Grand Canyon Hikers Symposium 2007:
Grand Switchbacks

9:00 AM Introductions, ground-rules, any schedule changes, other, introduce first speaker

9:15 AM Chris Forsyth and Doug Nering; How Do We Cross the River? 

In April 2007, Chris Forsyth and Doug Nering traveled down the Tanner, crossed the river above Lava Chuar, went up Lava to the still site, the ruin in upper Lava below Chiavria and up Chuar part-way over and down West Carbon.  They camped at Butte Fault after trekking to Lava and back for water.  They then headed up East Carbon up and down to the join of arms in Sixty-Mile and back to the river at Carbon for another ride across the river and out the Tanner.

A hiker since his Boy Scout days, Chris Forsyth first hiked Grand Canyon in 1981 when he day-hiked to Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail.  Chris’s Grand Canyon mania was really fired up in 2003 when friends invited him on a rim-to-rim trip.  Since then he has hiked most of the "named" trails and some off-trial routes, often backpacking with his teenage son. Chris figures he has spent more than 35 nights below the rim in the past year including a memorable New Year's Eve in the Phantom Ranch Cantina. In March, he crossed the Colorado for the first time using a one-man raft.  When he's not in the Canyon, he can most often be found day hiking in Phoenix or Sedona.

Doug Nering's first visit to Grand Canyon was the North Rim at age 3 -- first hike to the bottom at 12.  Doug rode the river from Lees Ferry to Temple Bar in 1968, and led his first backcountry trip at age 20. Since then he has hiked over 280 days below the rim and rafted Grand Canyon 5 times. Doug began hiking to the more remote places when he went with George Steck and Gary Ladd around Powell Plateau in 1990, which included the Stina flash flood incident described in Grand Canyon Loop Hikes. His special interest is re-discovering historic trails and old routes, with a respectable collection of books and old maps for reference.

9:40 AM Jeri Grandy; Thunder River/Deer Creek 

Standing at the Bill Hall trailhead with a full pack plus extra gallons of water, Jeri planted her feet hard to resist the gusts of cold wind determined to blow her over the edge. Way down below the rim lay the Esplanade. Their first campsite would be down there, somewhere. This backpacking adventure with the Grand Canyon Field Institute in September 2004 was led by geologist Christa Sadler.  For six days the group hiked along Tapeats Creek, visited Thunder River Falls, dropped to the Colorado River, followed the river to Deer Creek, hiked up to The Patio, crossed Surprise Valley back to the Esplanade, and returned to the Bill Hall trailhead. The entire loop was about 22 miles plus the unmeasured miles of exploratory hikes on layover days. This adventure in geology revealed one of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes Jeri had witnessed so far in the Grand Canyon.

Jeri Grandy is an avid hiker, trekker, and traveler, both at home and internationally, and an occasional kayaker and cross-country skier.  When she’s not playing outdoors and taking photos, she serves on the Board of the Grand Canyon Association and leads docent programs at the Museum of Northern Arizona. In her spare time she conducts research in educational testing, statistics, program evaluation, and questionnaire survey methods.

10:05 AM Kathleen and Rob Jones; Snake Gulch to Sowats Point 

Kathleen and Rob Jones will speak about the Kanab Creek Wilderness: Snake Gulch to Sowats Point, April 29th to May 8th, 2006.  This is a report about a cooperative backpack in the Kanab Creek Wilderness in Northern Arizona. These intrepid Sierra Clubbers backpacked down Snake Gulch to where it meets Kanab Creek, along Kanab Creek to the Ranger Trail 41. On the Ranger, they hiked to Lower Jumpup Spring and then to Mountain Sheep Spring before hiking out of the wilderness to Sowats Point. Eleven of them started the venture. By design, four hiked out Swapp Trail after four days. The remaining seven hiked the entire distance. Along the way, they encountered many pictos and lots of wilderness.  It's wild, lovely country.  In nine days, they saw two people and no! cows.

Kathleen Jones is a California native. While there, she served on the Sierra Club Yosemite Committee and as an Executive Committee member in California, and later for the Utah Sierra Club.  Yet, don't refer to Kathleen as an Utahan, ever!  She saw living in Utah as an opportunity to vote against Oral Hatch.  Kathleen was an English teacher in at-risk schools in central California.  She is currently studying Spanish and exploring the terrific public lands near Flagstaff.  She and Rob volunteer-staffed a forest service patrol cabin for two months in the midst of the Frank Church Wilderness (the largest wilderness in the contiguous U.S.!) at river mile 35 on the Middle Fork Salmon.

Rob Jones is a native Idahoan who only recently arrived in Arizona.  Along the way, he lived and hiked for many years in Utah (but do not call him an Utahan, either).  He started hiking the Tetons as a boy scout, but didn't start 'real' backpacking until he met up with Ron Watters at the Idaho State University Outdoor Program - arguably the best cooperative outdoor group in the nation.  Then, he met Ed Abbey at ISU, and later Seldom Seen Smith in Grand Gulch. Rob is a school psychologist who wanders the Navajo Nation while not out hiking or working on that silly web site.

10:30 AM Bob Marley; Powell Route to Salt Trail

This Labor Day 1975 hike started out as a three day trip that became four. Before the actual hike, Bob did a lot of researching and driving around just to even find the trailhead. Bob spent some time researching the route and eventually checked it out though the Kaibab to be certain that he could reach the lengthy Coconino talus slope below. The Kaibab section was a steep series of ledges but there was no place that required rope. Bob was convinced the boys that he had been hiking with could make it down to the LC using this route and immediately planned it as a three day Labor Day trip for the following month. That's when things got kind of squirrelly. Everyone associated with Troop 800 wanted to go including the adult mothers, fathers, teenage daughters, and even a six year old. Fortunately Bob left his four year old at home.

For over four decades, Bob Marley has accumulated well over a thousand days below the rim backpacking and rafting. Bob hiked over 400 days in the 70’s backpacking first the trails and then the many known routes culminating in a 56 day walk with Bob Cree from Diamond Creek to Lees Ferry in 1980. Bob helped Harvey Butchart put up a couple of new Redwall routes in the lower Canyon during seven days of backpacking in 1978. Bob met Larry Stevens in 1980, and the following spring Bob and Larry became partners and outfitted an 18' Avon for their personal use. With Larry's guidance, Bob became a river runner, rowing the river through GC for the first time in the summer of 1981, and again during the huge flood of 1983, getting off the river at 90,000+ cfs. Bob’s most recently was on a 21 day river trip in May of this year.

10:55 AM John Karpinski and Wayne Christensen; Nankoweap to Horse Trail

Starting at the Nankoweap trailhead, John and Wayne followed that established trail to Nankoweap Creek where it intersects the Butte Fault.  Following the creek they reached the Colorado River and hiked downstream to the LCR where they procured a lift across the river from a group of researchers that were electrocuting trout and carp.  They then proceeded up the LCR, visiting other research camps and passing the Sipapu, before arriving at the Salt Trail.  They also saw the Emerald pool in Big Canyon and, of course, Blue Spring before exiting the LCR at the Horse Trail. Additional highlights include the granaries at the Nankoweap delta, trout fishing, conversations with the scientists/researchers, the difficulties of traveling upstream on the LCR from Big Canyon to Blue Spring and finding the exit trail.

Just out of college, John Karpinski’s first hike on the North Kaibab was in the summer of 1971.  This poorly planned, mistake ridden hike could have been life threatening had it not been on a heavily traveled corridor trail. The lessons learned, however, provided a foundation that would be useful in hikes to follow.  One that John has practiced ever since was to never enter the canyon in the summer. Life intervened and John returned after a 20-year hiatus making two excursions into the Tanner area in the early 90’s. Again years followed before he returned in 1999, this time with Wayne Christensen and 4 others, on a New Hance to Cottonwood to Grandview loop.  It was Wayne’s first trip. Eight years and 6 trips later John and Wayne have spent about 55 days together below the rim, that have included hikes of the Royal Arch/Elves Chasm loop, a New Hance to Escalante to Beamer to LCR to Salt Trail though hike, a Tanner to Escalante to New Hance through hike, an Indian Hollow to Kanab Creek loop via Cranberry Canyon, and a through hike starting on the Nankoweap, down the Colorado, up the Little Colorado, past Blue Springs and exiting on the Horse Trail. John and Wayne have just returned from a 7-day trip through the Boucher to Slate to Hermit area. John and Wayne are fortunate to share the same passion for the canyon and have become great hiking partners.

11:20 AM Jeff Ingram; East Side of Shivwits Plateau

Jeff will speak about a 19-day backpack: Fri Oct 4 – Wed Oct 23, in 1968 on the east side of Shivwits Plateau. Jeff started near Mt Dellenbaugh, then headed into the Parashant Basin, down Parashant Canyon to the River, along the River to Granite Park, and up 209/Indian Canyon to the top of the Shivwits and back to the car. Jeff day hiked exploring every side canyon on the right bank up as far as Jeff could safely go alone. Jeff spent a week camped opposite Granite Park so his hiking companion, Dave Bohn, could take photographs while Jeff hiked, usually up onto and off the Esplanade.

Meeting the Canyon first in the summer of 1962, Jeff Ingram returned the next winter to take his first hike in the Canyon, to Plateau Point. Many trips, including hikes, backpacks, and on the river followed, and were accompanied, particularly in 1963-82, by a consuming interest in protecting the Canyon FROM dams, motor boats, etc. and FOR a National Park and Wilderness (lots of work still to do). Jeff wrote Hijacking A River: A Political History of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon (2003, Vishnu Temple Press) to show the effort needed to keep what we value about the Grand Canyon.

11:40 AM to 1:10PM Lunch (on your own)

1:15 PM Dave Mortenson; Redwall Bench Hike in Kanab Canyon

This presentation will be about a hike from Chamberlain Canyon to Kanab Point along the Redwall Bench. The hike on the Kanab Canyon Redwall bench was a “what if” type of hike. Could they make it? What would they find as far as views, water and past human activity? This presentation will be photo intensive revealing all that was found. Unique views of the twists and turns of the meandering Kanab Canyon from the Redwall Rim. Photos of forgotten cowboy activities, unknown springs and landscapes that few have seen will be highlighted. Routes to the Redwall Bench will be explained and the mysteries revealed about the side canyons of Chamberlain, Flip Off., Rattlesnake Creek (Scotties Hollow), Red Ant and Battleship Point. Many Grand Canyon hikers have hiked down Kanab Canyon while only a few have hiked the Esplanade routes above. Nobody hikes the Redwall Bench route and this presentation will likely change that.

Beginning his Grand Canyon experience at age 13, Dave Mortenson hiked into Keyhole Bridge off the Great Thumb in 1961.  Forty-six years later he is still hiking in the Grand Canyon and has explored many of it remote side canyons in the western half.  Dave first ran the river in 1962 and has been on a number of river trips and over fifty Canyon hikes. Dave graduated for Fresno State and received his Masters in Urban Planning from Cal Poly Pomona.  He worked as a lead planner for the BLM in the late 1970’s developing the California Desert Plan.  Dave was an Air Force captain flying as a navigator on C-130 air rescue aircraft. Dave currently is a political consultant working in Washington State. Dave’s daughter Cecelia recently rowed her first trip making her the third generation of Mortensons' to become a Colorado River runner.

1:40 PM Sean Peters; A Day Hike to Wotans Throne

Sean started the hike to Wotans about 5:30 am on July 29, 2006, and got a bit lost for an hour or so looking for the correct chute to rappel into, found the right area, rappelled twice and cached some water at the base. It took about 2 hours from the rim to this point (not counting our detours). Sean and his climbing partner walked around the fin base and found the scrambling section into the notch, found their way up and hiked west until reaching the 3rd or 4th bay that looked like it reached the top--a lot longer than they imagined. Sean made it to the top and took a few photos of Angels Gate and headed back. They drank a bit of their stashed water and jumared back up the ropes and made it to the rim around 7:30'ish.  It was a long day but worth every sweaty step!!! 

Sean Peters is a Park Ranger for the City of Phoenix and owns a tree pruning business in Scottsdale.  Sean climbs as much as possible and enjoys attempting the summits of the Canyon whenever he can get a partner to come along...  According to Sean, he has a great wife and two cool kids that want nothing to do with the climbing part of his life.

2:05 PM Cindy George; Grandview Rescue Adventure                                        

On March 30, 2002 Cindy was hiking down to Horseshoe Mesa on a dayhike with friends when about 2 miles down, her foot slipped off a rock and she broke her ankle. Cindy had already passed some of her friends already on the way up, but there were 2 or 3 that were still below her. They stopped to help and one of them raced to the top to alert the NPS emergency folks. Cindy’s friends became an excellent emergency response team, and took care of her for 4 hours until some NPS rangers arrived and took over. Cindy was helicoptered out, and then went to Flagstaff by ambulance. It was an eye-opener that it took so long to get rescued, not too far from the rim, even with timely notification to rescue personnel. Cindy’s presentation will concentrate on her experiences while waiting for rescue, the rescue procedure, and a bit about being prepared. 

Cindy spent the better part of her life as a couch potato in Minnesota. She began hiking at the age of 50, and quickly became addicted. She section-hiked the 200 mile Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior and many other trails in parks in Minnesota. She first hiked Grand Canyon on a visit to Arizona in 2000, a day hike to Plateau Point. She developed an instant need to do more extensive Grand Canyon hiking. Her first overnight Grand Canyon hike was four days between Hermit and Bright Angel in 2001. It was a life-changing trip. In 2002 she moved to Prescott, AZ to be closer to her mother and of course, the Canyon. Since then she has hiked the canyon many times, from multi-night off-corridor treks to day hikes.

2:30 PM Arnie Richards; 150 Mile to Kanab

Arnie will speak on the hike described in George Steck's Loop Hikes II, chapter 3, which leads down Mile 150 Canyon to the river, upriver to Kanab Canyon, up Kanab to Scotty's Hollow, and up Scotty's Hollow to the rim - approximately 25 miles of hiking. In October of 1997, Arnie and four others made this hike, and after 40 years of Canyon hiking, it remains one of the toughest and most interesting Arnie has ever done. The hike included an old cowboy trail, rappels through a redwall slot canyon, a difficult traverse along the Colorado, a sloggy walk up a swollen Kanab Creek, and a rough hand-over-foot climb up the rim cliff. The group had weather ranging from hot and humid to bright and sunny to overcast and rainy, and drove through an electrical storm with hail as they departed the rim. It was truly a complete package.

Arnie Richards has been hiking the Canyon since 1967 when he made his first trip down the Thunder River Trail.  In 1968, Arnie and Dave Mortenson discovered the "Cranberry Canyon" route through the redwall and into Deer Creek, a route that has since been used by numerous hikers.  In the 40 years since his first trip, Arnie has backpacked in the Canyon a total of 32 times, mostly off the north rim between Tapeats Creek and Tuckup Canyon. Discovering and photographing old Indian and cowboy camps are the highlights of these trips. Arnie's passion for the Canyon is exceeded only by that for the steak dinner and bottle of wine he consumes upon returning to civilization. 

2:55 PM John Stark; Exploring Powell Plateau

Late Spring 2001, John Stark and Jim Bush dry camped for one week on Powell Plateau.  Reports by Euler, Butchart, and Covington helped them navigate the place Zane Grey called “the most isolated, inaccessible and remarkable mesa of any size in canyon country.”  On Powell Plateau they found old growth Ponderosa Pine forest, archaeology sites littered with pottery, corrals left behind by Uncle Jim Owens, mountain lion runs, and the vista painted by Thomas Moran.  They mapped the Plateau, explored the Blacktail Valley, and took an overnight trip to remote Ives Point.  

“At Powell Plateau, an isolated mesa, the natural and human history of the Canyon distill into one compact monument.”  - Stephen Pyne

Flagstaff-resident John Stark manages KNAU Arizona Public Radio’s eleven station network, including 90.3 at the Grand Canyon. He presently serves as Vice Chair of the Grand Canyon Association and is a member of the NPR Board of Directors. He hikes the Canyon’s backcountry at every available opportunity. 

3:20 PM Sally Underwood; High Saddles Hike, Phantom to Tanner

Sally will present on a hike which she has come to call the "High Saddles Hike". Sally and her team went from The south rim to BA and then over to Lava/Chuar, using all the high saddles in between (Wotan's/Angel's Gate, Vishnu/Unkar, Unkar/Lava/Chuar. They secured a ride across the river and came out the Tanner. John Azar, Al Astorga, and Debra Van Winegardener were her companions.  

Sally Underwood is an Arizona native who didn't really discover the Grand Canyon until later in life, when it seemed to captivate her heart and soul. She starting teaching natural history for Grand Canyon Field Institute a decade ago, juggling family and a veterinary career while exploring more and more off trail routes in Grand Canyon. She finally became a full time canyon bum, retiring from vet practice to spend more time hiking and learning about GC as well as remodeling an historic house in Prescott, gardening, and traveling with her husband, Rick. Although geology was her first love at GC, plants have become her thing- particularly agaves and yuccas. Aside from the Grand Canyon itself, she has come to appreciate the community of people who share the same passion for it as she does and is grateful for the opportunity to know (and frequently hike with) so many dear canyon friends.

3:45 PM Laurent “Maverick” Gaudreau; Rim to Rim to Rim with Teens

This presentation is on a 5 day rim to rim to rim on the corridor trails, night one at the Bright Angel Campground, nights two and three at Cottonwood, night four back at Bright Angel and hike out on the fifth day. This was done 15-19 April, 2007. The teens are seniors in High School, from Rhode Island.

Eighty one years young Laurent “Maverick” Gaudreau has been a Grand Canyon resident for over ten years. During the last ten years, he has seen his weight go from 170 to 130 pounds, his waist size go from at 36 to a 30, and his t-shirt size go from a large to small. Maverick’s empty backpack weight has gone from 9 pounds to 9 0z, while his rim to rim hikes have gone from 2 per year to 104 per year in 2006.

4:10 PM Hank Schnieder; A Stroll to Redwall Cavern 

Hank leads us on a hike to Redwall Cavern, going down the shortcut route via Bedrock Canyon into South Canyon, hiking down along the river until right across from Redwall Cavern, then paddling across the river in an inflatable, and going back the same way.

Hank Schnieder has lived in Prescott since 1970, but didn't do very much hiking until around 1990 when he signed up for a geology class at the local community college that included a 4 day backpack into the Canyon. He’s been fascinated by both geology and the Canyon ever since, and this is a wonderful area to study both. Hank has hiked about all the named trails in the Canyon, some sections of abandoned trails, and a few off trail routes. Hank sees new things every time he goes there, even just tromping down the Bright Angel Trail again. When he’s not out playing around in the Canyon, he masquerades as an electronics engineer. It's fun, and it supports his habit.

4:35 PM Angie Wesley and Annette Karpinski; Tanner to Grandview, Girls week out

Angie and Annette spent 5 days hiking the Tanner to the Grandview, May 2007.

While the Papago Wall was not too bad, the 50 mile-per-hour wind was more of a stopper then any wall. We met some great fellow travelers who shared their dinner and whiskey with us, the cactus were in bloom, the weather was perfect less the wind, and we seemed to be having a lot more fun then the river runners we met up with.

Angie Wesley first fell in love with Grand Canyon while on a river trip. After moving from Georgia to the Southwest, backpacking became a new hobby for Angie.  She eventually ended up working at the clinic on the south rim for a short time.  Annette made Grand Canyon her home after coming here to work at Moqui Lodge. Angie and Annette became fast friends once their paths crossed, and since then they have logged many miles in the canyon together. Angie and Annette try to do one (two if they are lucky!) 4-5 day trips every year. The trails have brought them tranquility and challenge, laughter and tears. Whether it's an easy walk or a bit more intense, the one thing that never changes is their sense of wonder for this amazing place.  Angie and Annette look forward to many more adventures!

5:00 PM Tom Martin; Vishnu Temple 60th Anniversary Summit

In October of 2005, Andy Bates, Andy Martin and Tom Martin attempted to climb Vishnu Temple in a three day backpack off Cape Royal. This ascent would be 60 years after the first summit of Vishnu Temple by the father and son team of Merrel Dare Clubb and his son Roger in 1945. Andy Bates and Tom Martin made the summit, where they matched a summit photo taken on the first ascent in 1945. Tom was able to visit with and interview Merrel Clubb’s last surviving son, who is now 82 years old and living in Missoula Montana. Merrel Jr. was able to sort out a little more history about his dad’s three Vishnu attempts, and unravel a little more about the four generations of Merrel Dare Clubb’s. This presentation includes some original Merrel Clubb photographs of Vishnu Temple from the Clubb family archives.           

Tom Martin has been hiking in Grand Canyon National Park from river rafting trips since 1969, and co-founded the Grand Canyon Hikers and Backpackers Association in 2001, the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association in 1996, and River Runners for Wilderness in 2002, where he presently serve as Co-Director. Tom currently works as a physical therapist at the Grand Canyon Clinic at the South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. In the spring of 2003, Tom participated in a first-ascent of the last unclimbed “top-ten” butte in Grand Canyon, Clay Tank Castle, with Aaron Tomasi. Tom wrote the first hiking guide for river runners in Grand Canyon, called Day Hikes From The River, and with Duwain Whitis, has co-authored the first truly waterproof guide for river runners, Guide To The Colorado River In The Grand Canyon, Lee’s Ferry To South Cove.