Kanab Creek Wilderness: Expansive Terraces and Dramatic Views, Grand Canyon Area, Arizona

The Trip

The Kanab Creek Wilderness Area, bordering the north and western side of Grand Canyon National Park, contains a labyrinth of canyons converging together, ultimately flowing into the Colorado River deep in the Park. While none of our hiking is in Grand Canyon National Park proper, it would be impossible to know that this is Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, not Park land. On our journey we will hike through some of the finest Redwall narrows in canyon country. While camping on huge Esplanade terraces (a wide, flatish Grand Canyon expanse on top of the Supai Formation), we will be treated to dramatic panoramic views. This is a unique wilderness adventure.

The United States Congress designated the Kanab Creek Wilderness in 1984. This roughly 75,000-acre wilderness that is administered by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has its northern boundary roughly 30 miles south of Fredonia, Arizona.

Kanab Creek is the largest, longest, and most complex drainage on the north side of Grand Canyon National Park. Beginning in southern Utah, Kanab Creek and its numerous named and unnamed side canyons have cut a network of complex canyons deep into the Kanab and Kaibab Plateaus. Numerous springs and the appearing and disappearing Kanab Creek (it goes underground) provide sustenance for a variety of plant and animal life.

The canyon is home to desert bighorn sheep and peregrine falcon (endangered species). While it is unlikely we will see them, black bear and mountain lions live in the higher elevations. The white-tailed Grand Canyon squirrel, which we may see, is an interesting twist in evolution that we may talk about.

Elevations range from 2,000 feet in the area of Kanab Creek, where we will be, to higher than 6,000 feet on the rim, where we will begin our hike. It may be the desert, but snow falls in winter at the higher elevations.

While grazing is allowed in most wilderness areas, the grazing allotments in the area where we will be hiking are owned by a subsidiary of the Grand Canyon Trust (a sister conservation organization). As such, with forest service approval, they have focused on a restoration of the land and a renewal strategy, so it is unlikely we will see any cows in the wilderness area.

The itinerary requires flexibility due to issues regarding terrain conditions, weather, etc. Obviously, participant safety will be the first priority.

Day 1: We are currently planning to meet in Fredonia, Arizona on Saturday. You need to have a sack lunch (or have already eaten lunch) and have personal snacks and drinks for the ride out to the trailhead as the first Sierra Club meal will be dinner that night. Please have most of your personal water bottles filled. Our camp for the night is located near our trailhead at Sowats Point and situated a little over 6,000 feet above sea level.

Day 2: Today we start our backpack by first driving about 20 minutes to the trailhead. We then hoist backpacks and head down to the top of Kwagunt Hollow at the Esplanade level (a little under 2 miles and 1,500 feet), and hike down Kwagunt to Jumpup Canyon (2 miles). We then head up Jumpup to water (2.5 miles) and camp on the north side of Jumpup on the Esplanade (roughly a mile north). Expansive canyon views will enliven our evening.

Day 3: We continue to hike north on the Esplanade Trail for roughly 7 miles to reach another high camp on the slickrock. Hopefully, we will find water potholes for our drinking and meal needs.

Day 4: Today we explore two side canyons of Kanab Creek. First, we continue along the Esplanade then drop down the Lawsen Trail to Kanab Creek (2.5 miles). After hiking down Kanab Creek 4 miles, we turn up Chamberlain Canyon for a little over a mile to an exit that takes us back onto the Esplanade. A short hike takes us to another huge Esplanade camp.

Day 5: We continue on the Esplanade to Flip-off Canyon (not named on the maps), which is roughly 1.3 miles, and then head down Flip-off to Kanab Creek (1.5 miles). Once in the creek bed, we hike down 2-3 miles to good water where we will camp for the night.

Day 6: We continue down Kanab Creek to the mouth of Jump-up canyon (a mile or so), and hike 3.5 miles up Jump-up to the mouth of Kwagunt through the finest Redwall canyons of Grand Canyon. We will use a route along the top of the Redwall to get into Indian Hollow (roughly 1.5 miles). Views down Jump-up are amazing along this high route. Once in Indian Hollow, we will explore our way up to another camp.

Day 7: After a leisurely morning, we will make our way back to the top of Kwagunt and the Esplanade to camp at a wonderful site with huge views of much of the area we have covered.

Day 8: With an early start, we will ascend the trail back to Sowats Point, arriving at our vehicles well before noon. Those flying out of Las Vegas should be able to make flights leaving after 7 p.m. that day.

Getting There

We will meet at 2 p.m. (Arizona time) on Saturday in the parking lot at Judd Auto Service, 623 S Main St, Fredonia, AZ 86022. Judd is located on the south side of Fredonia on 89A. They sell Chevron gas and it is the last place to get gas; please fill up your tank. The last 10 miles of road to the trailhead can require high clearance after weather events. Once we know what vehicles are not going to the trailhead, and where they are coming from, we can best arrange where to put them.

Our first official meal will be dinner that night at a car camp. The elevation of this camp will be 1,500 feet higher than any of our other camps, so you might want to consider an extra layer for sitting around and maybe while sleeping that night. These extra layers can be left in the vehicles the next morning. We will sleep near our vehicles and have a short drive to the trailhead early the next morning. There is no water at our camp or the trailhead so we will need to bring our own. You might consider bringing snacks and water (or other drinks) for that afternoon.

We expect to be back at our vehicles before noon on the last day and it is roughly a two-hour drive back to Judd. (Though some may be heading in other directions.)

Accommodations and Food

At our first dinner on Saturday night, the trip leaders will put out a selection of trail mix, energy bars, Gatorade, and chocolate-covered almonds for personal snacks on the trip. We will have plenty of zip-lock bags for your personal use. It will be a “take what you want” table for the week.

The leaders will distribute water purification tablets at the beginning of the trip for you to purify your drinking water.

The strategy that has worked for one of the leaders over the years is to try to get out of camp early in the morning and, as a result, get to the next camp in the early afternoon. What helps accomplish that is to not have elaborate breakfasts or need to clean pots. So, to facilitate this fast getaway, we have “hot water breakfasts." In the morning, the leader will boil lots of water and everyone can have all the water he/she wants. At the beginning of the trip, you have your choice of breakfast items (oatmeal, hot chocolate, coffee, dried fruit, etc.) and you can have as much as you want and in whatever variety you want. 

Trip Difficulty

This is an adventure with obstacles. There is modest exposure on this trip and those with a fear of heights need to talk with the leaders. While previous Grand Canyon experience is not a prerequisite for this trip, it would be helpful. And certainly, trip participants must carefully and honestly understand their abilities as leaving the trip in the middle would be very difficult.

As with any backpacking trip, you should be in good physical condition before attempting the trip. Aerobic conditioning is a huge plus. You should have experience adapting to the unexpected. We will have large elevation gains and losses. Based on mileage (which is not a very useful guide for telling you much about a trip in canyon country), terrain, and time on the trail each day, this is not an extremely hard trip and the leaders strive to get everyone into camp by midafternoon each day.

Equipment and Clothing

We will likely have a couple of dry camps that will require us to ferry water to our camp. You need to have the capacity to carry five quarts of water. If you have a dromedary bag, please bring it. A very lightweight day pack for the layover day is really helpful, although not required. A complete gear list will be provided to those joining the outing.

Your leaders will bring all the pots, stoves, and food, which will equal approximately 12-14 lb. of group food and gear for each participant to carry at the beginning of the trip. We hope to lighten the loads part way through the first day by caching some food that we will use later.

References

Maps:

• The following USGS 7.5 maps cover our trip: Jumpup Point, Kanab Point, Fishtail Mesa, and Gramma Springs. Maps can be purchased from Map Express 800-627-0039 or http://mapexp.com/
• The Kaibab National Forest Map-North Kaibab Ranger District map also covers the area we will be traveling in. It is available for sale by calling the Kaibab National Forest office in Williams, Arizona at 602 635 8200.
• If you want to learn about using GPS backcountry navigation, please bring your GPS. Additionally, there are iPhone apps (that probably work on other smart phones) that let you download individual 7.5 minute maps and can tell you exactly where you are. (The specific maps must be downloaded prior to your going into the wilderness via a Wi-Fi connection.) One of the trip leaders uses the Endicott Topo Map App on his iPhone and finds it fun and useful -- he also brings a small four-ounce GPS.

Books:

• Ranney, Wayne, Carving Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon Association, 2005. Read about how the Grand Canyon may have come into existence.
• Osborne, Sophie A. H., Condors in Canyon Country: The Return of the California Condor to the Grand Canyon Region. Grand Canyon Association 2008. An epic attempt to save a great bird.
• Childs, Craig, House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest. Back Bay Books, 2008. A non-fiction cultural adventure about the Anasazi.
• Price, L. Greer, An Introduction to Grand Canyon Geology. Grand Canyon Association, 1999. An accessible book with plenty of illustrations and photos about Grand Canyon geology.
• Anderson, Michael F., Living at the Edge. Grand Canyon Association, 1998. About the colorful people who explored and settled in the Grand Canyon.
• Houk, Rose, An Introduction to Grand Canyon Ecology. Grand Canyon Association, 1996. A brief primer on the complex web of life in the Canyon.
• Coder, Christopher M., An Introduction to Grand Canyon Prehistory. Grand Canyon Association, 2006. A short overview of the early people of the Grand Canyon area.
• Huisinga, Ann, Lori Makarick & Kate Watters, River and Desert Plants of the Grand Canyon. Mountain Press Publishing, 2006.

Websites:

• The Grand Canyon Association is a great resource with many books of interest: http://www.grandcanyon.org

Conservation

There are numerous conservation issues regarding the Grand Canyon and the surrounding area: among others, these include noise from sightseeing aircraft, air quality over the park, uranium mining threats, operation of the Glen Canyon Dam and its effect on downstream resources (beaches, endangered fish, etc.), visitor management (including backcountry use) and, most recently, a proposed tramway from the rim on the Navajo Reservation down to the beach where the Little Colorado River joins the Colorado River.

The Sierra Club, along with its conservation partners, has a long, extremely strong, and impressive history of protecting the natural and historic cultural values of Grand Canyon; we will talk about some of these issues.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.