Appalachia
11-02-2009, 03:55 PM
Hello, Everyone,
I'm putting in the last-minute preparations for my trip from Atlanta to AZ/UT next week. My boyfriend and I (both experienced cold weather backpackers, long-distance runners, scramblers, peak baggers, etc.) are planning to backpack in Grand Gulch for several days during the second week of November.
I'd greatly appreciate some information from the locals.
1) We are seeing high temps of 50 or so in Mexican Hat (that's where we're staying Saturday night before we set out) and around freezing at night. We are used to those temps when we winter backpack in the South, so we will be prepared and have the proper gear. I am actually hoping that it will be fairly warm at the bottom of the gulch, much like it is in Grand Canyon and that maybe the drier air out there will actually make it feel warmer than equivalent temps here in the damp South. Should we expect snow or icy rock, especially in the side canyons?
2) I have books that list the perennial water sources in the Gulch, can we rely on those? What sort of water filter should we bring? I understand the water can be quite silty. We generally use drops to purify water, but it sounds like we'll need a Pur or MSF filter or similar.
3) Our tentative trip plan is to park at Todie Canyon and enter through there, and then head south through Grand Gulch, exit through Bullet Canyon and then walk back to Todie Canyon parking. We will have a small economy car. Will it be a problem to get to the trail head? Also, I understand that Todie Canyon can be pretty treacherous with all the scrambling and downclimbing. We are planning to bring a rope to help lower our packs, etc. Would it be easier to climb DOWN through Todie rather than climbing up through Todie? We don't mind all the scrambling, climbing, etc. since we are used to doing that kind of thing around here. I do wonder, however, how bad it could be if it were icy.
4) If we enter through Todie rather than Kane, will we miss a lot of the interesting ruins from Kane down to Todie? We are planning on spending three or four days to explore the Todie/Grand/Sheiks/Bullet areas.
5) Our plan after we surface at Bullet and then walk back to Todie is to then drive down Hwy 261 to the Government Trail parking area and then enter Grand Gulch through Polly's. We would spend three or days so in that area. Is that a fairly easy climb in? I haven't been able to find much information on it. We would then hike to Grand Gulch and then head south to Water Canyon and exit there. I haven't found much information on how difficult it is to exit Water Canyon. Maps show a parking area near the top of that Canyon that says "Drill Hole" but, again, I haven't found much information on it.
6) Are we missing anything by not exploring Grand Gulch from Bullet down to Polly's? I understand that area is quite overgrown and difficult to navigate (not that we don't enjoy bushwhacking!).
7) What weather conditions would have to exist to make this type of trip "undoable"? In a worst case scenario, if we weren't able to pull off this trip, what would be a good "Plan B"? I'm thinking if it's REALLY bad, we'd just head south and do something in Arizona!
Thanks in advance for your help, everyone!
Cheers,
Lucinda
I'm putting in the last-minute preparations for my trip from Atlanta to AZ/UT next week. My boyfriend and I (both experienced cold weather backpackers, long-distance runners, scramblers, peak baggers, etc.) are planning to backpack in Grand Gulch for several days during the second week of November.
I'd greatly appreciate some information from the locals.
1) We are seeing high temps of 50 or so in Mexican Hat (that's where we're staying Saturday night before we set out) and around freezing at night. We are used to those temps when we winter backpack in the South, so we will be prepared and have the proper gear. I am actually hoping that it will be fairly warm at the bottom of the gulch, much like it is in Grand Canyon and that maybe the drier air out there will actually make it feel warmer than equivalent temps here in the damp South. Should we expect snow or icy rock, especially in the side canyons?
2) I have books that list the perennial water sources in the Gulch, can we rely on those? What sort of water filter should we bring? I understand the water can be quite silty. We generally use drops to purify water, but it sounds like we'll need a Pur or MSF filter or similar.
3) Our tentative trip plan is to park at Todie Canyon and enter through there, and then head south through Grand Gulch, exit through Bullet Canyon and then walk back to Todie Canyon parking. We will have a small economy car. Will it be a problem to get to the trail head? Also, I understand that Todie Canyon can be pretty treacherous with all the scrambling and downclimbing. We are planning to bring a rope to help lower our packs, etc. Would it be easier to climb DOWN through Todie rather than climbing up through Todie? We don't mind all the scrambling, climbing, etc. since we are used to doing that kind of thing around here. I do wonder, however, how bad it could be if it were icy.
4) If we enter through Todie rather than Kane, will we miss a lot of the interesting ruins from Kane down to Todie? We are planning on spending three or four days to explore the Todie/Grand/Sheiks/Bullet areas.
5) Our plan after we surface at Bullet and then walk back to Todie is to then drive down Hwy 261 to the Government Trail parking area and then enter Grand Gulch through Polly's. We would spend three or days so in that area. Is that a fairly easy climb in? I haven't been able to find much information on it. We would then hike to Grand Gulch and then head south to Water Canyon and exit there. I haven't found much information on how difficult it is to exit Water Canyon. Maps show a parking area near the top of that Canyon that says "Drill Hole" but, again, I haven't found much information on it.
6) Are we missing anything by not exploring Grand Gulch from Bullet down to Polly's? I understand that area is quite overgrown and difficult to navigate (not that we don't enjoy bushwhacking!).
7) What weather conditions would have to exist to make this type of trip "undoable"? In a worst case scenario, if we weren't able to pull off this trip, what would be a good "Plan B"? I'm thinking if it's REALLY bad, we'd just head south and do something in Arizona!
Thanks in advance for your help, everyone!
Cheers,
Lucinda