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Trip Report - May, 1995 - Bill Hall, Thunder River, and Deer Creek trails

This trip report uses the new approach that I tried with the prior one in which photos that I have taken along the trail have been included with the text. The first page gives you an index to the various days of the trip. The report for each individual day contains thumbnail images of the photos embedded in the text. To view the full size image you should click on thumbnail image. The smaller photos are 600 x 400 pixels and there is a pointer to a larger 1200 x 800 pixel image that is accessible from the smaller ones.

This trip was, again, not a complete success, but it came pretty close. The only major problem was not being able to locate the river route which connects the Deer Creek area with the Lower Tapeats area. As a result of this I had to backtrack through Surprise Valley and then past Thunder River and Upper Tapeats to reach Lower Tapeats and the Colorado River. This doubled the mileage for the day and made for a very long and tiring hike but it also had some advantages, among these being able to stay out of the sun longer and getting to spend more time at Thunder River.

Another minor problem was caused by forgetting to bring my sunscreen - ouch! It wasn't on my supplies list because I used the same list that I used in December and in December you (or at least I) don't need sunscreen in the Canyon. This will teach me to have a separate list for Spring, Summer and Fall hikes as opposed to Winter. As a result of this my forced march back through Surprise Valley on day 2 was partially done in a sweatshirt under a baking sun. Luckily, I found a sympathetic Canyon "brother" on my way through the Upper Tapeats area, who supplied me with enough sunscreen for the rest of the trip.

Happy Trails


Trip map
View larger trail map camera Photo map
Day 1 - Monument Point to Deer Creek and Deer Creek Falls
Day 2 - Deer Creek to Thunder River and Lower Tapeats
Day 3 - Lower Tapeats to Upper Tapeats and Thunder River
Day 4 - Upper Tapeats to the Esplanade
Day 5 - The Esplanade to Monument Point

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