3rd Annual Columbus Day Hike - Grand Canyon

The Plan:

Our trip permit gives us 5 days/4 nights in the Grand Canyon.  We'll start and finish at the Bass Trailhead which is West of the South Rim Village by 30 miles of dirt road.   Maps, water sources, and other details will be posted over the next few weeks.  Stay tuned for updates.

Day 1: 
From the Bass Trailhead, we'll drop down to the junction of the Bass trail and Royal
Arch trail.  Here, we'll stash some water for the return trip and then head west on the Royal Arch trail until we reach the Royal Arch Creek area.

Day 1B:  Royal Arch Trail - First Campsite

Day 2:  Royal Arch to River Camp Site

The Day 1A map shows the Bass trailhead and the yellow arrows shows our planned route.  The Esplanade Junction is about 1.2 miles from the trailhead.  (The red arrow shows our route out on the last day.)

The yellow circle on the Day 1B map depicts the general area of our first nights camp.  The permit allows us to camp anywhere above the Royal Arch.  We'll plan on camping at the head of the drainage and fairly close to some water.

Day 2:
Hike to Royal Arch and enjoy the sights (or site).  We'll leave our campsite and drop deeper into the Royal Arch drainage.  The short green arrow depicts a short side trip to see the arch.  We'll drop our packs at the junction and pick them up on the way back.  We then make a climb out of the drainage and head East-North-East to the river (Toltec Beach) for our second nights campsite.  The Day 2 hike will include a 20 foot rappel.

Day 3A:  Past Garnet Canyon Toward Copper Canyon

Day 3:

The day hike to Elves Chasm is depicted by the larger of the green arrows on the Day 2 map.  We'll leave the packs at our campsite and day hike up the Elves Chasm and then return, pick up our packs and continue East along the river.

The hike will take us past Garnet Canyon (map: Day 3A) and on to Copper Canyon where we'll spend the night.  My apologies for cutting off part of the trail from the Day 3B Map between Garnet Canyon to Copper Canyon.  Rest assured, I didn't do it intentionally and no I didn't cut out a 20 mile section.  I'll try to update my pictures and post a new map for this segment.

Day 4:  

Day 3B:  Copper Canyon Camp area

Day 4 has us leaving Copper Canyon and hiking over to the lower junction of the Bass Trail and Tonto trail.  Here we'll drop our packs, hike down to the river and then back up to the packs and hike up the Bass trail to the upper Tonto trail junction, where we'll spend our 4th night.

Day 4:  Lower Bass Canyon area

There is an old boat at the river.  Its been there a long time and this also the site where one of the famous river runners had a heart attack at 79 years of age and died.  According to the article I read, this body was at this river location for many years before it was recovered.  For further info, look up the details on the web.


Day 5:
Return hike from the upper Tonto/Bass Junction back up to our water stash at the Esplanade Junction.  Rehydrate and relax for a bit before tackling the last 1.4 miles out of the canyon.

The last part of the hike is the same as the first part.  So refer to the Day 1A map for more details.

Now for some details on mileage and Elevation:
According to the GC Park Service description of the Royal Arch Loop
1.  South Bass Trailhead to Royal Arch - 14 miles, drop 3450 feet
2.  Royal Arch to Toltec Beach - 3 miles, drop 1100 feet
3.  Toltec Beach to Copper Creek - 9 miles, climb 1050 feet
4.  Copper Creek to South Bass Trailhead - 9 miles, climb 3500 feet.

Royal Arch/Elves Chasm Loop

Adding up the numbers gives the minimum distance for this hike is 35 miles and 4550 feet of elevation gain.  (Recalling lessons from physics: Work = Force * distance.  Since we begin and end at the same point, distance = 0, therefore, no work is done - huh - did I miss something?)

HOWEVER
While the minimum hiking distance is probably accurate, you can be assured that the elevation change of 4550 feet is NOT accurate.  The elevation changes are point to point changes and don't include the little ups and downs that will be encountered.  On a previous Grand Canyon hike, these little ups and downs added up to over 2000 extra feet of elevation gain.  Nor do these numbers include the mileage or elevation for side hikes to Elves Chasm or down to Bass rapids.

I've plotted the route using DeLorme's Topo USA 7.0.  The maps on this blog came from the Topo tools.  In plotting the route, I discovered a small error with the map/program.  It won't let me do a complete loop.  For some reason, the database will not allow me to plot a route from the Esplanade Junction to the top of the Royal Arch drainage.  But I was able to get some pretty good data for elevation and mileage.

1.  Trailhead to Esplanade Junction ~ 1.2 miles, 12oo foot drop
2.  Esplanade to Royal Arch Creek Confluence ~ 8.0 miles, 1000 foot drop
3.  Royal Arch Creek Confluence to Royal Arch Spur ~4.5 miles, 1098 foot drop
4.  Royal Arch Spur Round Trip ~ 2.0 miles, 300 drop and gain
5.  Royal Arch Spur to Toltec Beach (River)  ~ 3.5 miles,  955 foot drop  (There is a net drop for this segment, but a 500 foot climb is included)
6.  Elves Chasm Spur Round Trip ~ 3.0 miles, 1200 foot gain and drop
7.  Toltec Beach to Garnet Canyon ~ 2.2 miles, 200 foot gain
8.  Garnet Canyon to Copper Canyon ~ 6.0 miles, 672 foot gain
9.  Copper Canyon to Lower Bass Junction ~ 3.8 miles, 543 foot drop
10  Lower Bass Spur to Bass Rapids Round trip ~ 3.0 miles, 440 drop and gain
11  Lower Bass Spur to upper Tonto Trail junction ~ 1.0 miles, 485 foot gain
12.  Upper Tonto Trail Junction to Esplanade Junction ~ 4.0 miles, 2230 foot gain
13.  Esplanade Junction to Trailhead ~ 1.2 miles, 1200 foot gain

Based on the above estimates, our daily numbers should be:
Day 1:  9.2 miles,    (-2200, + 0) feet;  Trailhead to Royal Arch Confluence
Day 2:  10.0 miles,  (-2853, + 800) feet,  Royal Arch Confluence to Toltec Beach
Day 3:  11.1 miles,  (-1200, + 2072) feet, Toltec Beach to Copper Canyon (includes Elves Chasm spur)
Day 4:  7.8 miles,    (-983, + 925) feet, Copper Canyon to lower Bass Canyon (includes Bass Rapids)
Day 5:  5.2 miles,    (-0, + 3430) feet, Lower Bass Canyon to Trailhead

Total Mileage based on values from Delorme's Topo USA, I'm expecting 43.3 miles, 7,230 feet of elevation change.

WATER SOURCES
The following paragraph is an extract from the GS Park Service description of this route.

"Flowing water appears on the surface in the Redwall gorge of Royal Arch Creek. The Colorado River can be accessed at Toltec Beach. During cooler weather seasonal water is sometimes available from Seep Spring (between Chemehuevi and Toltec Points), from temporary pools along the Esplanade and in the bed of upper Royal Arch Creek, in Copper Canyon at the Tonto Trail crossing, and from potholes in Bass Canyon below the Tonto Trail. Garnet Canyon occasionally has water, but mineral content is extremely high and the water may be undrinkable. Lack of water in the Tonto Trail section of the loop makes this route hazardous in hot weather."

This hike was planned for October because, as a general rule, the temperatures are mild and the monsoons are over.  In previous October hikes, we've found either streams with running water or potholes that we can pump from.  However, to mitigate the risk of minimal water sources, plan on carrying extra water.  As noted above, we'll stash some water near the Esplanade junction which we'll use to replenish our water stores on our way out.

I'll be monitoring weather conditions and if late Sept or early Oct have heavy monsoon rainfalls, the streams may be running and potholes full of water.  However, I'll still be carrying the following:
1.  A 3 liter internal bladder with a tube to use while hiking.
2.  2 1 liter bottles in pack pockets, Used for gatorade.
3.  A 1 gallon water jug strapped externally to my pack.  Used for longer dry hikes or to shuttle water.
4.  An extra 3 litter bladder stuffed inside my pack.  Used for longer dry hikes or to shuttle water.

Colorado River Water
Depending on recent weather conditions, the Colorado river can be liquid mud or blue/green.  If it is liquid mud, it will require pre-filtering or it will clog up the best water filter with just a few pumps.  I've tried various schemes with varying degrees of success.  I'm open to ideas for pre-filtering.  If the water is blue/green, it will still be full of silt and sand.  If your filter is new, you shouldn't have any problems for the duration of this hike, however the same pre-filter process is recommended.