GC - Tanner-Beamer 2016

In mid-February, Rena and I joined Greg and Mirna Roach, Ron Bartell, and Christine Mitchell for a 7-day Grand Canyon hike, our 5th winter backpack there. The route was the Tanner- Beamer Trails accessed from the South Rim in the Eastern part of the park.

It was a successful trip. After hiking to the river, we did an out and back hike to the confluence with the Little Colorado River further East. Then we continued West mostly along the river. Our exit was at Horseshoe Mesa. Water availability is not a problem on this hike. There is some strenuous hiking in the middle section. And then of course, you have to climb out on the last day. We had good weather. As usual, we kept our schedule flexible to make sure that the weather forecast was good for the duration of our trip. This is possible in the winter since few people hike then and it is easy to change the timing of the trip by a couple of days.

The route was as follows:
Day 1- 7 miles - Hike from the Lipan Point- Tanner Trailhead (7400 feet) down to the Colorado River and camp
Day 2- 3 miles - Short hike to Palisades Creek.
Day 3- 12+ miles - Some people did day hike to Little Colorado and back. The rest took a rest day. Same camp.
Day 4- 6 miles - Hike along river most of the time and camp at Cardenas Creek
Day 5- 8 miles - The hardest hiking day. Camp at Papago Canyon.
Day 6- 7 miles - Hike to Hatch Rapids (Red Canyon). Then leave the river and camp where the trail crosses Hatch Canyon.
Day 7- 5 miles - Hike up and out to the Horseshoe Mesa Trailhead (7400 ft).
Total distance was approximately 36 miles not including day hike.