(Glowstick art by Rich)

As usual, this post will look best on a big screen. 

Last month, I led another trip starting from Indian Hollow, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The crew consisted of Chad, Ian N., Pete B., Rich, Ryan, Willie, Char and me. A few complications made this an interesting trek, but it was still a rewarding one.

We did roughly the same loop I’ve hiked twice before – see my other posts on Kanab Pt. 2 (photos) and Kanab Pt. 2 (video). The main difference this year is that we did the first two days as described in Chapter 4, Tapeats Creek / Kanab Creek Loop from the guidebook Hiking Grand Canyon Loops by George Steck. In Steck’s book, the first day’s route heads cross country almost immediately. He describes a landmark called Ghost Rock, which leads the way to upper Cranberry Canyon. From there, you walk down a flat bench to a campsite with a sublime view of the Colorado River and the inner canyon.

Last year, we tried to hike this route but couldn’t find Ghost Rock with map and compass. This time I brought an iPhone with a GPS app, so we were able to find Ghost Rock. From there, it was simple enough to walk out to the campsite, and Steck’s book held up to his promise with regard to the view point:

Looking upriver from Cranberry Canyon

But on the morning of day 2, we found the guide book to be a bit misleading, to say the least. Here’s Steck’s description:

The chute you want goes down steeply in a series of steps that unfortunately blocks the view of where you want to go, so you may think you are off route. Once this happened to me and I went on to the next chute – which looked even worse. The second time around, the correct chute looked much better  . . . The chute is narrow and steep, but no rope is needed unless you want one for lowering packs.

The problem with his writing is that he’s very unclear about which chute you actually want. It’s a pretty simple situation: you approach from the overlook and encounter three chutes. The first two chutes are very steep. The third one is a non-option; it essentially runs into the vertical wall where it forms a corner, so you are choosing between the first chute and the second chute. You take the first chute.

Also, I disagree with his description of equipment needed. You should definitely have a rope for lowering packs, and for safety’s sake, you should also have equipment for a belay. We made it without belay equipment, but it was sketchy. A final recommendation for any trip in Steck’s guidebook: take a small group, 6 people or less. Any complications you encounter are harder to overcome with a big group.

Aside from grumblings amongst the group about this poor description, the hike itself was, as always, grand. Ryan had an old knee injury that flared up during our descent, so he ended up heading back up the trail on Day 3, along with Chad, Willie and Ian. They got out a few nights early and did some exploring in southern Utah, car camping and listening to metal. Ian made this video (highly recommended) showing his version of the week’s travels. Pete, Rich, Char and I continued on as planned and we all met up at the end.

Satellite map of our route

This collection has photos taken by Rich, Chad, Char and me.