Spelunking on Horseshoe Mesa

The Grandview trail is located about 12 miles east of the main South Rim tourist center.  The sign at the trailhead says "2.5 miles to Horseshoe Mesa."   Don't believe it!  Anyone who has made the trip knows it's more like 3.5 miles.  It takes about three hours, including stops for smelling-the-roses, taking pictures, and nourishing the body to make the climb down.  I know we made better than 0.6MPH. 

The descent from Grandview point, one of the many awe-inspiring overlooks along the South Rim, to Horseshoe Mesa courses along unmaintained trail from an altitude of 7,400 ft on the rim to some 5,000 ft on Horseshoe Mesa.  In addition to the rigors of a 2,400 ft altitude loss, the trail winds it's way through five distinct rock strata.   There aren't many ways down into the canyon because of the way the rock strata tend to fracture vertically.  The GrandView trail seeks out cracks and crevices on it's way down but, in spots, humans (miners in the late 1800's) gave mother nature a hand at crafting the route.  The Trail is literally hung from the canyon wall with drill rod, metal spikes, rebar and timber.  It's only when you get below these spots and look back that one see the perilous construction.  Oh, and by the way, the Park Service means it when they say the trail is 'unmaintained'.  Some 'steps' are half your body height tall.  This is painfully apparent on the push back out when you're tired and must shift into rock-scramble-mode with full pack in order to proceed.

There are many good camp sites on the mesa, one in particular affords commanding views down Hance Canyon, our objective on day three.  After setting up camp, the crew was ready to take on the real objective for the day, exploring several abandoned copper mines and one of the largest caves found in the Grand Canyon.   Click each thumbnail at left in succession to get all the details...

Day 1 Hike Agenda