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April 23 South Bass Trail
Head to Bass Rapids
Our crew arrived at the South Bass Trail Head after a bumpy
2-hour ride from Mather Campground. At the trailhead we met a
group of hikers returning from their Easter Sunrise Service at
the Grand Scenic Divide. After a few group pictures, our crew
was underway at noon. The first part of the trail was a gradual
decent with switchbacks. We noticed the Indian granaries just
below the rim. The granaries were used to protect the wheat and
barley grains from mice. Eventually we reached a ravine/stream
bed and cairns, which we followed on to the Esplanade. Along
the Esplanade we had an easy hike toward the east base of Mt
Huethawali. We left a water cache in this area and then made
our decent. Here we followed the trail through the Red Rock.
This was a long switch back that eventually took us to a narrow
gorge at a break in the Red Rock. After scrambling down a lot
of rocks, boulders and thorny branches we came out of the gorge
on to the Tonto plateau. Here we were treated to some wide-open
vistas and continued to make good progress. We crossed the canyon
stream bed a few times. The cactus and wildflowers were in bloom.
Eventually we came to the South Wall of the Colorado River and
located the cairns to take us through a very steep gorge to the
river. Once we arrived at the river, we set-up our camp and proceeded
to cool off in the 45F Colorado. The weather on the first day
was sunny and clear with temperatures in the 90s along the river.
The hike was about 9 miles and we reached our camp in about 51/2
hours.
  
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April 24 Bass Rapids to Tyndall
Dome Area
Originally our plan was to travel to Garnet Canyon, a distance
of 10 miles. A late start and incredibly hot and unseasonable
temperatures (high 90s) led our group to revise our plans. After
some very steep hiking with our backpacks in the heat of the
day 10am-noon, we stopped just below Tyndall
Dome and found some shade to cool off. We met a solo hiker
from New York who was doing the Royal Arch Loop and we conversed
for about an hour. Based on his information concerning the difficulty
in finding water at Garnet and our limited supply, our crew decided
to make the enticing choice by spending a second night at Bass
Rapids. About 1pm we started our decent from the Tyndall Dome
area and located a second trail going back to the drainage. This
put us at an extra 500 feet in elevation gain from where we first
started in the morning and became an idea locate to cache our
water and lighten our packs. We set up a rope across the stream
bed to store our excess food and some non-essential equipment
knowing that we would be back here the following day. After leaving
our cache we started hiking back to the river. We found a second
route down to the river that is about 1 mile beyond the cairns
that mark the first decent. This second trail was a lot easier
and afforded us some nice views of the rafting parties going
over the rapids.
Once at camp, we found some shade to rest and enjoyed the remainder
of the day. After dinner, we had a small campfire; talked about
our adventures and watched the stars come out. We had two other
campers from AZ share the beach with us that night. Another clear
and sunny day and a beautiful starry filled night.
  
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April 25 Bass Rapids to Redwall
Campsite
Our plan was to take two days to ascend back to the trailhead.
We left our campsite and stopped to see the metal dory that has been chained to the rocks
above the river. We carried a lot of water on this part of the
trip anticipating a dry campsite for tonight. After about an
hour and a half of hiking we arrived to our cache. The heat was
intense on the stream bed with temperatures easily over 100F.
Just by standing on the rocks you could feel the heat penetrating
through your boots. We located water
hole to refill our water bottles and found limited shade.
Once we got on the trail we worked our way over the same route
we had traveled down and stopped at an old campsite on the Tonto. Here we waited out
the noon day sun for cooler hiking temperatures. We amused ourselves
by watching a lizard for a few hours. Fortunately our good company
and conversation provided some light moments.
After our afternoon break we started for the Redwall. We came
across a potential campsite
at the base of the Redwall and stopped here for a break.
Two of our energetic scouts climbed further up the trail and
located a better campsite. We hiked up another 1 mile and made
a dry camp for the evening. The campsite was well suited and
ample for our party and the mice that visited during the night.
 
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April 26 Redwall Campsite
to South Bass Trail Head
Our final day on the trail and everyone is anxious to make
the grueling climb through the Redwall.
We started hiking at 6:30 to take advantage of the cooler air
and made excellent progress. Once we got through the Redwall
we stopped our cache on the Esplanade. Then we hiked across the Esplanade and found some
rocks for shade. After stepping up a tarp for sun protection,
we settled in and waited a few hours for the temperatures to
be more bearable for hiking. During our wait, some of us took
the opportunity to hike over to the Grand Scenic Divide. Here
we were treated to some magnificent vistas of the canyon. Upon
returning to our rest site, we started to hike out of the Esplanade
at 3:30. It was the last major part of our hike and we made good
time. We took pictures of the remaining group members climbing
out of the canyon and had a final group photo taken.
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