This map (above) shows our overall route.

Click on photos to see larger image.

This trip was supposed to be our group spring backpack, but Marcey injured her wrist and several other then bailed out.  Because it looked like only a handful of people were going to do this hike, I asked Rob Jones if he wanted to join us.  Rob and I have been trying to arrange to do a trip together for a long time.  And although I had never met Rob, I felt I knew him pretty well from the Yahoo Grand Canyon Hikers Listserv.  So it ended up that there would be five of us:  Rob,  Bert, Decker, Ben, and me. 

Bert, Ben and I wanted to climb Fishtail Mesa.  We had to bail last year because of weather.  So we came up with an itinerary that would not only allow us to climb the mesa, but also hike all the way to Snake Gulch.  This would require a shuttle.  Rob had done most of the route to Snake Gulch, but for the rest of us the part north of Lawson Canyon would be new.  It would require some long days, but except for climbing Fishtail, almost all of it would be on fairly good trails.

Bert, Ben, and Decker would fly to Las Vegas and drive to the trailhead.  Rob would drive from Flagstaff, and I would drive from Truchas.  We were planning to meet at the junction of FR422 and FR43, which is only about 4 miles from the trailhead where our trip would end.  However, Rob and I ran into each other at Jacob Lake, and followed me to the road junction where we met the others.  We drove to the Snake Gulch Trailhead and left two vehicles, then we all piled into my 4Runner and drove to the Sowats Trailhead (it was really tight).  We set up camp in the trees a couple of miles from the trailhead.