I made plans months ago and received a permit to hike down the Grandview Trail to New Hance Rapids and on up the Red Canyon Trail. I had hiked this same route about 11 years ago, yet many things seemed unfamiliar and new. We were a group of 10 and spent two nights at the river. As always, words can’t describe the beauty there. We left from Prescott around 5:30am for the trailhead. Since our ending trailhead was a different trail, we set up our shuttle system before starting our hike at 8:45. Grandview trail isn’t an easy one. We descended 2,000 ft in 3 miles to Horshoe Mesa. We then quickly descended the Redwall down to the Tonto Trail for another 6 miles to New Hance Rapids. Our total mileage was 11.5 miles and we just made it to camp at dark. It was a long haul but well worth the effort. The cool sandy beach felt luxurious. The weather was a warm 78 and we enjoyed quite a bit of shade from the low Autumn sun. Here are some pictures highlighting our first day:
 |
| notice the smoky haze from a North Rim fire |
 |
| gorgeous morning light |
 |
| butte-y-ful |
 |
| fall colors |
 |
| descending the rugged Redwall |
 |
| copper with blue patina |
 |
| Page Springs |
 |
| barrel cactus living on the edge |
 |
| looking up Hance Creek from Tonto Trail, Cottonwood trees below |
 |
| trekking along |
 |
| late afternoon, last descent to the river |
 |
| first good view of the river, looking west |
 |
| New Hance Rapids below, looked closer than it took to get down there |
