South Canyon to Vasey's Paradise

First task is to find the elusive South Canyon trailhead. From Fredonia: Drive highway 89A, bypassing the turnoff on highway 67 to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Turn right between mile posts 559 and 560. This is House Rock Buffalo Ranch Road. Continue on the dirt road for about 20 miles then turn left onto Road #632. After another mile and half turn right. The road is usually passable with a 2WD, but after rains or snow the road can become difficult even with a 4WD. The last 2 miles are the worst.

There were 4 of us in our party. My usual hiking partner and best friend Bo, and two others we had met on the net; Doc and his son Pepe. We walked (Bo of course ran) to the edge of the canyon and peered over the side. Our trip was the last weekend in January 2005 and we were set for a three day backpack to the Colorado River. The air was brisk and the forcast was for rain and cold, but I felt comfortable in my warm hi-tech attire and there were no complaints from anyone.

Bo led the way as usual, always setting a good pace and providing excellent route finding for the rest of the group. Doc and Pepe preferred to hike slower and stayed behind us following our footsteps and taking a lot of photo breaks. The initial scramble down into South Canyon was not as bad as I expected. I was afraid we would be in for the loose terrain we found on the Lava Falls Trail in Toroweap. We started down the chimney and in less than an hour we were on the canyon floor. The start of the hike was uneventful and sprouted comments like ... "there must be better views ahead."

That there was! We were lucky enough to hike South Canyon when the water was flowing and the gentle, clear stream running over the bedrock was wonderful. We passed many waterfalls, large and small. I loved the nature-made artistic fountains that would have cost a fortune to have in our yards. Our trip in was relaxed, stopping often to take photos, to have lunch and to just enjoy the scenery and laugh.

Closer to the river, there was relentless boulder hopping, as we went down in elevation. The hike down is without a doubt the easy part of this adventure! Beware, what you go down you must go back up!

Before long you will hear the loud roar of the Colorado River. Where South Canyon meets the Colorado is a set of rapids, so its noisy. Soon you will get your first peek of the river. Follow the cairns and the beaten path and you will drop down onto a sandy beach. Note there is quite a bit of bouldering and narrow paths on this hike so carry as little as possible. Continue to the next beach where you can set up camp. (Although its noisy at this camp due to the rapids)

The second day we set out hiking. To find the trail to Stanton's Cave, climb up the rock fall at the back of the campground. We set out along the river and due to the high water level it was a scary and dangerous scramble in some spots. (According to 3 of us! Bo was happy to dance around it. Never go hiking with a rock climber if you dont want to go scarey places! ~laughing~) Doc and Pepe chose to stay at camp and rest after looking at the trail we chose and they were exhausted from the hike in. Bo and I set out to find Vasey's Paradise, a wonderful set of waterfalls roaring out of the side of the mountain. Also visit Stanton’s Cave (a natural cave), the nearby smaller man-made cave with bolts and wires in front where a dam was set to be built at one time, and further down river (on the other side of the river) is the Redwall Cavern.

Before dark Bo ran (along that slippery slope) down to Vasey's to get some fresh spring water, filtered it and brought back plenty for the night and the trip back.

The rain chased us into the tents at dark even though we did not want to go yet. It turned out to be good, at least for me because I slept until I was handed a hot cup of postum in the morning. Still groggy after a good night sleep (rare for me in such a place) I spilled it on my bag and pad. Bummer.. but with all the other wet gear from the rain it just sort of blended in and was not so bad.

We set out at 10am to head back to the vehicles. We followed the same path we took to come on. The uphill climb was steady the whole way and quite an invigorating hike. Bo filtered a little more water from the stream and put everyone's heavy stuff in his pack before heading up to the rim. (He likes to carry rocks uphill! Don't feel too sorry for him) The last push out to the top of the rim was tough, but nothing like I thought. (Again thinking of Lava Falls!) We were at the top after only a couple of very brief rests. It took us 5 hours for the hike out (from campground to the rim) with a stop for lunch included. I might become a hiker yet!

Thanks guys for the trip! It was a blast!