Grand Canyon: Monument Creek Campground

“Monument Creek is my beloved place below the South Rim”, said a long time Grand Canyon indigenous and well-regarded geologist as we hiked down the South Kaibab. This was undoubtedly adequate to peak my interest. Following not too long ago going to the South Rim we have been nervous for the weather to great off so that we could keep on our exploration of the Interior Canyon in considerably a lot more element. My wife Wendy and I have been mountaineering in the Grand Canyon for almost 25 many years with virtually hundreds of descents off the Rims. Now that we live a few minutes stroll from the South Rim, we resolved that a person or two backpack trips a thirty day period was completely within purpose. Our initial location was Monument Creek Campground on Monument Creek per our friend’s advice.

If you have carried out any climbing in the “Corridor Trails” of the Grand Canyon, (Bright Angel, South/North Kaibab), the hike down to Monument Creek is undoubtedly a big action up. The Corridor Trails are nicely maintained, as opposed to the Hermit Trail – are pretty much groomed. Initial off, for any overnight camping outings down below the Rims you need to secure a backcountry permit by contacting the GCNP Backcountry Business office at 928-638-7875. There are nominal fees connected with the permit. Then manage your gear and put a contemporary memory card in your camera for a amazing plunge into a a lot more distant section of the Grand Canyon.

The excursion down to Monument Creek commences at the Hermit Trail with a rapid 1000′ descent down to Waldron Canyon. From Waldron Canyon the path heads thanks north past the Dripping Springs Path to a neat minor rock pour off. The path up to this stage is nicely taken care of and gets fairly a couple of working day hikers on their way to Santa Maria Springs, a lot less than a 3rd mile away. I point out the pour off since the path from here forward becomes substantially a lot more tough. There are many rock slides masking the trail with quite a few places of vertical publicity. All of this is wholly doable with a backpack, you’re just not going to make good time.

Santa Maria Springs is an oasis adjacent to the Redwall development close to 2.2 miles from the trailhead. This makes this place a favorite working day hikers’ spot. There is a great minimal spring seeping into a cattle trough where by you can fill your water bottles. (Try to remember to always filter your water anywhere in the Grand Canyon.) Following to the spring is a super neat rock hut with a bench and a way cool double rocker with the phrases “Rest Bit” engraved into the back relaxation. The perspective west from inside the rock hut is lined with hanging vines – think me, Martha Stewart could not have built a a lot more cozy rest residence.

Touring down the trail hugging the Redwall formation with quite a few rock slides for the following hour or so will bring you to Lookout Level, an fantastic location to just take a split and appreciate the perspective. Specifically west of Lookout Level across Hermit Creek Canyon is the Boucher Trail. It is quite complicated to see and is quite rugged. This path is named following the authentic hermit Louis D. Boucher. An additional hour or so nevertheless hugging the Redwall development with many rock slides and vertical publicity will deliver you to Breezy Level. Breezy Point is 5.5 miles from the trailhead and is a terrific spot to have lunch. The commanding views to the north present a preview under of the Tonto Trail running southwest to Hermit’s Camp and to the northeast in the direction of a smaller saddle that potential customers to your location at Monument Creek.

Winding earlier Breezy Position and nevertheless hugging the Redwall with a lot of rock slides and much more vertical exposure will convey you to the Cathedral Stairs in all around a 50 percent hour. Cathedral Stairs is the crux, or the most complicated portion of the hike. Path builders have virtually carved a narrow path into this development. It is steep and rocky, but quick, much less than a 1/4 mile. The moment at the base of the Cathedral Stairs 1 feels to some degree unveiled from the partitions of the canyon. There is a prolonged traverse adjacent to Cope Butte and right after numerous switchbacks you will sign up for with the Tonto Trail at close to 7 miles from the initial trailhead. One particular won’t be able to assistance but stare back again south at Breezy Point and the Cathedral Stairs and marvel at the ingenuity of the trail builders.

The Tonto Path heading east features a great respite from the rock slides and vertical exposure immediately after numerous miles of difficult mountaineering along the Redwall. A single can in fact stride this portion of the trail and enable your muscle tissues to rest. There are glimpses of the Colorado River under as the Tower of Set dominates the northern skyline. In an hour or so you will uncover your self approaching the Monument Creek drainage. The descent into the drainage is rugged and getting the path can be difficult. There have been hikers in front of us that descended straight down into the creek, only to bushwack back up. The trail essentially hugs the rim and descends a little bit, glimpse for rock cairns.

The Monument Creek Campground spot is an oasis. You have now traveled close to 9.5 miles into a perfectly safeguarded drainage with a lot of mesquite trees for shade with uncomplicated accessibility to h2o flowing about numerous pour offs. There are perhaps a dozen various campsites though the nightly use permits presently only let 4 camps. So, it is easy to find a “non-public” campsite to your liking. We decide on a well shaded campsite among the mesquite trees to string up a rope to hold our back again packs, camp merchandise and most importantly the “rat sack”. A rat sack is a requirement for backpacking in the Grand Canyon, it is a wire mesh bag with a velcro closure that will preserve critters, especially ring tails away from your foodstuff. On the other hand hanging it is normally not adequate in the course of the daytime hours, the ravens will only land on the sack and peck as a result of at your foods. So, it is very best to protect the rat sack with an additional bag. Your backpack will operate, but the ravens are also astonishingly dexterous with their beaks and will soon have all of your zippers open up as they rummage via the contents. I have read tales of ravens traveling away from backpacks with money in their beaks! On this excursion we achieved a couple close friends of ours, purely by possibility, and they dropped a library ebook protect to a significantly perfectly read raven – no, it was not prepared by Edgar Allen Poe.

Once settled into Monument Creek Campground you will possible want to explore the Monument itself. This pinnacle towers about 200′ above the campground, standing like a sentinel guardian to Monument Creek. I have browse experiences of it getting climbed in 4 pitches with a score of 5.10A – nicely earlier mentioned my pay back degree.

The Monument by itself blends in with the rock all-around it, but can be considered from the Monument Creek Vista on the Hermit Road some 3500′ above. By considerably the finest day hike from Monument CG is the 1.6 mile vacation down Monument Creek to Granite Rapids. The sketchy trail descending to Monument Creek starts at the western side of the Monument. There are many steep switchbacks with loose rock, but within just a number of minutes you are standing on the sand/rock drainage of the creek by itself. There are straightforward to abide by cairns for the 1st few hundred yards and then stick to the normal drainage. It is incredibly gorgeous. Monument Creek flows mostly underground, but closer to the Colorado River it is over ground and may well be jumped when it hasn’t been raining. Make sure you acquire notice of the temperature prior to descending into Monument Creek, it will flash flood.

From Monument CG a person can hike the Tonto Path again to the west and devote time at Hermit’s CG and ascend the Hermit Trail or make your way east to Salt Creek CG, Horn Creek CG, Indian Gardens CG and up the Vivid Angel Trail. We considered Monument to be a destination of it can be individual and cherished discovering the whole region and then ascending again up the Hermit’s Path. A handful of hours later on we are sitting in the “Rest Little bit” at Santa Maria Springs now organizing our future Grand Canyon adventure.

Eric is a serious estate broker in Tucson AZ and dealing with properties in Southern AZ.
Make sure you take a look at my web site: http://www.TheTucsonHomeHunters.com