The third day of my 4 day Grand Canyon backpack was along the Tonto Trail from Monument Creek to Indian Gardens.   I started early in the morning to try to beat some of the heat.   I hoisted by backpack and started the day with a climb up the east wall of the canyon to crest onto the plateau. In the morning light, the north side of the Canyon filled the view.

The benchland on the south side of the Colorado River lies between the enormous escarpment that rises up to the South Rim and the drop off to the north into Granite Canyon and the river below.   Any progress along the Tonto Trail means getting past the various canyons and gullies that run from the Rim to the River.   This usually means looping uphill (south) to the shallowest part of each canyon, dropping into the canyon and climbing back out.   Along this section of the trail, there were 4 major canyons to traverse.    The terrain is very rugged, but in April, the wildflowers were out and the cacti were in bloom.

I backpacked across the barren hills for 6 hours and saw no one the whole way.   A few lizards scuttled under rocks and a number of vultures flew overhead.   For the most part, the Canyon was quiet, seemingly deserted.   The Colorado River was silent in the gorge below.

There was little water in the creek canyons.   A spring in Salt Creek would have provided some water once filtered, but the trickle of water in Horn Creek is radioactive, the result of a mine from the pre-Park era.    At the end of this section of the trail, the junction with the Bright Angel Trail could be seen and at the crest of a hill, I took one last look across the Canyon before joining the fray in the Main Corridor section of the Park.

I turned onto the Bright Angel Trail, one of the main Corridor routes for dayhikers and anyone hiking from the Rim to to the river.   A steady stream of hikers were on their way back up, a 4 hour hike from Indian Gardens.    The Tonto Trail was a rough one, but the main corridor trails are well-maintained with a good surface, proper signage, and good facilities.   I entered a lush green space.   Indian Gardens is an oasis in the desert hills with a perennial stream, cottonwood trees, and a shaded area for hikers and campers.   The National Park has even built a water pipeline down to the site.   The campground was full.   Each campsite had its own tentpad, a picnic table, an overhead shelter and large ammo cans for food storage.  After a 6 hour hike across the hills, this was luxury, but it was also a disappointment.   The off-corridor hikes were rugged, primitive, quiet, and dry.   Indian Gardens and the Bright Angel Trail were busy areas, had manicured spaces, full services (there were two water stations on the way up Bright Angel), and just too many people.   I got up early the next morning, hoisted my pack and power-hiked to the Rim in 2.5 hours non-stop.

It was time to find a new area away from the crowds.