May 9th 2023

13.5 mi +4,500 ft

Last night Rockin convinced me to start earlier than 6:00am so we could get the bulk of this climb done in the cooler morning temperatures. I wasn’t reluctant to agree, it’s just that I love sleeping in the morning so much, especially when I am laying on the Earth, waking up to the sounds of birds cooing and chirping, the moist air still hovering over a still sleeping land. Alas, we set our alarms for 4:30am.

This morning when I wake I still need my headlamp to go find a bush to pee behind. The moon seems to have crossed over our heads in the night though I wouldn’t know it. There is no sign of the moon now. There is a fine sand covering a lot of my equipment and I feel thankful that we camped here as opposed to the River. We would have become sand rats! As I sip my coffee I get right to work getting myself dressed and packed up. There will be no leisurely lingering in camp this morning.

By 5:30am we are ready to hit it, we take one last gander of the stunning views of our surroundings and begin the slow, steep climb up the Boucher trail. The first pitch is quite vertical, gaining a few hundred feet in only 0.2 miles to where the Tonto and Boucher meet, marked by a giant cairn. Here, we depart the Tonto proper and continue up a narrow gorge on the Boucher.

We can hear flowing water from a side tributary below us. Often it has a trickle even in the Fall, yet this year it sounds like it’s flowing quite strong. This water is buried beneath chunky boulders and all manner of vegetation, so it’s not water one could access from above. Since we have no water access for the entire day today, we are carrying 3L each, hoping the cool morning air will get us far without having to drink too much. We also have the elevation gain on our side today, since it should theoretically get cooler as we climb closer to Hermit’s Rest, which sits at 6,500 ft.

Boucher is one of my favorite trails in the Canyon. I feel like I say that about a lot of trails. I know I said South Bass is my favorite before, but Boucher is a close second. It is defintely the most rugged and steep of all the trails that drop to the River, in particular this segment where you have to climb up a narrow gorge with giant boulders and lots of overgrown vegetation. We make quick work of this in the lovely morning shade, gaining elevation rapidly. Looking back from where we came we can see morning sunlight beginning to hit the canyon walls all around.

When we reach the top of the gully it suddenly pops us out to flatter terrain near Whites Butte. We’ve already been bracing ourselves for full sun and boy do we get it. Surprisingly there is a beautiful field of new grass covering the Earth like a blanket that waves in the breeze. We are taken aback by it’s beauty and not only that, when we look to the East we see silhouettes of the Canyon layers through a hazy low angle of morning light. We are beauty struck and we stop to admire this unique viewpoint.

The trail from here remains flat for a spell, we meander along Cedar and Juniper Trees as the soil shifts to red then sandstone again, back and forth. As we walk, we stare at the formidable wall ahead, the wall we will climb, though from here you really can’t see how. It is definitely blazing with sun up here and totally different from where we just climbed up from. Before we start the steep pitch to the next section of bulky climbing we stop in a lovely shaded alcove for second breakfast and second coffee.

Now the trail gets a little less obvious in places and we get off route once or twice. This is where Rockin’ shines, she is up and ahead of me in no time and suddenly I can’t see her any more. We call out to one another and gradually find our way back together and back to the trail. What I do know is that there is always a trail through here, though in some places it does get washed out and other places people have created social trails to get around obstacles. Like the Tonto, you can’t get lost per se, but you can get yourself into a tricky situation, so it’s best to keep to the trail as much as possible.

And then there is the truly washed out section of Boucher which is like the final pitch that pops you up to what I am going to say is the Hermit Shale level. This segment of trail is in need of repair, you can see where they once had rebar and wooden pieces holding the soil in place but not now. That little piece of rebar is the key grip that gets us up. It is definitely loose and steep and not a place you want to be falling. We’ll just leave it at that!

This little segment always makes my adrenaline pump, I’ve done it many times, and it never seems to get any easier. Today, I am glad to have a companion to scramble over it, one who also confirms the sketch nature of this bit of trail so its not just me being scared. This isn’t a heavily used trail by comparisson to others in the Canyon’s South Rim, but I would still think enough to warrant some trail maintenance? It’s ironic though, this is probably one of the sketchier segments of any trail on the south Rim and probably has the least number of incidents, and I’m guessing it’s because people who hike here are more dialed into their risk assessment?

The next section from the Hermit Shale up to the Coconino Sandstone is absolutely lovely. It twists and turns and weaves around the contour at around 5,000 ft through lovely trees yet the temperature and intensity of the sun is unforgiving.

When we make it to the trail junction for Dripping Springs we plop down in the shade under a great Juniper tree and douse ourselves with our water that is now so unrefreshingly warm in our bottles. Sometimes its better to put the water on your body than in your body and this is our strategy now. We do get hydrated though and we eat snacks and eventually get cooled off enough for the final push. We are making good time yet we still have a ways to go.

This is where the Boucher makes a split and from here on we are hiking the Hermit Trail to the top at Hermit’s Rest. It’s a steep push to finish with. Now that we are within a few miles of Hermit’s Rest we begin to see some folks out for day hikes. Up until this point we had only seen one other hiker this morning, he was headed out to Whites Butte and we warned him of the rock slide/wash out and the heat and advised him to use the rebar.

He seemed like he knew what he was getting himself into but also something concerned me. He said he had a permit to spend a few nights out but that he was unable to take cooking fuel on the airplane so he was no longer going to do the overnight trip and just do day hiking instead. Maybe that was a good decision, but a day hike out to Whites Butte is pretty demanding and in the increasing heat, I had my concerns about him. I was relieved when he turned up again around the Dripping Springs trail junction, saying he decided to call it good and turned around just after Yuma Point.

We leave the shade well rested, cooled down and loaded up on calories for the final push. We decide not to take any side trips neither to Dripping Springs nor Santa Maria Spring as we rationed our water well and we will still have to shuttle cars when we finish, so our day is far from over.

The final 1.3 miles up the Hermit’s Rest trail climbs well over a thousand feet and the trail tread is rocky and slanted much of the time. I fall into a climbing and breathing rhythm that takes me up up up pretty quickly and soon my clothes are no longer dry, I am super sweaty and hot, hot, hot. Despite gaining elevation, we haven’t really beat the heat. Eventually I can’t stand it any longer, as there is so little shade in this section, I have to stop and take off my long sleeve shirt. It is so crusty and just making me too hot, suffocating. I decide to hike the rest of the way in just my sports bra and it’s like a small miracle. Why didn’t I think of this before?

The last mile is a hoof to reach the top, most of the trails in the Canyon are like this, its like one final test of endurance and mental fortitude to make that last, steep push to the finish. When we arrive at the trailhead sign we down the last bit of our piss warm water and high five for another successful trip.

Take a look at Rockin’s Reel here on Instagram!