As Jack and I finish packing at Grandview Point a tourist passes by and asks why we aren’t hiking Bright Angel.  My first thought is, “Dude, you have no idea how many different answers I have to that question.”  Instead I mumble something about fewer people and continue preparations.

Two heavy winter storms have passed through in the last week and there is a lot of leftover snow and ice on the upper parts of Grandview Trail.  The going is slow as our footsteps repeatedly plunge through heavy snow up to our knees in places.  One switchback has a protruding boulder jutting out over a section of trail that has become very narrow on account of the snow; cautious sidestepping gets us past this obstacle.  I am using new Microspikes on my boots and they are a tremendous help for some of the steep, icy sections of trail.  Just below the Hance/Cottonwood saddle I hear a thunderous rockfall somewhere in the Redwall layer below.

This is the most snow and ice I’ve ever hiked through on Grandview Trail and it’s a relief to finally remove crampons just above Horseshoe Mesa. We stop for lunch on the mesa and inspect what’s left of the old mining cabin.

From here we descend the west side of Horseshoe Mesa. Near the base of the Redwall I see a solo hiker maybe half a mile away on our trail, heading our direction, and approaching the bed of the easternmost arm of Cottonwood Creek. The hiker continues to stop every few paces and looks around, presumably also at us. When we reach the creek bed I assume the hiker will pass us any moment, but we never see him (or her) again.

Don’t know where that hiker went but there is nobody in any of the Cottonwood Creek sites, so we apparently have the creek all to ourselves.  We setup in the same place we did almost three years ago, on the east side of the creek above the Tonto junction.

Day 2 – Cottonwood Creek to Hance Creek:

I’m up at the faintest first light around 6:30, and before Jack which is rare, then down to the creek to filter some water for the day’s hike. Back in camp Jack says he saw a skunk in the middle of the night during nature’s call.

As we begin our loop below Horseshoe Mesa along the Tonto Trail I am excited about the trail ahead. These five miles to Hance Creek are new territory for me and my last untraveled stretch below the South Rim between Boucher Creek and Palisades Creek. As we ascend through the Tapeats, Jack points out a nicer campsite downstream of the Tonto Trail junction.

It’s good to be back on the Tonto, and contouring around the west arm of Horseshoe Mesa is a breeze. We take a short break in the main drainage beneath the two arms of the mesa and I spot two mule deer on a slope to the west of us.

Continuing east we reach the crest of a low saddle near the Tonto-level foot of Hance Creek Canyon. I quickly stop and point out another herd of mule deer to Jack, but within seconds a closer inspection reveals it is a large herd of desert bighorns. Counting out eight bighorns, it is the largest herd I have seen in The Canyon. We admire them for some time before they finally spook off over a ridge in the distance.

We decide to stop for lunch here at a nearby rock outcropping. There are many bighorn tracks and sign around, indicating this place is probably frequented by the herd we just witnessed. Some of our gear is frost dampened from this morning so we lay things out to dry.

After lunch the trek continues as we swing southward along the Tonto into Hance Creek Canyon. Near the halfway point of this side canyon I spot the shortcut down into the bottom through a break in the Tapeats that I have heard about. A brief scout by Jack reveals there are some spotty cairns and faint game trails, so this route definitely goes, good to know for future exploration reference.

Eventually we make our way down to Hance Creek and find we have camp to ourselves again, so we set up downstream below a large cottonwood, still keeping in line with the necessary snoring buffer zone. There’s still time for a day-hike so we head upstream. The creek quickly vanishes into subsurface flow and in less than an hour we are at the major east/west fork of Hance Creek.

There is a large Redwall cave or cavern perhaps a half mile away in the east fork, and the west fork looks appealing for further exploration, but we are running out of daylight to return so we head back to camp.

Day 3 – Hance Creek to Horseshoe Mesa:

The trek back up to Horseshoe Mesa is familiar ground for us, so we make good time up to Page Spring. Stop here for the last chance to filter some water before reaching our dry camp up on the mesa.

Continuing up the Redwall we both stop briefly at Last Chance Mine, which has been closed to visitation since the last time I passed through. Apparently some bats have moved in that the Park Service wish to remain undisturbed.

Back atop the mesa, there is no one in camp again, a welcomed trip long theme. We grub some lunch and then head out for another day-hike. First stop, a return visit to Cave of the Domes where we reacquaint ourselves. Since we’ve also previously been out to the west arm of the mesa, the next leg on our hike is out to the east arm, but to save time we contour around the north side of Horseshoe Mesa Butte until we link up with the east arm path.

The trail is faint in places out to the edge, but the direction and flow of travel is obvious. The end of the east arm affords some outstanding Canyon views, from west to east the most prominent features: Zoroaster and Brahma Temples, Angel’s Gate, Wotan’s Throne, and last but certainly not least Vishnu Temple. Wish I could sit here a lot longer.

Back in camp we expected a very cold night, but some moderate cloud cover keeps the temperature reasonably above freezing. The weather’s been about as good as you could hope for in December on this trip.

Day 4 – Horseshoe Mesa to Grandview Point:

As we leave the mesa on our return to the rim we encounter another hiker for the first time since the vanishing hiker of Day 1. He has day-hiked down here, using snowshoes for most of the trail, which has thankfully padded down much of the snow for our ascent.

We departed at staggered times and I catch back up to Jack below the Hance/Cottonwood saddle where we take short breaks. The rest of the trek out still has lots of snow and some slippery sections, but we make good time to the cold beers that await us at the trailhead parking area.