GC Kanab Pt-Scotty's Hollow 2019
Kanab Point is one of the best free places to camp in the world. Located on the North Rim in the western part of Grand Canyon National Park, it provides a great view and an opportunity to camp right on the rim. In Oct 2019, I joined Craig Taylor, Carol Drummond, Jeff Fisher, and Dave Erskine for a challenging backpack trip. After spending several hours driving the rough road to Kanab Point, we followed a lightly tracked route down from there. After traversing the Esplanade north for several miles, we camped near the head of Scotty’s Hollow on Day 1. The following day, we descended Scotty’s to where it flows into Kanab Creek. This drainage had dry falls to climb around, steep down climbs, flowing water, and even a short swim. It was a colorful canyon with dense vegetation, flowers, and waterfalls. It took us 3 days to get to a camping place across from Whispering Falls Canyon. We didn’t cover many miles. Straight line distance from this camp to our starting point at Kanab Point was only a few miles.
We had brought a small amount of canyoneering gear to be able to do a modest canyon descent of Whispering Falls Canyon. We found the route out of Kanab Creek and did the lower part of Whispering Falls Canyon in a day. It would have taken 3 days for the round trip to do the entire canyon.
After successfully doing the descent, we retraced our path back up Scotty’s Hollow. Great fun with more swims and doing the obstacles in the opposite direction. It was easier on the way back. The way back to the rim via Scotty’s Point was shorter and more direct but we lost the route part way up and had to struggle to find the route at the end.
A good source of information was Todd Martin’s book, “Grand Canyoneering.” Also useful was Bob Bordasch’s excellent website, “Bob’s Grand Canyon Journals.” http://bobbordasch.com Bob also gave me some valuable information via email including the location of the critical pothole that we used at the end of day 1. And thanks to Craig Taylor for all his work in entering waypoints that aided in navigation.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - CAMP
1 9/28 -Descend from Kanab Pt -Top of Scotty’s Hollow
1 9/29 -More descent -In Scotty’s Hollow before junction w Kanab Creek
3 9/30 -Hike down Kanab Ck -Across from Whispering Falls Canyon
4 10/1 -Canyoneering -Across from Whispering Falls Canyon
5 10/2 -Retrace route -Junction of N and S Forks of Scotty’s Hollow
6 10/3 -Retrace Route -Top of Scotty’s Hollow
7 10/4 -Climb up to Scotty’s Pt -Drive out to town of Kanab
Read MoreWe had brought a small amount of canyoneering gear to be able to do a modest canyon descent of Whispering Falls Canyon. We found the route out of Kanab Creek and did the lower part of Whispering Falls Canyon in a day. It would have taken 3 days for the round trip to do the entire canyon.
After successfully doing the descent, we retraced our path back up Scotty’s Hollow. Great fun with more swims and doing the obstacles in the opposite direction. It was easier on the way back. The way back to the rim via Scotty’s Point was shorter and more direct but we lost the route part way up and had to struggle to find the route at the end.
A good source of information was Todd Martin’s book, “Grand Canyoneering.” Also useful was Bob Bordasch’s excellent website, “Bob’s Grand Canyon Journals.” http://bobbordasch.com Bob also gave me some valuable information via email including the location of the critical pothole that we used at the end of day 1. And thanks to Craig Taylor for all his work in entering waypoints that aided in navigation.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - CAMP
1 9/28 -Descend from Kanab Pt -Top of Scotty’s Hollow
1 9/29 -More descent -In Scotty’s Hollow before junction w Kanab Creek
3 9/30 -Hike down Kanab Ck -Across from Whispering Falls Canyon
4 10/1 -Canyoneering -Across from Whispering Falls Canyon
5 10/2 -Retrace route -Junction of N and S Forks of Scotty’s Hollow
6 10/3 -Retrace Route -Top of Scotty’s Hollow
7 10/4 -Climb up to Scotty’s Pt -Drive out to town of Kanab
