Grandview Circuit - concluded

Day 4 -- The Old Trail

By 7:30 or 8:00 the 5 of us who remain are headed upward. It's a short distance to where the bed is blocked in the upper Redwall by a fall that can be climbed on creek right. But again the "authentic" route... above the bed at the base of the pinnacle on the east wall, is more interesting. We go up the dirt bank and find our way among the trees and boulders along what must have been part of Hance's tourist track. Then we climb down another low dirt bank into the bed. Immediately above this is a low, but slippery fall. A running start is one effective approach, another is to step up a few shallow notches to one side. Next, this washed-out section goes up the slope on the south adjacent to the landmark limestone tower that marks the base of this next section of the route. From above this tower, the track goes up into the trees, cuts west and then continues to be readable for quite a long way, more often nearer to the west side of the slope. Near a huge, overhanging boulder things become much less distinct. Somehow, we thrash our way across the slope into the ravine, sometimes together, sometimes apart. By about 11:00 we are where the ravine divides into different ways to the rim. Of these, I can be sure only the one furthest west goes to the top. As before, with all of us being reasonably experienced with this sort of travel, we go each our own way, sometimes converging, more often catching sight of each other from above, below, or across the slope.

First to reach the top is at 11:45, second (two) at 11:55, third (me) at 12:05, and all out by 12:25. Soon we are re-united with our other three hikers in the tourist-crowded parking lot of Grandview Point.

Analysis

There were two somewhat incompatible hiking styles in the group. One, minimalist and faster, the other more extensively equipped with excess food, plenty of water, stoves, pumps, headlamps, camp shoes, and fleece jackets (thankfully no tents). The cost of these conveniences is the need for more water and food to move this stuff around, and the group may have trouble reaching travel targets, and waits more often to regroup, and spends more time on the slopes. It all accumulates.

Another problem observed is the attachment to what I may call "non-adaptive eating habits." In other words, the idea that the group has to stop for a major, declared lunch event in the middle of the day. Endurance bicycling has helped cure me of this obsession. I always have a few energy bars in my pocket and eat numerous times throughout the day or whenever I feel drained or a distinct "emptiness." I keep trying to get people onto my "2 lunch system," but they seem to wind up hungry and rebellious or slow in the early afternoon because they didn't really eat anything at the first stop. In fact, it is not unusual in exploratory backcountry travel to find that you really can't afford to stop at all for very long.

Looking at this from different perspectives, one can see that slower hikers who are already having some difficulty get shorter rests and less chance to grab a snack. Faster hikers are always able to stay on top of their food and water intake. And so it only gets worse as the day goes.

Water

The route was chosen for the advantage of numerous, reliable water sources.

Difficulty

I really tried to make the trip description sound as awful as I could, but that seemed to attract a larger number of hiking friends than I had expected. All hikers had some prior experience off-trail in the Grand Canyon. Some in the group were carrying heavier packs than I believe they should have been for travel in these difficult conditions. Some, even with such a load, were well-prepared physically. In some cases, even hikers who were in OK physical shape were not able to travel as rapidly as others, but it also varied with the terrain. Many were surprised how difficult the trip was. One started out with comments the first day that it was the easiest GC hike he had done and then was totally exhausted by the end of the second day. Everyone enjoyed it to some degree, even if pushed to their limits at times. Most said the prospect of doing anything more difficult would not have much appeal. Personally, I could have been in a little better shape myself, but travel for work in the months before the trip severely limited opportunities to train. Weather was perfect... in the morning we would stop in the shade to cool off only to find we needed to move back into the sun a few minutes later.

These difficulties are normal for a group of experienced Grand Canyon hikers, but who are not actually fanatics (doing this kind of thing every month), nor youthful (under 45) exercise freaks in peak condition, nor habitual extreme hikers, nor rockclimbers, although two or three would qualify in at least one of these categories. Most in the group had not tried anything this difficult before. It was a good place to experiment because of the good water resources, little risk of really getting lost, and escape routes for anyone who had had enough of it.

Appeal

We saw absolutely no one else for the entire 4 days even though the Grandview area is notoriously popular. This is excellent wilderness with easy access from the south rim. The route makes a good testing ground for the skills, preparation, and mental toughness needed for off-trail travel in the Grand Canyon in more remote parts. These experiences show what can happen when ordinary hikers try to retrace the tracks of NAU geologists and GC superstars like Harvey Butchart and Jim Ohlman.