Grand Canyon - Boucher, Tonto, Bright Angel - Backpack Day 4: Hermit Rapids to Salt Creek - April 2010

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courtesy CPickering

A reading of Mr. Innes

The Tarn in the Inferno

We pitched our tents on camp spots that were adjacent to a huge boulder of Redwall Limestone that had fallen some ancient time ago. The boulder had a large, sloping surface on top, and although it was twenty feet above the ground on three sides, the side facing our tents was only a three feet above the ground. We spent most of our evening sitting, eating and lounging atop this cool boulder.

courtesy PChen

Everyone wants M&Ms

Relaxing at camp

The Inferno

courtesy PChen

courtesy JInnes

Redbud at Salt Creek

A lofty perch

In need of a lap

A few people in our group made note of the fact that this was our fourth night in the canyon -- the last one before our final hike out. They were amazed at how fast it all seemed to go, and expressed regret that it would soon be over. Bob, feeling that perhaps it might be too late if he didn't seize the opportunity, decided to do some lap-sitting.

Video from our Salt Creek camp (click to play)

courtesy JInnes

A Strained Look

As it was getting dark, we heard loud and interesting noises coming from the creek a little ways down from camp (there was actually flowing water a short ways down from camp, and it didn't really seem that salty after all). Some of us thought the noises sounded like bleating sheep, so Jenn and I went down to investigate. The noise was practically deafening as we approached, and it became clear that these were no sheep. They were instead some sort of frog, of which there must have been thousands of down in the shallow pools in the trickle of Salt Creek. We went back to camp and reported we'd seen the sheep, prompting a fun little run down to the creek with everyone in tow, who then were not impressed when they found out they'd been hit with a cheap joke.

Light Painting

After the sun went down, we (like the other nights) spent some time watching the stars come out. Bob and Cathy had seen some of the long-exposure night painting we'd done on previous trips, and wanted to try that out for themselves. They had a bit of a hard time getting it right, but in the end managed to scrawl out something readable. I had to cut them short after a while -- My camera's last battery pack was starting to run low and I wanted enough juice for pictures the next day.

Light Painting

We hit the sack fairly early: I wanted the next day to start early and proceed quickly, and so set a wake-up time for 4am. It'd be an in-the-dark start!

Click to view full-size with photo points

Interactive Trackmap, Hermit Rapids to Salt Creek

Hermit Rapids to Salt Creek

Start Time: 7:18a.m.

End Time: 3:53p.m.

Duration: 8h35m

Distance: 12.31 km (7.65 mi)

Average Speed: 1.4 km/hr (0.9 mph)

Start Elevation: 2350ft (716m) *

Max Elevation: 3494ft (1065m) *

Min Elevation: 2350ft (716m) *

End Elevation: 3482ft (1061m) *