This map (above) shows our overall route.

Click on photos to see larger image.  All photos are courtesy of Chuck Katzenberg.

This trip began almost immediately after a Grand Canyon backpack to Vishnu Canyon that I did with Ben.  On October 21, after hiking to the rim via the Grandview Trail, Ben and I drove to Kanab, Utah, where we ate dinner and checked into a motel.  The next day we laundered our clothes, bought a few items at the grocery store, then drove to the Sowats Point area to camp for the night.  The next day we drove around a bit, checking out a few places that interested us, then drove to Indian Hollow where we would meet the rest of our group.  Instead of camping at Indian Hollow, we set up camp near the intersection of FS-232 and FS-425, about 5 miles from the Indian Hollow Trailhead.  The rest of our group started showing up in late afternoon.  One person (Ethan) didn't arrive until well after dark.  It soon started raining much of the night.  I spent the night in the back of my 4Runner.

This trip was a slight modification of Steck's Tapeats Creek / Kanab Creek Loop.  I almost opted to skip this trip because I thought it might be too hard on my knees (I had a second knee replacement about a year earlier).  I have done this loop several times, and what worried me the most was the long, steep talus slope through the Redwall along the Cranberry Route.  So I decided to do the trip, but instead of doing the Cranberry section, I would start at Monument Point and hike down Deer Creek for the night.  Then I could meet the rest of the group the next day as they would be heading directly to the river from the Cranberry route.  So before we left the south rim, I picked up a permit for one night.  However, because of the heavy rains (for several days prior), Bert and some others were worried about the conditions on the talus slope.  So they decided to also take the trail to Deer Creek, but starting at Indian Hollow.  They stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument and modified the permit.  They got a permit for camping on the Esplanade before dropping down to Surprise Valley. 

Trip members included Ben, Bert, Leslie, Decker, Ethan, Ann-Mariah, Mark, Chuck and me.