February 1

   In 2009 I decided to scoot up to Marble Canyon and do a hike I had only read about down Cathedral Wash to the river.  Not a soul around and the fact that you start on the plateau and wend your way into this narrow canyon rather quickly is very cool.  On this day it was actually cold!  And, I made it back home in plenty of time to watch the Super Bowl.  [The one the Cardinals lost :-( unfortunately.]  I wrote up a fuller account of this hike here.

February 2

February 3

February 4

   In 2006 I went up the to South Bass area with John & Kathy Eastwood, Mark Pebler and one of Kathy's astronomy students, Keith.  John, Mark and I got dropped off at the abandoned Pasture Wash Ranger Station to do a looping hike to the South Bass trailhead via the Pt. Huitzil route, spending most of our time trekking along the Esplanade.  Great fun.  One of the landmarks for navigating this route are these two squat towers in the Toroweap layer.  It was an all day affair and the three of us had on our headlamps for the final push up the South Bass.  There we found that Mark's vehicle had gotten a flat and no amount of effort could free one of the lug nuts.  So, the five of us returned to Flagstaff in my Toyota Xtra Cab - talk about being packed in like sardines!  The next day - Super Bowl Sunday - I drove Mark back up to get his truck (he had to use a patch kit as a temporary fix).  I got back home just in time to see only the very last play of the big game :-(, between the Steelers and the Seahawks.  I wrote up a fuller account of this hike here.

February 5

February 6

   In 2009 Bill Ferris and I did a day hike down the South Kaibab to the Colorado River and back the same way.  We stopped at the picnic table near Bright Angel Creek for our turnaround point, not going all the way to the ranch.  It was really dark in the early morning as you can tell from this photo of Bill snapping some pictures from Ooh Aah Pt.
   In 2013 I was trying to do some loop segments in Marble Canyon.  This day I started down the so-called 6 Mile Draw which comes out to a sheer cliff over the river.  I started following a steep route on the upriver side, heading for a slope that would take me to the river.  But, I soon gave up over this precarious slope; the photo is looking back to the draw, to which I returned.  A fuller account is written up here.
   In 2013 I was trying to do some loop segments in Marble Canyon.  In the morning I was stymied in 6 Mile Draw,  so in the afternoon I drove up the road and hiked down Cathedral Wash.  I followed down alongside the river to find a spot referred to as a "wall."  This photo shows my furthest progress.  I did not get past the knob that sticks out into the river and I think the wall is just beyond this.  A fuller account is written up here.

February 7

   In 1981 I hiked down to the Bright Angel Campground where I would spend a couple of nights. [No photos.]

February 8

   In 1981 I had hiked down to the Bright Angel Campground where I would spend a couple of nights. This was my second day and I hiked up to Utah Flats and over into Phantom Creek.  From there I continued north until I could follow a talus slope down to the creek and cross over to the North Kaibab Trail and return to my camp. [No photos.]

February 9

   In 2008 I did a day hike down the South Kaibab Trail to the river.  I literally only crossed the Black Bridge and after a short rest turned around and came back up to the rim.  I was on the trail at 7:30 am, reached the other side of the bridge at 10:15, took a fifteen minute break and was back on the rim at 2 p.m.  Six and a half hours for this round trip to the river - not bad!
   In 1981 I hiked down to the Bright Angel Campground where I spent a couple of nights.  This was my last day and I hiked back up to the rim. [No photos.]

February 10

February 11

February 12

   In 1984 I hiked down the Grandview Trail with Karen Herrera.  We spent two nights camped on Horseshoe Mesa.  This was our first day and we hiked down to a camp site.  [For some reason I have no photos for this day nor do I have any journal notes.]

February 13

   In 1984 I hiked down the Grandview Trail with Karen Herrera and we camped for two nights on Horseshoe Mesa.  This was our second day and we did a day hike down to Cottonwood Creek and then out on the Tonto and down the Old Grandview Trail to the river.  In the old, but well-constructed, section through the Tapeats we came across this old coffee pot.  Below this, the "trail" became a barely discernible route and for years I wasn't sure we had actually followed the right route to the river.  I don't know how we did this trek to the river and back in a day, in the middle of winter, but, alas, I did not keep any journal notes to remind me!

February 14

   In 1998 John Eastwood and I did a day hike down the Tanner Trail.  The rim was snowpacked and it took us quite a bit of time to locate the trailhead!  While above the Redwall we left the trail and hiked up to the Escalante-Cardenas saddle and then headed north to an easy route down through the Redwall.  From here we had to find a narrow break in the Tapeats - the photo shows John after we got through that spot.  We got to the river and ate a late lunch as the weather took a turn.  From here we bushwhacked our way over to the lower stretches of the Tanner Trail and hiked up in the rain which soon turned to snow, reaching the rim late at night.  We were in the midst of a big storm and the drive back to Flagstaff took many hours.
   In 1984 I hiked down the Grandview Trail with Karen Herrera and we camped for two nights on Horseshoe Mesa.  This was our last day and we hiked back up to the rim.  I recall that it had snowed overnight, but I have no photos for this day.

February 15

   In 1991 I did a three day trek down the Grandview Trail.  I camped for two nights at the little spring in the side canyon to Cottonwood, as seen in the photo.  I used to camp at this spot quite often - it is all by itself, next to water (at least, back then) and away from the trail.  As you can see, this is my roomy 3-man tent; quite the luxury for a solo hike!

February 16

   In 1991 I did a three day trek down the Grandview Trail.  I camped for two nights at the little spring in the side canyon to Cottonwood.  This was my second day and I did a day hike down to the foot of Sockdolager Rapids, shown here with my fanny pack sitting on a rock.  There is an old trail that goes beneath the Tapeats and a steep rock-filled ravine that leads to this spot north of Horseshoe Mesa.

February 17

   In 2013 Chris Atwood and I did a day hike down the South Kaibab Trail.  We were headed into Cremation Canyon and decided to try for Tse-an-Kaetan, a cave where some ancient split-twig figurines had been found.  We located the cave and I was sure I'd never get into it.  But, after climbing up to it, Chris tied in a long piece of webbing to an anchor spot and came back down (as shown in the photo) to borrow my pen so he could sign into the register.  With the webbing as security I made the climb too and got the chance to poke around in this fantastic cave.
   In 1991 I did a three day trek down the Grandview Trail.  I camped for two nights at the little spring in the side canyon to Cottonwood.  This was my last day and I hiked back up the Grandview Trail. [No photos.]

February 18

February 19

February 20

February 21

February 22

   In 1981 I did a hike down the Tanner Trail, camping for two nights at the river.  This was my first day down.  By accident my film jammed, yet I got this cool picture that is double exposure of Comanche Pt.
   In 2004 John Eastwood and I did a day hike down the Bright Angel Trail - here is John at the river.  It was a cool day, lots of clouds and with some occasional light rain.  We were in search of the lower portion of a route that would lead up to the Tonto west of Pipe Creek.  On an earlier hike we had come down that route but got cliffed out a hundred feet above the BA Trail.  We came up empty on this trip, but on the way back we did hike the original Devil's Corkscrew as we ascended back to Indian Garden.  [A few months later I was able to do this interesting route - see here.]

February 23

   In 1981 I did a hike down the Tanner Trail, camping for two nights at the river.  This was my second day and I hiked over to the tall cliff above Unkar Rapids.  At about 400 above the river, I had to literally crawl out to the edge to take this picture looking down on the rapids.  From here I hiked up the Cardenas drainage and somehow managed to get to the base of the Redwall and follow a route to the Escalante-Cardenas saddle and return to camp down the Tanner Trail.

February 24

   In 1981 I did a hike down the Tanner Trail, camping for two nights at the river.  This was my last day and I hiked back up to the rim.  This photo is from a spot looking back at a section of trail below the Redwall with the river in the background.

February 25

February 26

February 27

   In 2000 I did a day hike down the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point just to enjoy the weather.  I was the only one at the point while there and I took some photos like this that I think made for a nice contrast.
   In 2009 I drove up to the North Rim to get to Crazy Jug.  The snow on those roads stymied me from getting any closer than about five miles from the rim.  But, I got this nice shot of the Vermilion Cliffs while I was on my way up.

February 28