Garden Creek Feb 24

The Grand Canyon. This was my first time back since I was booted from the park by the government shutdown last year while hiking the Hayduke Trail, and before that when I rafted the river way back in 2008. Thankfully the bureaucracy ran smoothly this time and we got our overnight backcountry permit at the South Rim with remarkable ease and spare time to drive to some of the viewpoints before selecting a camp in the nearby national forest. First up was Garden Creek, the second highest flow canyoning trip in the Grand Canyon after Lower Deer Creek (which is currently closed)- we were looking forward to getting wet!

After a frosty night high on the South Rim, we drove to the Bright Angel Trail shortly after dawn to begin the long descent. We could see the canyon from several viewpoints- it looked so remarkably close, just below us. A raven could reach it in a matter of minutes. However a 6 mile switchbacked trail and over 4000ft of elevation stood between us on the canyon so it took us almost 2 hours to reach the start of the canyon. At the top of the trail I scoffed at the sign that said "crampons recommended" and then promptly slid on a patch of black ice. 

Along the way down we descended through every major rock unit in the Grand Canyon: Kaibab Limestone, Toroweap Formation, Coconino Sandstone, Supai Group, Redwall Limestone, Muav Limestone, Bright Angel Shale, Tapeats Sandstone and Vishnu Schist, using the stratigraphy as a guide for the elevation left to lose. Once down the Redwall the trail flattens out to a gentler gradient on the Tonto Platform and crosses through Indian Garden, a surprisingly lush stand of trees, cacti and wetland plants associated with a voluminous spring. Down from Indian Garden the trail follows the creek on benches through some pleasant Tapeats narrows before the trail crosses over a low saddle and abandons the creek- it is right here off the most popular trail in the park, under the tourists' shadows, that over 700ft of waterfalls lurk in a short, but spectacular, stretch of canyon.

        At the start of the canyon

The canyon itself is quite unique for the Grand Canyon. It is the second highest flow canyon being fed by a perennial spring year-round and cuts through the hard Vishnu Schist in a very steep and youthful gorge (all the other larger creeks have more gradual descents to the river). Geomorphology indicates that the creek likely used to flow through the now dry drainage to its right (where the trail goes) before it was deflected (possibly by rockfall) to its present position. The creek then cut through the Tapeats Sandstone and evolved headward- a classic example of a gorge created by a propagating knickpoint. It is probably one of the youngest gorges in the Grand Canyon.

We half suited up and stashed our hiking shoes, poles and water for the return. I suited up at the first pool and looked over to see Jeff struggling to fit his head through the gasket in his new (highly used) drysuit. It was clear it would not fit him and was soon revealed that he had not tried it on before. After some desperate moments (it would be a very bad idea to go through the canyon with only half a dry suit and calling it a day and hiking back to the rim was a similarly undesirable option. I suggested the drysuit might fit me if my wetsuit fit him. So our costumes were swapped and although my movement was somewhat restricted, we were now good to go. The head gasket had enormous holes in the seal which meant for me this would not be the slide and jump trip I was envisioning. First disaster averted, we dropped into the water!

The flow for this little canyon was impressive and greatly added to the appeal. The smooth water-worn walls of Vishnu had a light orange patina which turned golden in the right light. We carefully downclimbed, slid and rappelled through a string of pools and waterfalls. Gradually the features grew in size. The bigger the waterfalls, the bigger the hydraulics. There were some great chutes and roostertails. This canyon was fantastic! Before long the bottom started dropping out and we reached the impressive horizon line of the 400ft waterfall.

Here at the top of the 400 ft waterfall is where the bolt station locations started to complicate things. I went down first, noting the large amount of friction on the rope that was going to make our pull very difficult. Once I reached the halfway bolt station I gave the whistle to Jeff to follow. Both at the station now, we were unable to get the rope to budge an inch beyond its stretch. This was a cold, wet place and we needed to get out of here somehow. I brought ascending gear for just this situation. I tried pulling the rope from the next small ledge but this was no better. Finally I came up with the winning solution: have Jeff attach the end of the rope to the mid-wall station, ascend the rope 30 ft, pull the pullcord until the rope was taught against its anchored end, rappel off the pullcord back to the station, detach the rope, then both of us could pull the pullcord and rope free. Although I got cold and wet through these shenanigans, and the pull should not have been difficult considering everything had been bolted (poor bolt station locations), the problem solving aspect was really enjoyable. It's a very satisfying feeling after problem solving your way out of being stuck halfway down a 400ft waterfall! Second disaster averted!

Thankfully this big falls was not even the grand finale. Several more drops, slides and even a swim existed downstream. A 120ft rappel down a steep chute falls was particularly beautiful. A few more obstacles and we emerged into the sun, back on the Bright Angel Trail. As we dried gear in the warm sun and snacked, we waved at the passing hikers, all oblivious to the amazing place we just came from.

Although early afternoon, and the canyon itself took just under 3hrs, we still had over 4000ft of elevation to surmount before we would regain the rim. Jeff and I both felt surprisingly shattered by the time we reached the rim just after sunset. I drove, exhausted, out the east entrance to lower elevation (warmer!) national forest land where we carried out the seemingly difficult task of throwing a mat and sleeping bag out and falling asleep (did I mention we were tired!?). It is a bummer about the awkward bolt choices, but Garden is a great canyon! Photos of me by Jeff. Thanks to him.