Horseshoe Mesa 5246′
Grand Canyon National Park
Total Time: 2 days
Distance: 9.0
Elevation Gain: 3,400′
Crux: Class 4
Companions: Holly, Steve and Cara Whittingham, Justin Shelton, Brian Joseph, Colin Pickles, Alex Wallace, Emily Elkins
Trailhead: Grandview Trail- trash and pit toilets, no water
Just a few weeks after my three day brush filled stint on the North Rim, I was back in the Grand Canyon, this time for a more casual backpack down Horseshoe Mesa to celebrate my birthday. There would be 9 total in our group, with plans to tag the summit of the mesa via the class 4 south slopes. There was a pretty wide range of climbing ability in the group, and in the interest of making my year 31 a lot safer than year 30 (see: Chimney Rock) I brought a rope and a few pieces of pro to protect the short 30′ of fourth class and offer everyone a belay. Our group camped outside the park entrance the night before, and after filling waters and organizing our packs, we drove to the Grandview Trailhead. I had been on the Grandview Trail two years prior to summit Berry Butte, but for most it was their first time on the trail. After a group shot, we started down the steep trail, switching through the Coconino and passing the turn off for Berry Butte early on.
The trail went around a north-south ridgeline and dropped onto a very sunny east facing slope, which would make for a hot and unenjoyable ascent the following day. We took a break when we reached a notch along the trail between the rim and an unnamed summit along the ridgeline that dropped all the way to Horseshoe Mesa. We passed a few groups on the descent, most returning from the Cave of Domes, the only cave in the entire park open to the public. With breaks, it took us about 2 hours to descend the 2400′ to the mesa below. The first camping options were near the junction to Miners Spring and some old ruins at the saddle.
Although it didn’t specifically say so on our permit, it seemed like a group of 9 would qualify for the group site a bit further on the plateau, so we hiked past the ruins to a wide open spot with room for our five tents, with our own private bathroom a bit further along the trail. After pitching our tents we hid in the shade for lunch, letting the sun dip a bit before our summit attempt.
The route meanders up the south face starting just west (left) of a shallow rib of talus above one of the deeper gullys cutting across the southern end of the mesa. We found the class 3 break in the first Supai band, and did a slow ascending traverse to the east, working through the Supai bands as we went along.
The class 3 break through the second last Supai band was at least 100 yards east of where we started up, and we carefully worked across a narrow ledge to a class 4 break in the summit band. GCSS says that spot is marked by a large prickly pear cactus- we found the skeleton of one near the base instead. Alex and Justin started up the class 4 to solo it, quickly getting up the first half to a ledge where they found the final 15′ to be much steeper and more exposed. They both opted to wait for the safety of a rope, and I tied in and started up the pitch. The final crack where they had stopped was a bit awkward and I was happy for the rope, as much as it seemed like overkill to hike down.
I built a quick anchor off a juniper tree at the summit and slowly began to bring people up one by one, bringing up a climber while tossing down the other end of the rope with a harness attached to the next person in line. It wasn’t the most efficient way to climb, but we were soon all on the summit plateau and hiked east to the high point to enjoy the fantastic views to the north in the afternoon light, dominated by Vishnu Temple. I left one of Art Christiansen’s copper registers in the summit cairn, finding a can with a notebook and only a single entry from the summer.
After everyone was content with their photos, we hiked back to the juniper where I built a rap station with webbing and a rap ring. Two by two, we single strand rapped down the summit band, myself going last to untie the knot in the middle in order to pull the rope. We reversed our route through the Supai and made it back to camp just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Justin had gone to fill up on water from Miner’s Spring but was unable to find the water source. Thankfully, most people had hiked in a gallon and we were able to ration and share water with enough to get everyone out safely. After dinner and enjoying the various libations we had hiked in, we went to sleep for an early wake up to hike out in the cooler morning temperatures.
Alarms went off just before sunrise and we broke camp shortly after 8 AM. Cara and Steve had a long drive back to Tucson and parted ways with the group as the rest of us went to explore the Cave of Domes before the long hike out. It was a bit further than I would have liked given our short water supplies, about 0.75 miles each way from camp, but definitely worthwhile with some nice stalactites and even a bit of boxwork along the ceiling.
We were still able to beat the worst of the sun for the hike out and ascended in shade for most of the lower parts of the trail. The remaining 7 all reached the rim by noon, and we headed to the village to shower before driving to Flagstaff for dinner, drinks and camp before climbing Humphreys Peak the following day.
