Journal entries of Mike St. Pierre, Hyperlite Mountain Gear CEO, who joined Rich Rudow and his crew for the first sixteen days on their 700–mile, below–the–rim thru–hike of Grand Canyon
— Day 1 —Started off from Lees ferry at 10 AM after saying our goodbyes to a group of 10 to 15 friends who came out to see us on our way. The route followed the river for most of the seven or so miles we covered. We traversed tricky terrain, scrambled over very sharp boulder fields and sidehill trekked. Unbearable temps reached close to 100 °F, and I was super dehydrated from a few drinks we had the night before. By early afternoon, my face turned bright red and I was overheating and dizzy. Thankfully we found a shady spot next to the river, and I drenched my clothing in the 45–degree water. I wasn’t the only one experiencing these symptoms. Later that day we had a 40′, class 5 downclimb, which was interesting while still feeling dizzy. Everyone was able to downclimb it with packs on, but I lowered mine given how I was feeling, which turned into a total ordeal given the downclimb was less vertical and more of a traverse. We made camp two miles before we had planned, and I drank over a gallon of water before bed.
— Day 2 —Another scorcher. Not long into our hike, one of the crew started cramping up, and we needed to take a break for a few hours to get out of the afternoon sun. We passed around electrolyte tablets—powdered Gatorade and salt—and refreshed in a small eddy in the river until shivering from the cold. Then we returned back to our shady spots to lie like lizards, only to be sweating again within minutes. Two of us fixed holes in our Neo air mattresses, which had happened the night before. Lesson learned, choose camp wisely. We covered roughly nine miles today. This is some of the toughest hiking I’ve done anywhere. Two days in and my approach shoes are already getting shredded. Rich spent last night and tonight re–gluing parts of his soles back onto his brand new 5.10 Camp 4 shoes. The hot temps and rock are melting the glue holding the sole onto the shoe, and the sharp rocks are slowly scraping the rubber off. None of our shoes are going to last more than two weeks out here. I pounded water and crashed hard. Camped on some very cool ledges right on river. Having headlamp problems. Gone through two sets of lithium batteries in two days.
— Day 3 —Hiked from camp up to get on top of the Supai layer. We were at roughly 300–400 feet off the river with sheer cliff walls below. We traversed four miles on the edge of the cliff to Rider Canyon, with exposed hiking most of the way and a 0.6–mile ascent to gain the drainage–bed–level contour. A few miles later we found a break in the cliff band and climbed down a 20′ crack and took a long break in the shade inside the canyon. One crewmember developed very concerning heat exhaustion and continuous cramps. It was a hard, grueling day in the heat. Today we were supposed to hike nine miles, but we only covered four river miles. It’s really hard to gauge all the actual miles walked as we have to continuously contour around smaller canyons and washes. So we gauge what we think we are doing for mileage and check that against the river–mile where we are located. We found it is roughly 2.25 foot miles per every river mile we travel. Made camp at the mouth of Rider Canyon, at the base of House Rock Rapid. Tonight was a blood moon but we couldn’t see anything inside the canyon. Dinner was gumbo, which was really good but I found it salty, which I’m surely in need of. Drained a large blister on my big toe that was continuing to grow since the start of the trip. All of the crews’ feet are taped up and looking rough. Finding I need tons more drinks with electrolytes. Running short there. Everyone finds it hard to eat during the day, but we are forcing ourselves to. Crew is battered, some more than others, but all in good spirits.
— Day 4 —
4:30 AM—Wake The F’ Up Coffee and another awful energy bar. In the shade most of the morning and the hiking was so much better. By 9:30 AM we were in the sun and the heat was already turning strong. We hiked 3.5 miles to North Canyon and arrived at 11 AM. We are all consuming several gallons of water per day now and starting to run low on batteries for the Steripen and Aquamira drops. We set up an afternoon camp at North Canyon and hung out in the shade. Used the Square Flat Tarp to help shade us as there were only a few little tami trees to protect us. The tarp in full sun does seem to radiate more heat. Bummer. Less than ideal for a shade structure. Using a Delorme In Reach, one of the crew reached out to have someone hike more supplies into South Canyon; we’ll be there tomorrow night. On the list was an USB rechargeable Steripen, Jetboil (because the threads got stripped on ours), more Aquamira, lots of powdered drink mix and ramen noodles for the salt and a huge salami, cheese and salty crackers. It’s so hot out now you can’t do anything but just lay here and wait out the hottest part of the day and drink water. Oh, we did score one beer a day per person for the last three days from river trips amazed at our objective.
It’s 3 PM and still scorchingly hot. Time to pack up camp. The canyon bends river left and is slowly coming into the shade. We are going for it.
7:25 PM—Just landed at the start of the Redwall ledges at Indian Dick. Nice ledges 30′ up with the river ripping below. The hike over was really hot and humid. We were in the shade the whole time but sweating profusely. My clothes were totally drenched. Not much different than any other day but the humidity was an added feature. Came across a private river trip that offered us two beers each, triscuts with hummus and pesto, and some homemade whole pickled beets. It was delicious. We are all feeling a little whipped, some much more than others. I’m tired but feel good. Legs and feet and joints are sore but feel good. Bashed my ankle on a rock this morning. It’s a bit swollen now but it will be fine in the morning. Tonight will be chicken and dumplings and to bed early. Chicken and dumplings are really good!!
4:15 AM wake up. We hiked two miles to 25 Mile Rapid and arrived at 8 AM. Filled up on water, and there was a discussion to stay there due to one of the crew not feeling well. Not the best of ideas as we would have been totally exposed to the sun. We thought we were at Cave Spring (which we were not) and agreed we really needed to get a few more miles in before the heat was too unbearable on top of the Redwall Limestone (this layer averages about 335 million years old and is composed of marine limestones and dolomites). From 25 Mile Rapid, we left the river to hike up above the Redwall. We hiked two miles to Tiger Wash. There was a break in the Redwall that allowed access to the river via a steep 500′ downclimb. We rested during the hottest hours of the day with plans to push on to Fence Fault, another break in the Redwall with river access 3.5 miles downriver. Two of the crews’ feet are in total disarray and not sure how they are going to make it 10 more days. My shoes are falling apart and will need serious repair when we get to our next cache. We are almost a full day behind.
7:45 PM—We came 1.5 miles short of our destination of Fence Fault as night came over us. We are still 400′ above the river on top of the Redwall. By headlamp we downclimbed into the top of a slot where we found some potholes of water in one of the drainages that cut into the Redwall layer. We made camp here. We followed the slot and it ended up being a non–technical canyon that ended at a 400′ drop straight down to the river below. Two of the crew decided to bail on the rest of this leg at South Canyon due to severe blisters and continual heat exhaustion. That’s the right choice for these two. We are logging about four to six river miles per day, which equates to eight to 10 miles on foot. Hard, hard miles. All our shoes are seeing severe wear. My sole has a four–inch split running down it, and the sticky rubber sole layer is starting to peel off. Not good! I’m totally whipped tonight and starting to get more and more sore.
It’s truly hard to wrap your head around the scale and magnitude of what has, can and does happen in this place. When you have a chance to reflect, even on what we get to see each day, it’s truly jaw dropping.
7:15 AM—We hiked from our camp last night to South Canyon. One of the crew was not doing well and felt like passing out. We think it’s an electrolyte deficiency due to fact that we have water and that’s not working well for the crewmember. Over the past three days we’ve been pumping up his salt intake and that seems to help some (we later learned its called hyponatremia). We were in the sun above the Redwall all morning. Three of us headed out ahead to meet up with the person bringing in our extra supplies. We met him on top of the Redwall at the mouth of South Canyon at 10:30 AM. It was only two river miles, probably three foot miles, with a huge ravine we had to scramble over and a 20′ downclimb that a climber would consider 5th class but out here with this crew is only considered 4th class. We reached the resupply person and waited for two hours for the rest of the crew. We were growing concerned they were taking so long. Once they arrived we found out one of the guys needed to get into the shade and cool off. It is 98 degrees in the shade!
7 PM—We hiked a mile up into South Canyon. It is here we will gain access back up to the Redwall layer in the morning. The crew hung out in the shade and ate burritos made from rehydrated beans, beef jerky and cheese, and we jumped into potholes to cool off. We spent the night going through gear and pairing down on duplicates within the group. I shaved off another 6 lbs. by pulling out more stuff I could send out with the guys, including my solar panel, long underwear, my shelter, tent stakes and extra camera batteries. Spent the day gluing both shoes back together. The soles are peeling off, there is a hole being worn in the outer left foot from all the side hilling and I had to glue over all the stitching. Not so sure if it will hold long–term, but at this point it just needs to hold for a few days and then I can glue it again.
I’m truly on an amazing trip. There have only been 24 people who have walked the length of this massive canyon (12 as a thru–hike and 12 in sections). The amount of planning and preparation that must go into a Grand Canyon thru–hike is mind boggling but exciting and we still have to make decisions on the fly. Plans, backup plans and contingency plans are a must out here or you won’t succeed. Just knowing where to get water and how to retrieve it is critical or you will get stranded or worse. This is not your typical Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail or Continental Divide Trail thru–hike. This requires a diverse set of honed skills from efficient hiking and footwork, understanding of truly ultralight gear and systems, rope work, climbing and canyoneering, and knowing how to pare all that down to the lightest possible. Not to mention a keen knowledge of how to take care of yourself in such a remote, harsh and massive environment.
4:30 AM wake up. Said our goodbyes to the two that were heading out and hiked six miles to 36.7 Canyon where we hung out in the shade inside the slot to beat the afternoon heat. We treated water from a very small pothole, but found out it tasted pretty bad and didn’t seem to quench our thirst. At 4 PM we continued another three miles to Redbud Alcove Canyon where we made camp. Getting into these slot canyons and finding potholes is the only place to get water up here on the Redwall layer. We are forced to walk up here, as the walls are vertical down to the river making for no passage on foot at water level. Walking up here is not easy. There are washes and drainages that seem to come in every 0.3–0.8 miles and some of them are huge, requiring an hour or more to walk around.
The slot canyon is full of daddy long–legs and they are crawling over everything, including us, as we lay here. It was another solid day of hiking, and I’m now totally exhausted. Ate two dinners tonight, couscous and a penne marinara. Tomorrow we hike three miles to Buck Farm Canyon to retrieve our food cache and camp there. We will not be back to river level until we get to Phantom Ranch; therefore water resupplies need to be carefully planned out. If we miss even one of the potholes in the slot canyons where we get water or, if any are dry, we could be screwed.
After a little break we had to hike up to retrieve our caches for the next eight days to Phantom Ranch. The hike up to the head of Buck Farm Canyon was a full–on route with some 5th class climbing. We ascended 1000′ in roughly 0.6 miles to the top of the Supai Group at the base of the Coconino Sandstone layer, which is the third layer leading up to the rim (the typical geological layering of the Grand Canyon is: Tapeats Sandstone, Bright Angel Shale, Muav Limestone, Redwall Limestone, Supai Group, Hermit Shale, Coconino Sandstone, Toroweap Formation and then Kaibab Limestone). The area was beautiful and fully exposed in several places as we traversed around features on these little catwalk ledges. Retrieving the cache was like Christmas. Back at camp, we made margaritas, and passed around a plastic water bottle of oak–aged tequila and told stories while eating dinner and fixing gear. I sewed webbing straps cut off my pack as reinforcements to the back of my Dirty Girl Gaiters as they were becoming totally abraded. I covered the hand stitching with Seam Grip and they were good to go. Tonight we camp at the top of the first technical rappel in Buck Farm Canyon.
8:50 PM—three miles hike today of fairly easy terrain. The benches on top of the Redwall are getting wider now and the river is getting deeper. The side drainages are getting bigger and deeper but some are really narrow. Once arriving a mile up Buck Farm Canyon, we took a little break in the shaded slot and refilled our water from the potholes. The water we drank in 36.7 Canyon yesterday afternoon was bad. We knew it might be contaminated with big horn urine. And the more we drank, the thirstier we got. We were all feeling grumbling in our stomachs and slight diarrhea, but it was the only water we had. We ended up getting sick.
— Day 9 —
We were fully freighted, leaving Buck Farm Canyon camp with eight days of food. Thankfully we only needed a liter of water until we reached the next canyon, Burt’s Canyon, which was a mile away and also where we ate breakfast. From Burt’s Canyon and with six liters of water each, we headed towards Point Hansbrough pass to cut off three river miles where the river bends in a huge horseshoe. The view from up there was amazing and did require some 5th class moves to get up a 15′ rock band. From Point Hansbrough we climbed back down to the top of the Redwall layer and hiked to the Triple Alcoves where we hung out and ate a late lunch as well as napped in the shade for a few hours to beat the afternoon heat. We weren’t sure if there was going to be water at our next destination in Saddle Canyon and our planned camp, so we loaded up with nine liters each in the middle slot of the Triple Alcove Canyons.
Before heading out we, downclimbed into the canyon where we got to the lip of the canyon and the edge of an 800′ drop down to the river. From there the view was absolutely astonishing. We were looking at another horseshoe bend in the river and we were 800′ up at the apex of the bend with views both up and down river for what seemed like 15 miles in either direction. It was one of the most beautiful views I’ve seen in the Grand Canyon yet and perhaps ever. We spent an hour snapping photos in the late afternoon light.
We headed out towards Saddle Canyon, which is unbelievably huge, but decided we wouldn’t make the head of the canyon before dark. There is some technical traversing ahead that would not be ideal to do in headlamps. We camped on the point where Saddle Canyon converges with the Colorado. Again, one of the most beautiful camps a person could ever hope to sleep at. We were roughly 1200′ feet above the river with views down both Saddle Canyon and the Colorado. A breathtaking and the fiery sunset totally topped it off. Camping here was a unanimous decision amongst the crew as we were feeling the weight of the eight days of food and the eight to 10 liters of water per person we were carrying. Using the DeLorme inReach we were able to send out a text requesting the weather forecast. Thankfully, the temps are supposed to drop into the 80s with lows in the 50’s and a chance of showers over the next two days. The change in weather is much welcomed versus the 100–degree temps we experienced each day so far.
Today was supposed to be a layover day, but we are skipping it due to getting behind while the other two gentlemen were with us. Instead, as a reward for the hard push to just get here, we are forgoing the 4:30 AM wake up call and sleeping in. On the move by 9:00 AM, we are all sore and tired but welcome the sleeping in.
We traversed saddle canyon, 49 Mile and 49.9 Mile canyons. Super hard, but exhilarating day traversing three huge canyons; these things are big and take hours to hike around. Came across some rock art that dated back to 800–1000 years old, cool to find and see. Downclimbed from the top of the Redwall to the Little Nankoweap drainage and then down to the Colorado River. I felt like I was in ‘Lord of the Rings’ on the route down; it was jaw dropping, technical and steep. We got off the Redwall after four days and camped at Little Nankoweap on the river.
6:30 PM—Washed clothes inside a Hyperlite Mountain Gear large roll top stuff sack in the river by adding a little gravel and soap and swishing it around. It worked really well. Sipped margaritas and inhaled 1500 calories for dinner. I’m too tired to write right now, but it was an amazing day.
Started raining at 10:30 PM last night while we were all camped out on the backpacker’s beach at Nankoweap. Thankfully we had set up the Ultamid earlier in the night thinking we might see rain. Woke up at 6:00 AM and lay around the beach until 9:30 AM. We set off for Kwagunt three miles down river. On our way there it began to pour as we sidehilled our way downriver. We stopped in order to get out of the way of any rockfall and flash floods that might come down the dozens of small drainages we were crossing. And we set up the Ultamid to shield us from the rain. While setting it up, a waterfall starting running from the top of the rim 4000 feet above us. It was spectacular and, after about 10 minutes, the drainage 50′ away started to flash flood. We watched the wall of water coming down the canyon and then watched the blood red water from the drainage mix with the clear waters of the Colorado. After the flood, we saw a river trip come by, and they offered us beers as we sat in the mid and ate hot lunches. The days and nights are getting cooler now.
After an hour we set back off for Kwagunt and sat on the beach drying out our stuff from the afternoon and night before. Left there at 4:30 PM and hiked up Kwagunt canyon 1.5 miles to make camp. We set up the Ultamid on top of a hill, with long views out to the west and east, and watched a huge thunderstorm from the southwest come our way. The thunder, lightning and winds were impressive and BIG. We are all very sore and tired tonight, but we are now back on schedule.
Big mile day today, putting in nine miles which got us to River Mile 68. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but these miles are hard on your body and gear. Started at 6:30 AM and it started to pour. It was a bit chilly starting out and the rain didn’t help. We had four big passes to hump over and all our knees and joints are feeling it. We chuckled about the Ibuprofen party we were going to have once we reached camp.
It rained until roughly 2:00 PM today and we were soaked to the bone. I don’t have any changes of clothes as I sent my long underwear out with the guys that left several days ago. Thankfully the pants and shirt I do have are very quick drying. Once the rain stopped, it took only an hour before I was dry just from body heat and the wind. I’m looking forward to getting to a sunny spot and drying out gear. Between the rain and condensation in the shelter my sleeping bag is very damp too.
The four passes we had to go up and over took a toll on us. It was a great day, but it feels really good to be lying down. Hiked from Kwagunt Creek up and over a pass to Malgosa Creek Canyon. Up and out then down to Awatubi Canyon. The same for Sixtymile Canyon and finally up and over to Lava Creek where there are springs to fill up on water. We camped here.
I’m totally blown away that none of our shoes are going to make it more that 16 days hiking out here.
Thunderstorm and high winds last night. We were all concerned we might lose the Ultamid. Thankfully the large rock anchors held and we stayed dry. The two lashed together trekking poles were bowing in the high winds, but held just fine.
We hiked up Lava Creek and turned off to head up towards Cape Final Pass. It was a 1200′ bushwhack through thick brush for ¾ miles to the pass. The north facing gullies are full of brush, which made the slog slow–going; we had to claw our way up through the sharp and pointy bushes on loose rock. We reached the pass after two hours; there we ate lunch and dried our gear in the wind. There are lots of clouds in the sky keeping the sun away. Just about everything we own was wet or damp from the three days of rain and four guys hunkered down in the Ultamid. From the pass we hiked down into the Unkar drainage where we met up with a friend who is one of the Grand Canyon backcountry park rangers and will be joining us tonight and tomorrow. He, too, is using a Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack. Tomorrow we are attempting Vishnu Peak, which is a gigantic 7600′ pyramid shaped rock pile. It is one impressive looking mountain here in the middle of the canyon. I spent the evening cleaning all the mud out from under the rubber soles of my shoes and gluing them back together with Gorilla Glue.
We hiked up to Vishnu Pass and arrived at 9:30 AM. Took a 15–min snack break and discussed the climb to Vishnu Peak, another 2000 feet above us. Out of the group of four, two of us decided to stay back and hang out on the saddle, dry our gear and charge solar batteries for the afternoon. This morning was really dewy and our sleeping bags were soaked when we woke up after cowboy camping. That, plus the four days of rain we had earlier, meant that my sleeping bag was in need of some love. The climb to the summit took over two hours and there were some class 5 moves. The route finding was the hardest thing and getting into the wrong steep gully would lead to dead–end cliff bands and would be time consuming. The route finding on the way down was even more difficult and took 2.5 hours to get back got the saddle. I was bummed I made the decision not to climb it, but I just wasn’t feeling it today. I feel grateful for 190 miles we’ve come so far and enjoyed the entire adventure to get here.
We are deep into the Grand Canyon right now and several miles off the river corridor. Looking back from the pass back at where we came from and what we went through was priceless. And looking the opposite direction at where we still needed to go was breathtaking. I was filled with a feeling of a sense of sadness knowing in two days I’d be hiking up the Bright Angel trail from Phantom Ranch and back to reality after 15 days and 200+ miles of the hardest, most technical hiking I’ve ever done through the Grand Canyon’s Marble Canyon. The planning to complete the rest of this thru–hike has already begun.
Today was another big–mile day. We left Vishnu Creek at 7 AM and hiked up the pass at Hall Butte to get on top of the Redwall again. It was steep and long, but not too difficult. We traversed two miles on top of the Redwall to the saddle at Angels Gate were we then dropped down into the east branch of Clear Creek. The Redwall traverse from the saddle down into Clear Creek was super steep and required class 5 downclimbing in three spots. Looking over the edge we weren’t even sure if the route was going to go. However, the more we committed the more the route opened up. Once in the east branch of Clear Creek we followed the drainage to a 200′ pourover we hiked up and around to avoid. The rest of the way to the main fork of Clear Creek was forward winding through the slot canyon. From there we headed upstream on the main fork of Clear Creek where we climbed 400′ to the intersection of the Clear Creek Trail and arrived at 2:30. It was another six miles on the Clear Creek Trail to the Samper Drainage where we made camp. We ended up two miles from Phantom Ranch.
Tomorrow the crew will retrieve their next eight–day cache and we will have a beer at the cantina before we part ways. The rest of the crew will be hiking up Phantom Canyon to Hippy Camp and I will be hiking up the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim Village.
Mike St. Pierre
Tales of Thru–Hiking Grand Canyon:
The Grandest Walk • Rich Rudow
Adventures below the Rim • Mike St. Pierre
© 2015 Mike St. Pierre