[rubywrangler]

Continuing the trend of out of state trips... Julia and I met up on the north rim on the day before Thanksgiving for our second annual turkey day in the canyon. I had saved a bunch of info and TRs from this area on my phone but hadn't really read them yet, so we didn't have much of a (any) plan. We loaded up with water and set out from the saddle mountain trailhead (the lower elevation option off of buffalo ranch road/fr 8910) around 11am, hiked through a 2016 burn scar, and climbed 1500' to the park boundary/rim. Then we descended on the very meandering nankoweap trail to tilted mesa, where we dry camped in very windy conditions. Luckily there was a wind bunker waiting for us there. The park service description describes this as "MOST difficult of the named trails in Grand Canyon" but its really not that different from other non-corridor trails. Our camp spot was very scenic with views to nanko creek, mesa and butte as well as little nanko creek and lots of other stuff.

a new wilderness

on the nankoweap trail

on the nankoweap trail

On day 2 we descended the rest of the way to nankoweap creek, then headed downstream to the river. We crossed paths with a couple other backpackers and then two trail runners who were part of a very kind private river rafting trip on a layover day. We took a break for lunch on the beach and then hiked up to the nankoweap granaries - WOW what a spectacular view! After awhile we headed back to the beach to find a campsite. On the way we passed through the rafters' camp and they invited us back later. We found a sweet campsite on a private beach facing downstream and I ate my first (home cooked and dehydrated) thanksgiving dinner. Then we walked over to the rafters camp where they fed us another thanksgiving dinner of traditional sides plus ham, plus beverages, around a campfire. It was a really lovely evening and I went to bed properly overstuffed.

sunrise self portrait

tilted mesa view toward nanko creek

julia in the wind fortress

nanko creek - mesa - butte

looking back to tilted mesa

nanko creek

granaries

nanko granaries

view from camp

Day 3 was a little slow starting due to the previous night's fun times. After a quick detour up the granaries trail for photos we headed back up nankoweap creek from whence we came. We dropped overnight gear in a creekside campsite we had noticed the previous day, and headed for nankoweap mesa. The route goes up a gully which starts easy, and then splits, then comes back together. We took the left fork because the right fork looked kind of brushy. It was fun and solid until the last bit of steep scree we had to climb to get out. We ended up on a ridge overlooking the other gully and worked our way down to it easily. We kept going straight up this gully and ended up at a saddle. According to caltopo we were on route, but caltopo is wrong. After wandering a little further and re-reading some descriptions we determined that we had missed a turn, so we dropped down and climbed up to a different saddle a little further east, where we found a bootpath. The path faded after we descended but eventually we worked our way to the main gully which leads all the way up to the mesa. It is long and scrambly but mostly not difficult. This description was very helpful for the section above the Hermit shale.

fall color

en route to nanko mesa, above the first gully

en route to nanko mesa

only 1000' feet to go

route climbs up to the right here

climbing talus to the final saddle

Nankoweap mesa is huge and has all kinds of views. We spent over an hour criss-crossing it from side to side and end to see them all. Then it was time to go. We were running low on daylight and hoped to get down to the bottom of the main gully before dark. Almost made it. Then up and over the saddle and back to the split gully. We took the other fork this time which was a mistake imo, it was more difficult and not fun by headlamp (but probably would have been fun to ascend in the daylight). It took a long time and I was totally zoned out and then suddenly we popped out in nankoweap creek! It was late and cold so we ate dinner quickly, guzzled hot chocolate, and went to bed.

nanko mesa view

tiny glimpse of river

nanko mesa

nanko mesa looking south(ish)

descending

On Day 4 we decided to move camp upstream in one of the nanko side canyons to be in a better position to try an off-trail route out of the canyon. Then we explored Mystic canyon, which was FREEZING. It is one of those narrow side canyons that does not see the sun at this time of year. As per usual I only had running shorts so I was extra freezing, and every little branch that smacked my legs felt like a whip. But it was worth it once we made it to mystic falls, a huge waterfall that flows from a perennial spring high in the canyon. From there we tried to decipher the location of some granaries based on cryptic reports, and were able to locate them not far from the falls. From the granaries I spotted another something in the wall across the canyon that looked distinctly not natural so we hiked over to check that out and found some more ruins, accessible only via a steep gully far from any trail. We found some old corn cobs in these ones. I don't think they see many visitors. We made it back to camp in time to watch the sunset, had dinner and went to bed early as we planned to get an early start the next day.

heading upstream

sieber pt

mystic falls

mystic falls

mystic falls

granaries

mystic falls

mystic falls

spotted another building in the wall across the canyon

On our last day we took the Marion-Sieber route, also known as the "freefall" route due to its directness, which climbs ~3 mi to the rim that between Marion point and Sieber point. The descriptions of this route are very convoluted and past reports had indicated that it could take anywhere from 8-14 hours. But we found it to be pretty straightforward. You follow the canyon between the two points (marked with occasional cairns) (some scrambling required but not continuous) until it splits, then follow a cairn on the left up a scree slope, then keep going up until you get the supai, then follow cairns back to the trail. It took us a little over 4 hours to get back to the rim, and another hour to the car where very very cold car beers and snacks were waiting. Then a long drive back to flagstaff for excellent burgers at Diablo burger.

starting out on marion-sieber

climbing above the 5600' spring

typical scrambling up the canyon

looking back down the steep scree slope, almost out of the gully

looking back down the final scrambly bit

in the supai!

climbing through the supai

back on the trail

Fun time in a new part of the canyon for me. Thankful to get to spend a few days here with good company, again!

[zephyr]

So many beautiful images. Great report. It was fun to hear about your making friends with fellow adventurers along the way. Those homes in the great wall/crack raise a lot of questions. ~z

[Eric Hansen]

Great pictures and report Megan. You are styling, doing some great routes there.

[silence]

Again, just went back and read your detailed and insightful report for a 2nd time. First off, great photos as always! They help so much to support your awesome and challenging trip. I love imagining how life was in the past, for both for the Navajos and the whites. Thanks so much for sharing your boots on the ground experience. I wish we could do this some day from the rim, but think the only way now for our old legs would be from the river. Please just keep on truckin'

[drewcoll]

This looks awesome. Did you need National Park permits for camping, or were you only camping in the national forest? Were they easy to get?

[rubywrangler]

We camped in the park and needed permits - the rim is the boundary. In my experience, permits are not that difficult to get for non-corridor sites in November. We got ours about 2 weeks in advance. But this was our second choice so there is still some competition.