Big South Fork Adventure Race, 10-6-01

Before moving to Knoxville, I’d been able to race in several types of triathlons, including some standard run, bike, swim races, some winter races, and a single adventure race. But in Knoxville I hadn’t been able to keep up this pursuit. Living in East Knoxville I had access to great road bike riding and good trail running, but I hadn’t yet found anywhere suitable for lap swimming. And although I knew plenty of strong hikers, it took me a long time to find other trail runners to train with.

Steven was one of the first other trail runners I met. We both had an interest in running ultramarathons, and both wanted to try some adventure racing. It’s a tough field to break into. Typically, you need a team of people with all the gear, and skill, for several events. But the logistical hassles are offset by the fun of getting to use all your toys at once, and the chance to see so much new terrain.

Luckily for us, Riversports Outfitters, our local outdoor shop, started a series of adventure races. Riversports’ race at Pickett was relatively beginner friendly. We just needed gear for trail running, mountain biking. rappelling, and cross country hiking. Also, since we did not have a third team member we could race solo. Steven and I took a rappelling lesson at the Riversports climbing wall since he had never rappelled before, and I hadn’t either for several years. Though we raced solo, we planned to stick together. Neither of us did much other specialized training before the race, though we both were running a lot.

I remember that there was a mandatory gear list, and probably a results sheet, but I have long since lost those. I did retain my checkpoint card, and a copy of the race map. Neither of us took pictures, and we were well before the era of GPS. The race was based out of the Pickett State Park Group Camp. The night before the race we all went through a gear check, and received our course maps. The race would start with a trail run through the BSF, and then most of the events would be in the roads, trails, and forest of Pickett State Forest, before a final section back in the BSF. I much later traced the course map onto my Topo! software. The advertised distance was 32 miles.

The east portion of our 2001 race map.

  

The night before the race the racers slept and snored in the group camp. We began the day with a trail run on Thompson Overlook Road, onto the south side of the BSF Hidden Passage Trail, and back to the group camp which served as checkpoint 1 at about 6-7 miles. At each checkpoint we got our card signed. There were also 6 mini maps that we collected along the way that that we would jigsaw puzzle together to help navigate a tricky section near the last CP. Hidden Passage Trail was great running, scenic and with good footing.

At the group camp we hopped on our bikes and rode down TN 154 to Rock Creek. At least one biker got going too fast and crashed on the speedy descent. The John Muir Trail heading west up Rock Creek was a new(?) addition to the forest. It was very rough riding with 10+ creek crossings. It featured lots of riding on an old railroad grade where the ties had rotted out. Most racers just pushed their bikes along the grade to avoid the ruts, I hoped that section wouldn’t be included in future editions of the race. 

The west portion of our 2001 race map. 

Our race map purposely did not show the next section of the course in detail, but I expect we turned into the South Fork of Rock Creek, and then up its South Prong before reaching maintained gravel Store 14 Road. After about 1:15 on the bike we climbed north out of Rock Creek to better a road, then to maintained gravel Store 14 Road and the start of an out-and-back leg of the course. This was fast, easy riding with just a few mud holes. At one point Steven’s derailleur got clogged up (and may have locked him onto his middle ring), and he would be a little slower riding after this. The O&B leg followed Wagon Gap Road southwest to its end at CP2 and a spectacular overlook above Wolf River. The ride had strung the field out a bit. We were in contact with three other pairs, and we could see from the turnaround that there was a lead pair and another pack well ahead of them. But there were also a lot of teams behind us. 

The south portion of our 2001 race map.

We reversed course and rode the ~1 hour back to where we had emerged from Rock Creek. Then the route led up Store 14 Road and to Kentucky Overlook for CP 3, our rappel, and the bike drop off station. I would eventually do three of the Riversports Adventure races and this would prove to be the guts of each race; long sections of remote mountain biking, short trail runs, some special features, and a terrifying rappel. Steven went first down the rope. It was about a 70’ drop, all but the first 10’ were overhung. That was a big step for someone on only their second time rappelling. I followed slowly, as I never was comfortable with the heights while rappelling.

Next up was our bushwhacking section which would follow a short part of Flint Creek. The going was fairly easy, and we kept our feet dry until a small creek came in from the left. After that we were walking on the creek bottom over some slippery limestone. Since we were just progressing down the creek the navigating here was simple, except for locating the Checkpoint. Eventually we reached a gravel road with CP4 on the left, perhaps the only one we had trouble locating. We climbed up gravel Flint Fork Road to TN 154 where we picked up our bikes again.

Next we rode Coffee Road out to the overlook. There we had a rough, steep descent down to, and then upstream, along Rock Creek. The route was barely ridable to a point where there was an old railroad tunnel across the creek from the trail. Things got confusing here. The main complicating factor was that one trail went through the tunnel, while another trail went over the top. Neither trail was visible from the other, so most hikers missed this “2D” intersection completely. We stumbled into two solo women who helped us out, and we could now assemble our six mini maps into a detailed picture of the tunnel intersection. Apparently we were supposed to go through the tunnel, get a bone from the skeleton inside it, then go to CP5 and carve a pumpkin. Steve and I carried our bikes up a steep, muddy and eroded trail the long way around the tunnel, then went back thru the tunnel and got on a connector trail to Hidden Passage Trail. Then it was simply a matter of pushing our bikes to the rim, and riding HPT back to the Group Camp.

I was wanting to have a strong finish and left Steve at this point. He had a 50 mile trail ultramarathon coming up in two weeks, and wanted to save some energy for that effort. I was able to pass two solo men, but was unable to catch two pairs ahead of me. I couldn’t find the HPT through the brush on the far side of a powerline, but eventually hit a road and found my way back. The two top solo men tied for first and I was the next finisher. Total distance was about 32 miles and I finished in 8:15.

I had felt good throughout the race, despite not getting much sleep the night before. The weather was coo/cold. I drank three bike bottles of water. I wore my green army pants a T-short and long sleeve wicker at the start of the bike leg. I’d really enjoyed the course except for the rotted ties on the John Muir Trail (too jarring) and navigating near CP5 (way too complicated). I would again have trouble around the tunnel on my next visit while trying to hike all the BSF area trails.

My Topo! version of the 2001 Pickett Adventure Race.

2001, 5-23, Backpacking the Maah Daah Hey Trail, Little Mo to CCC Campground

 The Maah Daah Hey Trail traverses the North Dakota badlands and connects the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The first 96-mile section was completed in 1999, too late to be included in detail in my 1999 guidebook “Exploring the Black Hills and Badlands.” But my publishers at Johnson Books and I recognized that the Maah Daah Hey, combined with the trails of TRNP, would be deserving of a guidebook of their own. Jean and I jumped at the chance to explore the newly built trail and to be some of the first to backpack it.

We had tried a short section of the trail in 1999 on a backpacking loop around the Petrified Forest in the South Unit of TRNP. Our 2001 trip was to be the start of a systematic traverse of the MDH that would eventually lead to my 2006 guidebook “A Trail Guide: The Maah Daah Hey Trail, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.” For the 2001 trip, we chose the north section of the MDH from the crossing of the Little Missouri River to the northern end at the Forest Service CCC Campground since jean had not yet visited the North Unit.

The Maah Daah Hey Trail was not as developed then as it is now. There were no developed campsites along the trail, no sources of potable water, designated campsites, or water caches.  Our biggest concern for the trip was water. From our earlier guidebook work we developed good contacts with Curt Glasoe and Russ Walsh of the Forest Service, and were able to get good information on the latest maps, stock ponds and stock tanks where we could find water, and a list of potential camping spots. The FS had plans to build campsites with water along the trail, but construction had not yet started. The next issue was finding a shuttle, for even by North Dakota standards the Little Missouri trail crossing is remote. Luckily, Dakota Cyclery in Medora was already shuttling mountain bikers on the MDH and Buffalo Gap trails near Medora, and they agreed to shuttle us.

For all my previous guidebooks, I’d scouted the trails on day trips to avoid carrying all the gear needed for overnight camping. I soon realized what a good idea that was. Carrying a full pack with all the stops for observing and note taking was much more effort, as it created a lot of stationary time where I was still wearing my heavy load. This trip was in the pre-cell phone, pre-GPS era so I was recording my observations in a field notebook and sketching the route of the trail on a xerox copy of the topographic map. In 2001, the current versions of the USGS maps for the area that show the MDH were not yet available. However, we did carry the 2000 version of the Forest Service MDH Trail map which showed the trail and the mileposts but at a broader scale. The mileposts for the Maah Daah Hey originally started at MP 0 at Sully Creek on the South end and extended north to MP 96 at the CCC Campground. Subsequently, the south end of the MDH was moved to the Burning Coal Vein Campground, which became the new mile 0, and the north end at the CCC CG is just north of MP 144. I’ve used the new mile markers here, except for in the names of two of our campsites

In May 2001 we drove out to the Badlands arriving two days early to try and break ourselves in. The dry heat and sun of the west always seemed to both dry out and tire me out much sooner than I’d expect. We started with an easy hike on the Painted Canyon Trail and drove the South Loop Road on our first day, and stayed at the Trappers Kettle in Bellfield.

The next day we moved up to the North Unit to hike the longer Buckhorn Trail after checking out the CCC Campground ahead of our shuttle. We spent that night at the Juniper Campground in the North Unit. This blog will focus on the experience of backpacking the Maah Daah Hey in 2001. If you are looking for detailed trail info, see my current trail guide “Trails of the North Dakota Badlands & Prairie; A Guide to The Maah Daah Hey Trail, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, & Dakota Prairie Grasslands” Here

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The start of long hikes seldom go exactly as planned, and this trip was no different than others. Our first issue though, was totally unexpected. As we were packing up camp in the morning Jean looked outside the tent and muttered something like “uh oh.” I looked out to see a herd of bison wandering through the campground. The campground is not fenced off from the rest of the park, and it turns out it is not uncommon for the herd to use a ford near the campground to cross the Little Missouri River. A cardinal rule of hiking in the badlands hiking is to give the bison plenty of space, but what to do when they invade yours? Luckily, the herd dispersed enough that we were able to jump out, hastily put away the tent and stow the last of our gear. We arrived just in time at the CCC Campground to meet our shuttle.

The plan was to leave our car at the campground, and have the shuttle drop us off at the nearest road crossing to the Little Missouri River. Our shuttle driver Wes from Dakota Cyclery had recently lived in Jamestown TN, next to the Big South Fork, another of our favorite, but vastly underappreciated national parks. The gravel roads in the Forest Service managed areas of the ND Badlands are generally well maintained. Currently with the gas boom in the underlying Williston Basin the roads are extremely well cared for and also well signed. But back in the early 2000s the signage left something to be desired. We started up the wrong road and drove around for a substantial time, long enough that I was getting worried that we’d never find our starting point. Finally, seemingly out of nowhere, we spotted a Maah Daah Hey sign and pulled over. As it turned out we couldn’t have chosen a much more remote spot. We were on FS Road 712 at least 5 miles beyond where Magpie Campground now is, just a bit to the east of current MP 98.

To save Jean some distance carrying the backpack our plan was for me to hike down to the river and back without my pack, record the notes I’d need for the guidebook, then return to join her on the hike north back to the CCC Campground. We were well east of our intended target, so this was a longer wait for her than we’d imagined. It took an hour to go 3+ miles down to the river (~MP 94.1) where I started my mapping and note taking for the guide.

The trail started by turning away from the river up the valley of Whitetail Creek. The mileposts were all in place and along with the fences and gates that marked the various landownerships and grazing plots there would be abundant features for a trail user to track their progress. After climbing up from the river there is the Midpoint Marker and monument to Curt and Russ and the crews who had built the trail. We were in the Devils Pass Oilfield and like much of the FS land along the Maah Daah Hey Trail there were well sites and access roads.

After meeting back up with Jean, our route turned east and followed FS Road 712. Next up would be a traverse over Devils Pass. Back in the frontier days one of the easiest routes across the badlands followed what is now FS Road 711. The only difficult part of the crossing was the narrow and steep sided Devils Pass. The pass was coated with a layer of gumbo, the slick, sticky water-loving clay that makes the badlands so tough to traverse when wet. But with dry weather we were able to cross easily.

We were finding the backpacking nearly ideal. Obviously, there are no tall mountains in the badlands and so far, we hadn’t had any long or steep climbs. Both the badlands and grasslands have few trees, so the views across the landscape are nearly constant. Particularly for easterners the startling, sharp-edged landscape is so alien as to be captivating. All we missed was the prolific wildlife we were used to seeing in TRNP.

Just beyond the Devils Pass we saw two mountain bikers, and we then stopped to pump water at a small stockpond. We also saw a group of backpackers heading to FS Road 711 from the CCC camp. They had cached water along the way, but gave us some tips on where we might find drinkable water. Around MP 104 we were briefly lost for one of the few times on the trip, confused by several new oil and gas roads that were not on our maps. By this time, we were tired, and hoping to reach Magpie Creek where we expected to find water and campsites.

Pronghorn on the grasslands.

We crossed FS Road 712 and signed Magpie Creek, and picked a camp spot on the open flat area on the far side of the creek. (I returned to this area in 2019 and found no trace of the old ranch building and two track road that we’d seen in 2001).There is now a trailhead on FS 712, a nearby campground with water, and a side trail from the campsite to the MDH. Magpie Creek was barely flowing but had pools deep enough to collect clean looking water. We’d had a great day; solved the hardest part of the hike (getting to the trail), made good progress hiking, found this section of the MDH to be great walking, and were enjoying a nice campsite with a good water source.

Magpie Creek, 14 miles

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The next morning we had minor frost on the tent, but were down to tee shirts by the time we left camp. After leaving, we soon passed a small pond north of the trail lined with trees that also would have provided a nice camping spot. Many of the next few ponds we encountered were partially filled in with weeds and we wondered if some had been abandoned by their ranchers. Around MP 108 we started to see fragments of petrified wood, some lignite, and a few intact petrified stumps buried in gumbo. Besides needing to be in badlands topography and originally covered by the volcanic ash deposits that have now turned to gumbo, it was hard for me to predict the areas where we would see petrified wood. It seemed some horizons had it, and others did not. Maybe the paleontologists and stratigraphers that worked these rocks knew them well enough to tell, but I could not.

Fossil wood along the Maah Daah Hey Trail.

Past MP 108 the  MDH trail now joins the Ice Caves Trail. As intriguing as that area sounded, Jean and I didn’t feel we had the leeway to make the extra side trip, particularly without a trail to guide us. But we did enjoy the break in scenery that the nearby aspen grove provided. We were mostly in grassland with only a solitary mule deer in sight, but at least the grasslands provided to be fast hiking. We were on long narrow finger ridge, my favorite type of walking as it combines easy terrain with extensive views. From these ridges pronghorn are often in view and we were lucky enough to see a group of four.

Our concerns about water were growing. I described the water in one concrete tank as nasty, and it was worth thinking about just what we might have to force ourselves to drink from. The water we had pumped was so silty that we’d had to clean our filter after filling every bottle. I was getting heel blisters that we treated by covering with duct tape. It was now overcast, and we wore our warm coats at lunch. From Curt’s notes we were looking forward to a stock dam with trees near the crossing of FS Road 809 near MP 115.

Beyond FS 809 is the remarkably flat plain of Beicegel Creek. Beyond was a gumbo flat that was nice walking when dry and overcast, but could be hellish in summer’s dry heat, or in mud season. We sped through the gumbo flat eventually climbing to the safety of the grassland. Around MP 118 there was another nice pond, some geese, and a potential campsite, but we felt it was too early to camp. At the crossing of paved Beicegel Road (County 50) we talked with a group of four mountain bikers, our only people sighting that day.

Beyond County 50 we stopped to camp at the next stock pond, a little short of MP 121 (MP 73 originally). The site was a big letdown, kind of run down and muddy, but with some scattered cottonwoods. We were able to get water out of the pipe that fed the nearby tank, and of course treated it. The water in the tank was far too contaminated to think about using. On our next visit to the MDH in 2004 we were smart enough to cache water for ourselves during the drive to the trailhead, and used the Elkhorn Campground that had recently been completed.

Pond MP 73, 15 miles

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The next morning, we headed out again through the grasslands above the head of Cottonwood Creek.  Near MP 122 we encountered the FS trail crew. The MDH had already been relocated several times over the section that we would hike that day. Much of the trail north of Beicegal Road to Cottonwood Creek and a second section just north of the China Wall are shown on the revised topo maps for the area, but have since been relocated.

Maah Daah Hey Trail along Cottonwood Creek.

The FS had also not yet built the Bennett Campground and Trailhead, or the Cottonwood or Bennett trails which would intersect the Maah Daah Hey south of the China Wall. The trail next dropped into the west side of the valley of Cottonwood Creek giving us some nice vistas on the descent. The creek had widely scattered potholes with water. North of MP 124 we took a snack break near some petrified wood. North of MP 126 the trail dropped down beside the creek and began a long traverse of a boring sagebrush covered flat area.

The trail turned west at its junction with Bennett Creek and after passing a few unappetizing looking ponds approached the China Wall just past MP128. The wall is one of the few imposing climbs on the Maah Daah Hey, but the climb is really barely over 200’, and we climbed up and over in less than 20 minutes. Passing an oil well we crossed signed Bennett Creek and then a gravel road shortly beyond.

Here we saw a group of four mountain bike riders on a three day, end-to-end ride of the MDH. This pattern of use would continue. Though conceived by horse riders and imagined for hikers as well, most of the use of the MDH has come from mountain bike riders lured by the promise of one of the longest ridable single tracks in the country. The absence of long climbs, the endless views, plentiful wildlife, and bizarre badlands landscapes were just as attractive to bike riders as they were to us laboriously hauling our backpacks.

Beyond Bennett Creek there was one stiff climb up a face of bentonite cliffs back up to the grasslands. The trail would drop off the grassland into Collar Draw where we would pick our campsite beside a small side creek on the floor of the draw beside a small pond. I took no notes about this campsite, which should not be taken as an endorsement. I believe this was another site where we were getting highly questionable water out of the pipe feeding a stock tank. After 12 miles of backpacking we needed whatever water we could get. Despite four days of treating questionable water on the trip neither Jean nor I ended up suffering any ill effects.

Sunset Dam 85.

Dam 85, 12 miles

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After our unappealing campsite the night before, we were treated to one of the MDH’s highlights not long after we stated the final day’s hike. In an unassuming spot in Collar Draw sits a massive, fossilized tree stump. Most of the tree fossils in the ND Badlands were buried by ash from volcanic eruptions in what is now Yellowstone National Park. The ash buried the lower sections of these trees and the silica in the ash fossilized the buried portions of the trees. This particular specimen was about 5-6 feet in diameter and about 5’ high with a very wide spread at its base, much larger than any others I’ve seen in the badlands.

Corral Creek, Fossil Stump.

Not too much farther on we came to the 6’ bison fence that marks the boundary of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Unfortunately, the TRNP-N section of the Maah Daah Hey Trail doesn’t connect to the North Unit’s other trails, and cuts across the unit’s southern edge merely as connector between two swaths of FS land split by a large area of private land. When designing the trail, a goal was to keep a continuous band of FS, State of ND, or NPS property as the trail corridor. This was done with the original MDH. However, the appearance of so many mountain bikers on the trail created a couple snags. The land in both units of TRNP used by the MDH is designated Wilderness, which excludes mountain bikes. In the South Unit of the park there was ample FS and State land to build the Buffalo Gap Trail, which serves as a bypass for bikes around the South Unit. In the North Unit there is no continuous land corridor for a bypass. For hikers and horse riders this isn’t an issue, but mountain bike riders must use public roads, or most often just start their trips at the Bennett Campground.

In the North Unit, the MDH follows the sagebrush filled valley of Corral Creek to the southeast corner of the Unit with views of the Achenbach Hills to the north. At least the normal cow patties of these flats were replaced here by native bison patties. Another gate and bison fence marked our exit from the park. We climbed up to the grassland across two washouts on a section of trail that has since been relocated. The trail next headed east across a shadeless grassland to the current site of the Long X Trail junction and waterbox. How we could have used a cold drink there! We were getting broiled by the sun, thirstier by the step, and now were getting harassed by gnats as well. We took temporary refuge in a small grove of trees just beyond the current junction, our only break of the day in our rush to finish. Near MP 141 we got our first views of the North Unit Visitor Center across the river to the north. Here we met two horsemen from Hamilton, MT. Their dog was experienced enough to rest in the shade cast by the horses, and we were envious of any means to get out of the sun. The day had turned hot as soon as the sun had come up, and by the time we had reached the park boundary it was already getting uncomfortable.

Badlands near the north end of the trail.

Dropping off the grasslands we walked through another petrified wood locale and reached a junction with the now much relocated and temporarily (I hope) abandoned FS Summit Trail. Approaching the end, my navigating and note taking got a little sloppy as we were much fatigued by the heat. We got a bit disoriented by unexpected splits in the trail before finally reaching the end of the trail and our car in the CCC Campground. We immediately headed over to the North Unit and got cold sodas before heading back down to Bellfield for a room and meal at the Trappers Kettle. Our final tally was 4 days and 52 miles. We would return to complete the southern end of the Maah Daah Hey on a three day backpack trip in 2004. In 2011 we would ride some of the new southern section of the Maah Daah Hey and in 2019 complete the new southern section of the trail while researching for the new guidebook.

Signpost at the north end of the Maah Daah Hey.

For more information on the current state of the MDH, TRNP, and associated forest service trails see my latest, soon to be released guide Here.

For the latest on the Maah Daah Hey, visit the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association website; MDHTA.

Grand Canyon, Boucher and Hermit, 3-16-01

For several years Jean and I were able to take a spring break trip, a chance for both of us leave the cold and wet of a Tennessee winter, but more importantly to mark the middle of another semester for Jean. Our favorite destination was Arizona for its dependable warmth and abundant sunshine. Jean was  more familiar with the hiking options in the area, having spent a sabbatical year at Arizona State she’d visited Wupatki, the Superstitions, and most importantly the Grand Canyon, where she had done a rim to rim backpack trip.

For our first trip together to the canyon we wanted to stay out of the crowded corridor area where most hikers were venturing down to the Colorado River at Phantom Ranch. We were looking for something more challenging, more remote, and settled on a loop connecting the Boucher and Hermit Trails on the west side of Canyon Village. We planned a four day backpacking trip with two nights at Boucher and one at Hermit to be the centerpiece of the trip, and planned to visit other parks on the drive up and back from Phoenix.

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Day 1 was a busy one. We flew to Phoenix via Memphis on Northwest, took the shuttle to Thrifty for our rental car, and hit the REI. I picked up the 7.5’ minute quads for our hike, and Jean got the stuck bushing on her hiking pole fixed. We decided to try and beat the Friday traffic out of town and headed for Flagstaff.

Our first stop was at Walnut Canyon National Monument to see the Puebloan cliff dwellings. The dwellings were occupied from1125 to 1250, then abandoned and ignored until the late 1880. An era of souvenir hunting led to the creation of the monument in 1915.

There are only two short hiking trails in the monument. Walnut Canyon is serious about closing on time and we were too late to start the Island Trail, so we headed out on the shorter 0.7 mile Rim Trail. The Rim Trail had some nice overlooks and a pair of recent pueblos.

On the way to the park, we’d seen a sign for the Arizona Trail and were able to get a brochure for the trail at Walnut Canyon. Leaving the park, we turned west on Old Walnut Canyon Road (FS 303) for short drive to a trailhead. We were eager to do more than just stretch our legs so out we went south on the trail for two miles out and back. That short part of the trail was mundane, just a walk through ponderosa pine forest, but we needed the exercise . We saw one other couple and a huge group of backpackers.

We got a room at the Super 8 off Exit 201 in Flagstaff, and ate next door at the Village Inn.

Arizona Trail and Walnut Canyon Rim Trail, 3 miles

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Wupatki National Monument is another nearby park that doesn’t have a lot of hiking trails. Like Walnut Canyon the absence of trails reflects the monument’s mission to preserve its historic treasures, not the lack of interesting things to see. Maps and images of the archaeological sites for both areas are purposefully hard to find. At Walnut Canyon we’d seen a flyer for a ranger-led hike at Wupatki. We decided to try the hike, and were surprised that only two others showed up. We drove to the start at the parking area for Crack in the Rock (Wupatki Blog) that we had used for our 1998 overnighter, and hiked a bit to the south and west. We saw two major ruins, Antelope House and Small Tower House, plus some other Puebloan sites and modern Navajo sites. The ranger had the park’s archeology site map, and the detailed maps of the two major site which were used for interpretation. We saw tons of pottery fragments, some fossil wood, and the remains of a toy gun at one of the Navajo sites. Both of the big sites above Antelope Wash were in good shape. It is amazing how dense the artifacts are at Wupatki, especially after several hundred years of abandonment.  It was hard to imagine anyone living in these desolate areas now.

Antelope House at Wupatki.

After the hike we drove back into Flagstaff where a St Patrick’s Day celebration had started. We did a little pre-backpack shopping, then went back to the motel to pack up after another trip to the Village Inn.

Arch at Wupatki.

Wupatki Backcountry Hike 6 miles

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Next up was the highlight of the trip, four days in the Grand Canyon on the west side of the main village. Our plan was to take the Boucher Trail down to a campsite on the Tonto Plateau the first day, then hike down to the river and back on day two. Next we’d follow the Tonto Trail east to the campsite at the junction with the Hermit Trail, and follow the Hermit out on the last day. I’d hiked down the Hermit Trail on my 1992 visit, but otherwise the rest of the route would be all new trail for me.

Boucher is noted as one of the toughest trails on the south rim of the canyon. The current NPS brochure for the trail describes it as “The trail consists of tough, tedious traverses linked together by knee-destroying descents, with a section of exposed hand and toe climbing thrown in for good measure.” And notes “The degraded condition of the trail, especially in the Supai and Redwall Formations, presents an obvious hazard…“ and finally “The descent to the Tonto Trail is nothing less than brutal, a physical beating in classic Grand Canyon style.”

We were up at 6:15 for the 90 minute drive to the park via Williams. We found out at the entry station that because of our backpacking permit we could get the key code to drive out and leave our car at the Hermit Trailhead. I had some navigating trouble finding the road (not a good sign!), but eventually we reached the trailhead.

Hermits Rest is a major overlook with great views, so it was immediately picture time. Our camera was a new portable film camera, so the photos shown here are scans of old slides, slightly degraded by time.

The hike started out with 50 minutes on the Hermit Trail to the Dripping Springs Trail. The trail was loose and rocky with a steep descent through the upper formations of the canyon including the Coconino sandstone. At Grand Canyon progress is tracked not as much by elevation, as by the rock formations crossed. Since most of the rocks are essentially flat-lying, the different rock types and colors form their own natural topographic map.

In another 40 minutes of relatively flat walking along the Supai Formation on the Dripping Springs Trail we reached the top of the Boucher Trail. Lucky for us the junction was signed, it would have been hard to spot otherwise out in the middle of the plateau. On this upper section we saw 14 hikers, most heading back to Hermits Rest, but we also passed a group of 5 also heading for Boucher. One returning group had started at South Bass via a shuttle from Fred Harvey Tours, an idea that inspired us when it was time to plan our next canyon trip.

Hermit Canyon from above.

We ate our lunch at Yuma Point, the only spot on the hike in where we could see the Colorado River. Just after lunch we met an excited one hiker who told us stories of the difficulties ahead, “exposed climbing, hand over hand, face into the cliff etc.” It was enough to shake both of us, as he claimed to have hiked all the major canyon trails with the exception of New Hance. Sure enough, the top of the next descent through the Supai Formation and down into Travertine Canyon was very steep and required some use of our hands, but was not nearly as bad as we expected. The section was certainly harder than what I had seen on the Hermit Trail, or any of the hiking trail back home, but never too dangerous. In fact, we thought the most exposed section of the trail was on Travertine Canyon, just before another steep drop began. That drop into the next unnamed canyon from the saddle near Whites Butte through the Redwall and Mauve formations was just as steep and rough, but without any hand climbing as the trail headed straight down into the head of a very narrow canyon.

Jean on Boucher Trail.

Eventually we saw the confluence of our route with Boucher Creek on the Tonto Plateau and our campsite, part of Area BN9. We arrived about 5PM after a 9:40 start. The campsite has at least three sets of flat, sandy campsites along the creek. There was 6-12” of cool water in the creek and we immediately washed up. The unnamed creek we had hiked down had some water farther up, but near the confluence it was dry. The party of five never showed up (spooked off by our excited hiker?), so we had the site to ourselves, except for a few hungry mice and singing frogs. Our site was perched on a low bench above the confluence with views up Boucher Creek, where we could see snow on the canyon rim. Under a crystal clear sky, we watched Orion and the Big Dipper with the luxury of solitude.

Jean in upper Boucher Canyon.

8.5 miles to Boucher Creek.

3-19-01

After the tough descent to Boucher, we slept in a bit to enjoy our layover day. Boucher was a miner who lived alone in a cabin by the creek. I ventured off to check out his mine and found what I guessed was a 50’ long tunnel on a gossan (weathered ore) zone, but not in line with any of the many veins in the rock. The waste rock around the mine  contained some copper possibly as bornite. There was a small bench built just inside the adit, most likely from someone looking to escape the heat.

Later on, Jean and I decided to try the short “boulder hop” down to the confluence of the Colorado River. Boucher Creek was flowing all the way to the river with the exception of a dry patch just below the confluence with Topaz Canyon. Cairns marked the Tonto Trail here.

Jean in lower Boucher.

The beach at the Colorado was huge! It extended 100 yards upstream and 200 yards downstream. Some windblown dunes made nice camp spots on the downstream side. It was amazing to watch how fast the river flowed, and to see how smoothly worn the rocks along the river edge were. We lay in the shade and explored about for three hours. Besides the beach, we saw no passable terrain along the river. The hike had been great as well, just before the junction with Topaz Canyon we passed a twisty Utah-style slot canyon.

The Colorado River at Boucher Creek.

On our return we met two NPS rangers, one of the very few ranger encounters I’ve had in all my time backcountry hiking. They had hiked over from Hermit in an encouraging three hours and would camp that night on the beach. The rangers complimented us on the neatness of our camp, which seemed odd until we got back to camp. There we saw our brand new Sierra Designs Meteor Lite tent standing with all its seams crisp and sharp, like the tent fresh out the box that it was. The rangers probably had taken us for rookies, rather than a pair of vets who had simply worn out their older tent. But later that night we found evidence that we hadn’t quite mastered the art of backcountry when Jean pulled a copy of the Smokies trail guide out of her backpack.

Later on, we saw our group of five. They had made a planned stop near Whites Butte and were now camped near us. We also had seen one hiker on the Tonto, and a group of two also staying at the Boucher Creek Campsite.

Boucher Creek 3 miles

3-20-2001

We thought we were getting an early start this morning, but the rangers hiked through our camp before we were even finished packing up. I guess that’s how the pros do it. As soon as we were out of the shaded canyon, we were blasted by the sun walking along the Tonto. The five mile traverse took a little over three hours. A big surprise was a ton of wildflowers. We saw primrose and a lot of small colorful flowers that no doubt have very brief blooms. Boucher to Hermit is a long hot walk, but we likely enjoyed it much more than most with the flowers decorating the way. We passed a group that was also staying at Hermit Creek (BM7). The highlight of the Tonto is the tremendous view of the Colorado River and its canyon. We were lucky to spot a raft group far down on the river.

Rafters on the Colorado River from the Tonto Trail.

We set up camp on arriving at Hermit and made coffee despite the heat. The campsite is in the Tapeats Sandstone, one site is under a small alcove. Hermit Creek is bigger than Boucher Creek and has  a small waterfall and pool near camp. Each subsite is marked by rocks and there is a pit toilet. After lunch we took a walk down the side trail alongside the creek to the Colorado. Our side canyon was prettiest high in the Tapeats Formation with some overhangs in the sandstone. Jean got a picture of me where a vein of coarse pegmatite crossed the canyon.

Jean on the Tonto Trail.

Reaching the river, we again did a quick washup at the rapids. There’s only room for two parties at the campsite, one at the rapid and another downstream at the dunes. We laid in the shade watching the river and wondering at rapids that were even more powerful than those at Boucher.

Jean on the Tonto Trail.

Coming back up the canyon we went left onto a trail up to the rim that climbed well above the Tapeats. We’d seen it hiking in, the trail is beautifully constructed, but we couldn’t tell if it was part of the Tonto Trail. It turns out the trail is a short cut from the Tonto to the rapids.

Curiously both Boucher and Hermit are named for the same man. Louis Boucher was well known and active around the south rim during his time, but since he lived alone he was known as a hermit. Hermit was developed in the early 1900s as a camp by the Santa Fe Railroad while a toll was still being charged to use the Bright Angel Trail. According to Thybony, the camp was served by a tram line from Pima Point.

There were four groups in the campsite, including one late arrival. That was enough to make the site seem crowded, but we had enjoyed the luxury of quiet and solitude at Boucher. We didn’t use our fly (fat chance of rain!) to allow for some stargazing before we fell asleep.

3-21-2001

This was our hike out day with the long, arduous climb back to the canyon rim. We awoke at 6AM and were on the trail by 730. We walked another mile on the Tonto, before turning onto the Hermit Trail. From there it was an hour to the top of the switchbacks in the Redwall that make up the Golden Staircase (Cathedral Stairs), one of the most daunting climbs a backpacker can face. The long switchback heled to ease the grade and we could admire the intricate construction, which included hauling in some concrete. But we made one sustained 3:40 minute push to Santa Maria Spring for our first break. From the Spring it was another 1:20 to the top of the rim, but our fast pace kept us mostly in the shade. The brevity of my notes for the climb reflects our determination to climb out of the canyon bottom before the heat of the day; several thousand feet of climbing go by in a few sentences.

Cathedral Staircase on the Hermit Trail.

We felt the Hermit Trail had better footing, fewer washouts, and less near vertical climbing that Boucher. But though it was not as tough, it still was tough. The last 1,400’ of climbing was brutal-steep, sunny, and rocky. But the trail builders had made a long lasting trail, it was a pleasure to observe and use their rockwork. At the trailhead we finished off our second role of film and quickly ate an entire bag of Fritos. Usually we’re not salty snack fans, but that day we couldn’t get enough. We drove to Grand Canyon Village, walked through the El Tovar, and ate a late lunch. Next we stopped by the Backcountry Office, hoping to squeeze in one more overnight trip. We got some great tips for our next trip, but it turned out all their permits for the next night were taken. Much to our surprise they also told us that the tops of all the other open trails on the south rim were snowy and icy. We ended up getting a motel in Tusayan, which we found to be a pleasant gateway town.

Near the top of the Hermit Trail.

Hermit Trail 7.5 miles

 

Climbing the Hermit Trail.

3-22-2001

After several tough days in the canyon this was a day to enjoy some sightseeing. We stated off with a visit to the Watch Tower near the park’s east entrance. It’s a remarkable structure done in a Kiva motif with lots of Hopi artwork. The view into the canyon above the Tanner area is fantastic. On the East Rim Drive east of Grandview Road we saw a junction with the Arizona Trail.

View into Grand Canyon from the Watchtower.

Next we hiked an hour down the Tanner Trail. The top 30-40 minutes had a lot of snow with some icy spots and a lot of hard packed areas. Luckily we had our hiking poles and that helped our stability. Jean had also brought instep crampons, but we did not need them. We stopped short of the Supai, and had a snack in the shade of a pinyon pine. Next was a stop at the pueblo ruin and museum at Tusayan (not in the gateway town of the same name). The ruin wasn’t the caliber of what we’d seen at Wupatki, but still interesting. There aren’t many archaeological sites on the canyon rim, but it is easy to imagine there were people living there. We never saw Puebloan sights deep in the canyon either, but we suspected there would be many to be found.

Finally, we drove back to the general store and hiked along the rim to the new Visitors Center. The VC is incomplete with only a few panoramas on display. Also in the works is a greenway system into Tusayan. From the VC we walked the Rim Trail back about two miles from Mather Point. This section had good views of the region around the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. We could see Phantom Ranch and the trail bridge over the Colorado River. By late afternoon the weather turned cold and windy, while we were used to the Tonto temperatures and dressed in shorts.

Our plan for the next day was to visit Sedona, so we left the canyon and drove to the Super 8 in Flagstaff.

Our Grand Canyon Map.

Tanner and Rim trails, 4 miles

3-23-2001

We drove from Flagstaff into Sedona and parked at Midgely Bridge where we had done a short hike on our last visit in 1989. We’d found the trailhead confusing then and had hiked up bit up the Wilson Canyon Trail. This time things were better signed and despite the crowded TH, we hiked up the Wilson Mountain Trail in the Redrock Secret Mountain Wilderness, into an area covered mostly in basalt. We had no destination in mind, so just went 30 minutes out and returned. Both our trips to Sedona ended up being add-ons to backpacking trips, and both times we choose short walks at the easiest access trailhead. Sedona has enough hiking and enough gorgeous red rock terrain to make it a worthwhile destination on its own. It’s a shame we didn’t devote more time to the area, but then what else could we have cut out of the busy trips we made?

Next we stopped at the Forest Service Office in Sedona and got maps for the Palatki Ruin-Red Cliffs Rock Art Site. The rental car easily handled 7-8 miles of dirt road where we found another crowded trailhead. Here several pueblos are clustered in a small area and there are multiple rock art panels in another area (Red Cliffs). Some of the rock art goes back to the basket weavers period. I decided the paintings were not as interesting as the pictographs, but that’s the geologist in me coming out.

Palatki 

This would be the last full day of the trip, so we next drove back to Phoenix via Cottonwood. We had planned to stay with some of Jean’s friends from her sabbatical year, but a death in their family had taken them unexpectedly out of town.

Palatki.

Wilson Mountain Trail and Palatki, 2.5 miles

3-24-01

With a little bit of spare time before catching our flight back to Knoxville we hiked a bit at Papago Buttes and then visited the Pueblo Grande Museum. We arrived back in Knoxville at midnight.

Papago Buttes and Pueblo Grande, 3 miles 

Mount Mitchell Challenge, 2-24-01

I had been aiming for North Carolina’s 40 Mile Black Mountain Challenge ever since reaching the end of its companion Black Mountain Marathon (1999) in 1999, with plenty still left in the tank. In 2000 I’d applied too late to get off the wait list, but in 2001 both Steven and I applied early enough to be accepted immediately.

My training had gone well. I started with loops at Knoxville’s Lakeshore Greenway, but soon moved up to 17 and 20+ mile runs in the Smokies with my base including lots of other hiking and backpacking. Steven and his brother Larry were both racing, and they stayed at the same Super 8 in Black Mountain where Jean and I stayed.

Besides feeling strong, I had the advantage of a good weather day. I ran in a Patagonia silk weight T shirt, long sleeved wicker, and shorts. I had a mid-weight wicker at the start, and took it off early. I also had heavy wool mitts that I used over my glove liners for the high elevation Mt. Mitchell sections. My emergency windbreaker and tights stayed in the pack.

My nutrition was Jean’s Anzac cookies and Twix bars, plus bananas and Gatorade from the aid stations. The aid stations were close enough together that few runners carried food, and a water bottle wasn’t really necessary. I still was not using a GPS, but my notes indicate Steven was taking pictures on the Mt. Mitchell summit.

The basic route was from the town of Black Mountain through the campus of Montreat College, up the Old Toll Road to the Bue Ridge Parkway, and then up Mount Mitchell State Park trails to the summit of Mt. Mitchell. The course for 2001 changed slightly. This time we climbed out of Montreat College on some of the Montreat trails. I wasn’t sure of all the trail names, but we passed by a shelter on the Trestle Trail. On the return we still came down the super steep paved road into Montreat. The Challenge Course outbound took the Mountains to Sea Trail/ Buncombe Horse Trail to Commissary Ridge and then soared 1.6 miles up the Mt. Mitchell Trail to the summit. The descent used the Old Mitchell Trail then the Camp Alice Trail. After Camp Alice, came a wide old road (Commissary Trail) which we followed to Steppe Gap.  Then we ran the Summit Access Road (NC 128) down to the Blue Ridge Parkway to rejoin the marathon course. 

2003 Mount Mitchell  Challenge Race map.

Unfortunately, my right knee was stiff right from the start, and began hurting on the Trestle Trail. Steven pulled away from me just before we reached the Old Toll Road. I then had to detour to the woods to take a dump that likely was the result of a curry dish I’d had the night before at the Laughing Seed in Asheville. But it was the knee pain that impacted my running early. The trouble felt more like a ligament problem than the IT Band issues I usually faced. The pain was centered just forward of where the IT would flare up. Near 8 miles, I thought I might have to drop out, but the pain was stable after that.

The field spread out after reaching the BRP. I didn’t see other runners until reaching Commissary Ridge. That trail was wet, rocky, and hard to run on, unless you didn’t mind getting your feet soaked. I pushed hard on the last 1.6 steep miles going up to the summit, knowing that this was the last major climb, and the last section I’d likely run pain free. I passed Steven here. He was having cramps in his calf muscles. We were together at the summit where he took some pictures. Then I headed down, while he went off to climb the tower. 

Mount Mitchell  SP Trail map.

The trail down to the Camp Alice Road was as steep and glazed with ice as the final climb had been. I suspected that Friday had been warm enough to melt and refreeze the little snow left high on the mountain. I had to carefully lower myself, always with the left knee, down every step. Luckily the rest of the trail to Steppe Gap was easy running.

I ran all of the paved road down from Steppe Gap to the Old Toll Road. I had some knee pain from the extreme camber of the road and had to short step a bit to reduce the pain. I got passed by a few runners, and wouldn’t pass anyone myself on the rest of the course. The Toll Road is rocky down to the next aid station, but I was able to run about half of it. The road then is smoother, and I could run most of it. By then both knees were hurting, but I was having no other issues.

But the steep paved road going down into Montreat was agonizing. I had to go very slowly, and both knees were screaming. Near Montreat College the course leveled, and I could run a bit. But so could the rest of the runners. I got passed by a group of 6-8 runners .But I was able to run to the finish with another guy. We were talking enough that we missed a turn at the school that is adjacent to the Super 8. We ran all the way into town to the CVS before realizing we were off course, and then made a beeline for Lake Tomahawk. 

Montreat College trail map.

Neither of us wanted to kick it in so we finished together. My time was 8:32, and I placed 61/84. I was happy with the time, but was surprised to be that far back in the field. But I’d faced two foes. The battle had been between me and the combination of my knee troubles and the course with its length, climbing and weather. I took 6 ibuprofen tablets during the race and had some minor queasiness.

Jean was waiting at the finish, glad to see me remaining upright. She took a few polaroids. Not too long afterward Steven came in. I’d expected him to pass me on the downhill, but he’d battled his cramping for much of the race.

I would take three more shots at this race, running the marathon in 2002 and 2006 (2006) and finishing the Challenge again in 2003 in epic conditions.

On Mount Mitchell in 2009 with Mark, Matt, and Steven.