“Adventure starts when everything begins to go wrong.”
~from the short film The Mountain Why

Escalante/Confluence Route Overview

Hiking in the Grand Canyon is dramatic, vast, diverse, extreme, and an experience of a lifetime. If you haven’t had a chance to peer over the rim of this grandest of Canyons, put it on your list. It is a must do.

The Escalante Route is a difficult route for experienced backpackers, unlike the main corridor in the Grand Canyon that features wide trails and campgrounds. This route has exposed trails, some class 2 and 3 climbing near Seventyfive Mile Canyon, a lot of elevation gain and loss each day, and the negotiating around the Papago Wall and Slide. The entire route features “at-large camping”, with no designated campsites.

This trip has a variety of canyon environments, wide open spaces, a slot canyon, views of whitewater rapids, changing geology, and remarkable views from a variety of elevations.

For our hike my hiking buddy, Michelle and I took on the traditional Escalante Route (Tanner Trailhead to Grandview Trailhead) reversed the order and added a bonus day hike to the confluence of the Colorado River and Little Colorado Rivers. The historic confluence has been on my must do list for a long time. It is not only famous for it’s beauty at the merging of the two rivers, but also a scared place for a least 10 Native tribes of the Grand Canyon and is a constant target for outside developers. This was Michelle’s first trip to the Grand Canyon. The amazement of the experience in her voice and body language throughout this trip was inspirational and entertaining.

This route started at the Grandview Trailhead, traveled down the New Hance Trail to the Escalante Route, then the Beamer Trail to the confluence, and back to the rim via the Tanner Trail. The route went well and I recommend it. When back at the Tanner Trailhead, we contacted the taxi service available in the Grand Canyon area via cell phone for a shuttle back to Grandview.

During our remote trip we were challenged with snow, ice, rain, cold, mud, wind, heat, and the extremely silty Colorado River water. We encountered only a couple of hikers and felt like we had the canyon to ourselves. It was a trip memories are made of.

TRIP DATE  March 2-6, 2019
DISTANCE 50 miles
ELEVATION GAIN 9,300 feet elevation gain
TRAILHEADS This is shuttle trip that begins at Grandview Trailhead and ends at Tanner Trailhead. Taxi Service is available to the Grand Canyon Airport, trailheads, and other destinations. 24-hour service daily. Call (928) 638-2822 or (928) 638-2631, ext. 6563.
DIFFICULTY Strenuous & difficult with some class 2 & 3 climbing
NAVIGATION  GPS helpful, moderate
BEST TIME TO HIKE Fall, Winter, Spring
WATER The Colorado River is the only reliable water source. On this trip we also had water at Hance Creek.
PERMITS Apply for your backcountry permits up to 6 months before trip. Online PDF at Grand Canyon Backcountry Permits .  Available walk-in permits at the South Rim Backcountry Information Center daily for walk-in visitors from 8 am to noon and 1-5 pm Mountain Standard Time. 
CELL SERVICE Spotty on the rim only, Grandview and Tanner Trailheads

Guidebook, Maps  & GPS

• Escalante route: Tanner to New Hance Trail PDF by the Park Service
• Hiking Grand Canyon National Park Falcon Guide  
• National Geographic Trails Illustrated – Grand Canyon North and South Rim 
• GPS track I created on Cal Topo (not actual GPS of route) loaded on my phone app Gaia GPS

Click blue “Open in “CalTopo” in upper right hand corner of map to view and download GPX.

Day 1: Grandview Trailhead to Horseshoe Mesa

March 2
2.8 miles

After driving from Tehachapi, CA to the South Rim, we stopped by the Backcountry Office to get a walk-in permit. The ranger let us know that I had an aggressive itinerary and asked me to fill out a form stating my hiking experience.

At the Grandview Trailhead start, it was windy, cold, and rainy. As we descended the steep snow covered trail, it soon turned to red slippery mud. The microspikes worked amazingly well on the mud. The views from this trail and the trail engineering is quite remarkable.

Just as we arrived at our destination for the night, Horseshoe Mesa, the wind picked up and rain poured down. After quite some time trying to find a sheltered, dryer, less muddy camp spot, we settled for the best we could find. It wasn’t good. Basically our tents became coated inside and out with red mud. Gusty winds and driving rain prevailed most of night. It was a miserable night.

Photos of Day 1:

Note: To view full size photos and captions, click on a photo and use arrows to navigate through slideshow.

Day 2: Horseshoe Mesa to Escalante Creek

March 3
12.52 miles 

In the early morning, rain and wind stopped. After stuffing our backpacks with wet and muddy gear, we stopped for coffee and breakfast a couple of miles down the trail and witnessed the most marvelous sunrise.

Next up we reloaded our water at flowing Hance Creek, the only running creek on this trip. After a few miles the rough trail negotiates up and down the Papago Wall and Slide, then enters Seventyfive Mile Canyon. There is a tricky ascent up out of the canyon and we almost missed it. A good map and GPS route on Gaia phone app is very helpful.

We got to the Escalante River just in time to set up camp and enjoy the sunrise. This was a tough day. The miles are very slow through this section.

Photos of Day 2:

Day 3: Escalante Creek to Palisades Creek

March 4
10.78 miles 

Welp, I certainly won’t ever forget this morning’s sunrise light bouncing off the north rim. Today the route was relatively easy cruising meandering around drainages and over sandy shores.

I have experienced drinking out of the Colorado River quite a few times on past trips, but this was by far the muddiest I have ever seen it. After some problem solving, we worked out a system that starts with filling water bladders including a couple of ziplocks and letting them sit for a couple of hours or more, pour the clearer water into an empty bottle, then filter the water with our Sawyer Squeeze. It is a long process, but worked. Because of the heat and long process of getting drinking water, we stopped early to camp in the shade of trees at dry Palisades Creek.

Photos from Day 3:

Day 4: Palisades Creek to Confluence to Tanner Trail

March 5
15.32

This was the day I looked forward to. With an early start and light daypacks, the trek on the Beamer Trail to the confluence was easy to follow, but exposed and rough at times. Unfortunately, because of stormy weather the water at the meeting of the rivers was churned up, so no line between the brown water of the Colorado and the turquoise water of the Little Colorado. We explored around this remarkable area a bit and headed back the same way we came.

During our day hike we left silty water in bladders at our campsite to separate. That worked fantastic. We had water for the rest of the day, night, and next morning. The camp tonight is on a sandy bench over the mouth of Tanner Canyon. A sweet spot.

Photos from Day 4:

Day 5: Tanner Trail to Tanner Trailhead

Recommended Gear

• 2, 2 liter Platypus Ultralight Collapsible Water Bottle (clear plastic bags are easier to view when the water has separated from the Colorado River silt)
• Carry microspikes (traction device for feet) for ice on the upper portions of trails during the early spring, winter, late fall, take gear and clothing for all types of weather and extremes, it can be very hot or cold, snowy, windy, icy, or rainy 
• Store your food in a rodent proof sack. There are rats in the Grand Canyon! I use the URsack Minor with the Odor Barrier Bag (OP Sak 12 x 20)
• I carry a Garmin Mini Satellite Communicator and highly recommend it, especially on a remote, difficult route.
• It is important on rugged terrain to get your backpacking kit as light as possible so you are able to maneuver safely. Here is my lightweight gear list and My Personal All-Time Favorite Hiking Gear

Photo

• View all photos from the trip on Flickr

Links to other Grand Canyon Trips

• Hike South Kaibab Trailhead to Bright Angel Trailhead
• Backpack Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa
• Backpack Phantom Crystal Creek Cross-Country Loop

If you hike this route, tag @christyrosander on Instagram and use the hashtag #ladyonarock so I can take a look!

Happy Adventuring!

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