I acquired a permit to hike the Grand Canyon in July, excited to backpack once again at this amazing place. This would end up being a family trip with two of my brothers, some of their kids, a friend, and a niece. It’s always fun to have new hikers along, to experience the excitement and impressions of being inside the Grand Canyon for the first time. The Hermit Trail is a favorite of mine because of the availability of water at Santa Maria Springs and then at Hermit Creek or Monument Creek. This time, we would head over to Monument Creek and follow that route to Granite Rapids. This would be my third time on this route, and I looked forward to seeing the area again. We traveled to the trailhead early in the morning, it was the second weekend of November. We expected cooler weather, mid 20s on the rim for the lows. We got started hiking about 9:30, dropping down quickly to Santa Maria Springs for a break. The trail meandered in and out of the shade. We welcomed the warm sun for a lunch break and enjoyed the views. The trail had a series of short drops and flatter winding sections before arriving at the top of bigger descent often called the Redwall. Then, the trail scrambled and twisted to the Tonto Trail junction where the Hermit Trail ends at 7 miles down. We still had over 3 miles to the river and a few hours of daylight. Taking a right on the Tonto Trail, we soon saw the river but not our destination. It seemed so close! However, the trail pulled us away to an accessible descent into Monument Creek. A 130 foot rock tower greeted us to a last approximately 1.5 mile shuffle through wash that zig-zagged to Granite Rapids. Finally there, we found a campsite below the rapids on a sandy surface. We set up tents in the fading light and made dinner. The lows predicted for the night were in the high 30s. The tent helped keep the wind off and I bundled up as well to keep warm. I slept pretty good with the sound of the rapids serenating me. Soft morning light awoke me at 7:00, so I got up to photograph the light drop into the canyon. It was peaceful and I spotted a desert bighorn sheep. Later, after breakfast, I set up with my paints by the rapids for a few plein air paintings. Our second night would be at Monument Creek, and we got going about 3pm. The glow of afternoon light was dazzling all the way to the campsite. We set up camp and explored the narrows of Monument Creek. Laster, a quiet darkness and a star-filled sky kept us in wonderment. We saw many mice at this camping spot, whereas just a few at the river. We woke up early and got moving at 6:30 on the Tonto Trail. Just before the Redwall section we saw a couple desert bighorns close to the trail. What a treat! We continued upward arriving at Santa Maria Springs for a light lunch. The final 2.5 miles was steep and felt warm in the sunshine. At last, we made it to the top glad to the hard work was done. Here is a slideshow of favorite photos to document the trip:
