Our hopes for this trip were were to cover a segment of the Tonto trail that I've never hiked. The section from the tipoff on the Kaibab trail to the intersection of the Tonto & Boucher. However, our biggest roadblock was the permits. I was late requesting permits and so I didn't get the sites nor the number of nights desired. But I took what was available and we made the most of it.
Day 0: Getting There (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)
My son Justin, friend Mr. J, and I drove from Northern Utah to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with the objective of hiking down the Bright Angel, West to Monument Creek, Day hike to Boucher and return to Monument, then hike out. Our permits granted us two nights at Monument, and our objective is the Tonto from Indian Gardens to Boucher. However, to properly set the stage, I need to back up a bit.
I got up extra early (0300 hours) and went to work to finish a couple projects - aka Action Items - that were dumped on me late Tuesday afternoon. In the quiet morning hours I was able to knock out these tasks fairly easily. I was back home by 8:00 a.m and as I was standing on the kitchen floor talking with my son's wife Pam, I made a small pivot on the ball of my left foot and felt my knee give. Unbelievable! On the morning of my Grand Canyon trip, I twisted my knee. Bummer. Oh well, be careful, use walking sticks and don't be in a big hurry.
Justin and I drove to Salt Lake, picked up Mr. J and headed south. We arrived at the Cameron junction of highway 89 and 64 and took our usual gander at the Little Colorado River. On our last three trips, the Little Colorado had pools of water, but no water was actually flowing. This time however, it was flowing pretty good. It wasn't a raging torrent, but it was moving right along. And it was muddy - as muddy as I've ever seen it.
We arrived at the East Entrance just after 7:00 p.m. Just after entering the park, it began to snow and the road was snow covered in some places from an earlier storm. We drove straight to the Bright Angel Lodge where dinner was waiting for us. On our Oct 2009 hike, Mr. J and I had a pre-hike dinner at the BA Lodge and it was excellent. We were anxious to enjoy another scrumptious feast. I dropped Mr. J off at the front door and drove around the loop looking for a parking spot. Mr. J had a table and an idea waiting for us when we got in the Lodge. There were still rooms available on the rim! Set up a tent in the snow and dark, or sleep in a real bed and have a hot shower in the morning. Which will it be? I must be getting soft in my old age, there was no doubt about my preference.Day 1: Bright Angel to Monument Creek (Thursday, March 11, 2010)
The trail was snow covered for about 1000 to 1500 feet down. Perhaps Justin should have used walking sticks or crampons.
We made our first real pitstop at Indian Gardens. Its bigger than what I remember, but its been 18 years since Justin and I were last here. After relaxing for a few minutes and guzzling another liter of water, we headed West on the Tonto trail towards Monument Creek.
We made several more stops along the way including Horn Creek and Salt Creek. Both drainages had some water in them, but our water supplies were good so we didn't pump any. As usual, the views up and down the canyon and into the inner gorge were fantastic. We saw a few rafters in the distance but didn't get to see them hit any of the rapids.Day 2: Monument Creek & Granite Rapids (Friday, March 12, 2010)
Last night, as we were waiting to fall asleep, Mr. J and I discussed again the route and motivation for doing a day hike to Boucher Creek and back. Last fall, we spent a night a Boucher and then exited on the Boucher trail up to Hermits Rest. One of our objectives for this trip was to hike the segment from Hermits Creek to Boucher. However, this segment would be 17 miles long and then we'd still have to climb out of the canyon on Saturday. 
We made the decision to make Friday a relaxing day rather than pushing for Boucher and back. With that decision made, I actually slept pretty good.Our rest day included a leisurely breakfast followed by a hike down the creekbed to Granite Rapids. The rapids were pretty impressive. Large waves and deep holes. We wanted to watch some rafts go through the area, but it was not to be. A few rafts pulled over above the rapids, but they were planning on spending the night and shooting the rapids on Saturday. So after spending a couple hours at the river, we returned to our camp.
In preparation for tomorrow's hike out, we chowed down as much of our food as we could handle, rehydrated as much as possible and made other preparations for the hike out. The sky's were clear, so we stayed up for awhile looking at the stars and contemplating the meaning of life.
Day 3: Monument Creek to Hermits Rest (Saturday, March 13, 2010)
We got up early this morning and after breakfast and packing up, we hit the trail. We were on the trail at 7:30 and made some brief stops at major points along the way. As usual, I brought up the rear, not that the rear is my favorite position, but I'm having a harder time keeping up with the younger guys. 
Their stops usually consisted of 20-30 minute stops. When I caught up, I'd take a break for 10 minutes and then be back on the trail. The Hermits trail gets right after it. It was a pretty steep trail and rough in some places. I missed the turns a couple of times and had to scramble over rocks to find the trail again. The higher we got, the more people we started running in to. Some were backpackers going down and others were just day hikers enjoying the trail.We got to the Boucher trail junction at 1300 and had just 1.2 miles to go. I had hoped to get to the top by 2:00, but made it at 2:20. Justin and Jason had all ready proceeded on the bus back to the lodge area. They got there before 2 and were able to catch the 2 p.m. bus. By the time I got to the bus stop, a bus was just getting ready to leave, so my timing was pretty good.
After getting to the lodge area, I put my pack in the car and found them in the lodge eating hamburgers. I snitched a few frys from Justin, but declined ordering a hamburger. However, while they were settling the bill, I went to the ice cream shoppe and got me a milk shake.
By 4:00 p.m. we were on our way home. The wind was blowing pretty good and in some areas of 89 there was a bonafide dust storm blowing. We stopped at Page for gas and eats and to change drivers. Justin drove in a snow storm from Page to Panguitch and then Jason drove from Panguitch to Beaver over highway 20.
The snow on highway 20 was coming down thick and furious. We averaged less than 20 mph during this section. It took just over an hour to get to the 15. The freeway wasn't moving much faster so as we approached Beaver, we decided to stop for the night and get a hotel.
Unfortunately, the hotels were all booked due to the storm and accidents on the freeway. The hotel gave us the number for the sherriff and I called them and they said a church was open and to come on over. So we drove to the Beaver 4th ward chapel, grabbed our sleeping bags, found us a quiet class room and then went to the gym for some dinner.
The 4th ward Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints regularly pulls together service projects to assist those that were stranded for various reasons on the freeway. They end up doing it several times a year as circumstances warrant. It is a nice service. Sunday morning I awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs. The same people had brought in more supplies from their homes and were using the kitchen in the church to cook up a hot breakfast. As I talked with the local members, I learned that it truly is a service project, with food and supplies coming from their homes and is not provided or reimbursed by the city, state or church. What a fantastic service they provide.
