Nankoweek, Freefall the perfect alias, happy hour creek, mystical day, a failed rat hunt, Nankosteep (again), and saddle up windy.

Day 1 – Lower Saddle Mountain Trailhead to Marion/Seiber Muav camp.

Ascend Saddle Mountain Trail to Nankoweap (Nanko) Trailhead.  Flies swarming everywhere.  Marion/Seiber Route steep and slow.  Skip most Redwall bypasses, travel straight down bed, pass packs with rope a few times.  Pablito slips, falls, slides 20 feet down rockface…scary but only 1 scratch on arm.  Also blew out seat of his only pants.  Scree chute sucks.  Deep bruise on palm of hand from bracing against nasty fall.  Hear frogs = water, finally.  Nice trickle at Muav spring, camp below, tired, skip dinner for snacks and bed.  My 125th total day of Canyon backpacking.

Day 2 – Muav camp to Seiber/Bourke camp

Hot early.  Descend dry Marion/Seiber bed to shortcut route over to Seiber/Bourke drainage.  Excellent camp here, plentiful flowing water in creek right below, high fives.  Explore area then lazy lounge at Happy Hour Creek.  Enjoy watching mouse repeatedly fail getting into Foodsack.

Day 3 – Mystic Falls day-hike

Bit of a bushwack up creek.  Poor route choice up Mystic arm leads to complete hackfest.  Falls are remarkable, truly mystical.  Giant ponderosas here.  Don’t wanna leave but guess we have to.  Find much easier/quicker route back down.  Log my 700th total Canyon backpacking mile.  Something dug a fresh hole back in camp while we were gone.  Pablito doesn’t awake from siesta when lizard hops on back of his hand.  18-inch western patchnose snake slithers around and thru camp.  Woodhouse toad eats ants in camp.

Day 4 – Seiber/Bourke camp to Nanko Beach

Descend creek to main arm of Nanko Creek, water most of way, easy walking, 1 hawk, 1 mule deer.  Flood(s?) since last visit changed Nanko drainage significantly, much less vegetation, 2009 camp washed out.  1 more deer spooks close out of shady cleft down Nanko narrows.  Hot at confluence with River, lay down in creek feels great.  Move over south hill to River rat beach hoping for cold beer and food, but beach camp is all to ourselves.  Sand flies and spiders a nuisance here.

Day 5 – Nanko Beach to Nanko Creek/Trail junction

Pair of deer tracks right thru camp they didn’t wake us.  Mallard flies down River.  Up to granaries just as rats leave, good timing.  Ascend Nanko Creek to camp near trail junction.  Frogs in camp again.

Day 6 – Creek camp to Saddle Mountain saddle

Haul up to Tilted Mesa still a bitch, especially with extra water for dry camp.  Lunch and siesta under juniper.  Supai traverse also still a bitch.  Gopher snake tries to hide next to trail.  Unbelievably windy at saddle camp, easily 50+ mph gusts.

“This wind really sucks.”

“Yea it blows.”

Day 7 – Saddle camp to lower Saddle Mountain Trailhead

Easiest last day of Canyon hiking to be had.

Recap

Marion/Seiber Route fun, but difficult start with packs loaded for a week, probably easier to ascend at end of trip.  Upper Nanko has so many cool things to see and do, a wonderful area but the tourist choppers can get annoying.  Get rid of em.  Lot of shade hunting time, might never do Nanko in May again.  Regret not leaving a small water cache at saddle for return, we hauled 30+ lbs of water up to saddle for dry camp, just enough to get us out.

Horseshoe Mesa Redwall trifecta, new way to Hance but 0 for 2 to Sockdolager, and free gently-used gear.

Day 1 – Grandview Point to East Tonto

Descend icy Grandview Trail.  Dude ascending without crampons slip-sliding all over the place.  Lunch at H-Mesa miner’s cabin, cook pot in fireplace has been returned/replaced, it was missing last we were here 14 months ago.  Proceed to west arm trail, 3 mule deer cross path before us.  Descend to East Tonto Trail, dry camp below east arm H-Mesa at the bighorn outcropping.

Day 2 – Tonto camp to Hance Creek

Eastward on Tonto.  Descend Tapeats break shortcut to lower Hance Creek.  Day-hike downstream, negotiate 1^st waterfall bypass, turn back at 2^nd.  Return to standard Hance camp at big cottonwood.  Used TP in upper camp…gross.  Barely need sleeping bag.

Day 3 – Hance Creek to Horseshoe Mesa

2 ravens watch us pack up.  Ascend to H-Mesa with customary stop at Page Spring.  Lazy nap and lounge time atop mesa.  Jack-Attack hikes out to the inspirational shitter.  1^st sighting of jackrabbit below rim.  Windy night.

Day 4 – Horseshoe Mesa to Grandview Point

Hike out Grandview, someone dropped an empty water container right in middle of trail.

Recap

Don’t know if Park Service or guilty hiker replaced the cook pot.  1^st sighting of mule deer on H-Mesa.  Of the 3 H-Mesa Redwall trails, west arm is quickest to Tonto, and in surprisingly good shape, though it must be the least used.  Hance shortcut a fun easy detour.  Sockdolager becoming our nemesis, need earlier start next time.  Blessed with very mild temps for February.