob opted to directly bury his food ("lunch bucket" chili) and place a large stone on top of the buried plastic cans. Animals later dug up Bob’s, but were unable to gnaw through the plastic cans. Larry W’s and Marty’s can was untouched in spite of simply being concealed in some rocks. I assume that the plastic cans had some odor of food on them which attracted animals. The dinner menu for Larry W and Marty was yet another lesson (often repeated, seldom learned) in the painful quest for something with a good Alfredo Sauce (shrimp this time). Fettuccini noodles are too thick to boil in a ziplock bag. Someday we’ll get this right, not this time. Into the sleeping bags by 8:30 and the star and satellite show begins. Venus and Mars are intensely bright, even the nearly full moon can’t dim them. Polar orbit satellites are quite visible, your tax dollars at work.

Sunday, May 30; Everyone’s up by 6:30 AM, breakfast and packed, hiking by around 7:30. We pass two parties coming up the Redwall from Upper Tapeats. The Redwall descent is steep, as usual, but never as awful as described in so many trail guides. The limestone is fractured in many places, but there are no talus rockfalls. The route dumps into Surprise Valley, a stunning bowl that commands breathtaking views in all directions, Redwall to the North, Great Thumb Mesa to the South, to the West, a hint of Deer Creek, and Tapeats Terrace at the East. The trail forks, we go East toward Thunder River. As you hike up at the Eastern end of Surprise Valley, you can hear the roar of Thunder Spring as it shoots horizontally from 2 caves in the cliff, Thunder Falls crashing down over 100 feet and then Thunder River racing along only .8 mile while dropping 1500 feet until it empties into Tapeats Creek At 10:30 we stop for nearly an hour at Thunder Falls to gawk, take pictures, fill the water bottles, and cool the feet off. There is a party of rafters here on their way to Deer Creek Falls. River rafts drop people off at Tapeats Creek entrance to the Colorado River, they day hike past Thunder Falls, across Surprise Valley, and down to Deer Creek where their rafts pick them up in the afternoon. We continue downstream to Upper Tapeats campsite where we horse around under the cottonwood trees some more waiting for the sun to pass over the Tapeats Creek gorge and provide some shade for the 2.5 mile final leg to Lower Tapeats campsite. While we are waiting, Bob gets up from the rock he was sitting on and notices a rattlesnake in a crack in the rock. The snake has retreated from the hot sun and Bob’s mighty buttocks provided even more shade. A Kodak moment for the still snoozing snake, and we move on. There are two routes downstream Tapeats Creek to the Colorado River. You cross over to the East side of the creek and it is flat and level for 2 of the 2.5 miles. We were unable to find the point to ford the creek and used the West side route which climbed up and down numerous drainages, mostly ball bearing shaped talus slopes with lots of exposure. When we finally did arrive at the Colorado River, there was a final climb down a 400’ cliff of breakdown and talus which emptied out onto the beach next to Tapeats Creek’s exit into the Colorado. This had been an11 hour day, and would be remembered as the most strenuous of the entire trip. Spaghetti with marinara sauce and sausage have always been a successful dinner, today was no exception. The sleep of the just.

Monday, May 31; Everyone was really beat from yesterday’s long march, so everyone slept in late. Marty was walking up Tapeats Creek and saw the second rattlesnake of the trip under a rock ledge. On the downstream part of the trip, the snake was gone. Larry Walker and Marty pushed upstream to see how far up the narrow part of Tapeats they could go. After the bank gave out and it was straight walls, they walked in the creek for about 100 yards then turned back. The water was.....bracing...like most moving water in The Canyon, perhaps next time we would push farther. Further downstream we did jump in a pool for a short time, the hotter the day became, the better the water felt. When we returned to camp, a party of rafters had beached and were setting up camp for about 20 people. The trip leader was very friendly and apologetic for stopping where we camped, and offered us a burlap sack full of soda pop and beer as compensation for the crowd. We gratefully accepted, but vowed to move downstream that evening. Larry Walker and Marty day hiked along the Colorado River to 135 mile rapids. There was a nice sand beach to camp on and it was as far as one could hike along the Colorado River before ascending back to the top of the Tapeats formation to go on to Deer Creek. We returned to Tapeats Creek beach to convince the rest of the group that it was a good spot to move to. When we returned, Larry Lee was flying a kite he had packed down. We packed up and boulder hopped down the beach toward 135 mile rapids. At about halfway, there was one climb of about 100 feet up then down at Bonita Creek. The rest of the hiking was either on boulders or sand. Dinner that night, Roast Beef with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. A 4 star meal.

Tuesday, June 1; When we awoke, 3 bighorn sheep were directly across from us on the other side of the Colorado River. We took pictures and watched them. They were unconcerned with our presence 150 feet away. After a bit of searching, we found the cairn that marked the route up to the top of the Tapeats formation. The trail leveled out and we hiked on the edge of the Tapeats until we came in overlooking Deer Creek. We descended, found a campsite, and day hiked downstream through Deer Creek narrows to Lower Deer Creek Falls at the Colorado River. This route is very lovely and worth the side trip. Larry Walker caught 4 nice trout in the Colorado River which were a nice addition to supper. Larry Lee, alas, caught none. Returning to our campsite with a fine view of Upper Deer Creek Falls, we dined on chicken and rice with a trout chaser, delicious! During the night it rained off and on, Bob and Rita had a tent which they setup. Marty and the Larrys slid under their ponchos to keep the rain off. The condensation in the ponchos can, however, be more annoying than the rain.

Wednesday, June 2; We arise to the threat of more rain. Bob has hiked up to Upper Deer Creek Falls the afternoon before, and reports that it is worth seeing up close. He is right. The fall shoots out from the rock face leaving a route that one can climb behind the fall and look out through it. Very nice!

We continue to climb out of the drainage of Deer Creek toward the western end of Surprise Valley. It rains on and off, the climb is steep and rather uneventful. When we arrive at the junction with the Thunder River Trail, we set camp. The rain becomes more intense. Bob and Rita set up their tent as does Larry Lee. Larry W. and Marty just huddle under their ponchos until the rain lets up, then, they fabricate an "A" style tent out of the ponchos and ground cloths. We did not want to sleep under the ponchos again. Naturally, it doesn’t rain anymore that day or all night. Dinner, turkey and bread dressing, another 4 star meal.

Thursday, June 3; We are hiking by 8 AM and up the redwall by 9:30 AM. We recover our food and water cache. Bob’s chili lunch and beef stew buckets have been dug up, but the critters didn’t gnaw through the plastic cans. Larry W’s and Marty’s food was packed in a 1 gallon paint can and is untouched. We continue up the eaplanade to a spot we think will offer some protection from the ever increasing wind. No luck, the wind seems to whip from every direction. We set camp by 11:00 AM and alternate between taking pictures and naps all afternoon. The water pockets are filled from the previous day’s rain, making our water cache unneeded, but better safe than sorry. Dinner is chili and beef stew.

Friday, June 4; We start the last leg of our hike around 7:30 AM. It sprinkles on and off, and, by the time we are up the 49 switchbacks, it is starting to switch between sleet and snow. As we top out at Monument Point, the snow is steady and increasing. The drive out to the highway is unreal for being June. There are fallen trees in the road from the previous day’s wind, and the snow is starting to pile up.

We park the truck at the park entrance pile into Bob and Rita’s car to save on the $20 per vehicle entrance fee to the park. Surprisingly, we are seated at the North Rim Lodge dining room. After eating, we hit the showers, recover the truck and head back toward Phoenix. The roads outside the park are plowed by now, and the snow gives out by Jacob Lake.

We remember to snap a picture of the Larrys at the Scary Larry sign, grab a Navajo Taco at Cameron Trading Post (the mini size is plenty large for an adult), and head for Phoenix. Bob, Rita, and Larry Lee are at home by 11:00 PM, Marty and Larry W. by midnight.