and Brian (r)
We rose early to beat the heat and began our trek across the Esplanade with a bit over a quart of water between us. We felt pretty good, but were a bit confused at the junction of the Bill Hall and Thunder River trails. After looking at the topo map, I was pretty confident and we continued on. Just before we reached the four-dozen switchback section of the Bill Hall, we spotted what appeared to be another trail, more directly headed toward our destination. We returned to the Esplanade and attempted to regain our bearings. What we had thought to be a trail from above was in fact nothing of the sort. We then began to retrace our steps on what we believed to be the Bill Hall Trail. We had just backtracked an unnecessary half-mile or so, the sun was beginning to make an appearance, and we now had less than a quart of water remaining.
We soon met Ranger Pete who was frantically heading back down the trail, and was somewhat lost himself. He had stashed the sign on his hike into the canyon with the plan of actually setting it up on his hike out. He couldn't find it, wasn't sure which trail he was on, and had confirmed for himself that we was indeed on the Bill Hall Trail by reaching the distinctive set of switchbacks above. He was coming back down to find the sign which he apparently did soon after he passed us as he caught up to us again in the middle of the switchbacks. On the descent, the junction of the Bill Hall and Thunder River trails is easily seen. This isn't the case in the reverse direction. It was clear at this point why the NPS had sent him to place the sign. We talked about our individual dramas for a bit and Pete hiked on ahead of us.
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Rangers Pete (l) and Brian (r) |
A combination of altitude, heat, dehydration, and general exhaustion made the final mile-long stretch particularly grueling. We met Pete again near the Bridger's Knoll overlook along the Bill Hall Trail. We swapped stories with Pete throughout the remainder of the hike, he had also faced a few moments of truth over his trip. I've never been as relieved to reach my destination as when we finally passed the memorial plaque at the Bill Hall Trailhead. Pete's ride (Brian, the backcountry ranger that issued our permit) back to the North Rim wasn't scheduled to arrive for several hours so we began to give him a lift back. We met Brian along the way and talked about our trip for a bit before parting. Both of these guys were great and a real credit to the NPS. Brian told us that the North Rim had seen a record temperature of 117° the day before. He said that we likely experienced 130° or more while hiking through Surprise Valley.
I considered myself to be in good shape at the time we backpacked the Deer Creek/Thunder River section of the Grand Canyon. I also really enjoy the heat of summer, but the demands of extreme heat and little water made these days a serious challenge, punctuated by the final push to Monument Point. All of that having been said, the trip remains my favorite. The solitude, tremendous scale, and beauty of this area can only be appreciated through experience. The challenges we faced and overcame, along with the lessons learned, make it all the better for me.
Created on ... November 15, 2004