Day 9

November 1, 2021

Exit to Rim Via Schmutz Trail


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Today's Route Stats:

   Distance:  3.9 miles

   Elevation Gain:  1800  feet

   Elevation Loss:  100 feet

We got an early start because we had a lot to do today.  The first part of the hike today was through black brush, and the trail was impossible to follow.  It is a slow, steady climb to a huge boulder near where the trail begins to climb steeply to the rim. 

We didn't have much water when we started out, so Ben volunteered to surge ahead and get water at Schmutz Spring.  Although I knew where it was located, I had never been there before.  When looking towards the spring from below, no sign of the spring is evident.  Apparently ranchers dynamited the spring many years ago to enlarge the catchments basin.

We had agreed to meet up at the huge boulder.  When Rich and I got there, Ben had not found the spring because he was not looking in the right place.  Once he got straightened out, Rich and I waited while Ben climbed up to the spring and returned with water.  He said the spring water looked clean and clear. 

It took me a long time to get to the trailhead where we had left my motorcycle.  I think we got there around 1:00 PM. 

 

Starting the Climb to the Rim. Getting Closer to the Top. Approaching the Schmutz Trailhead.

 

The objective now was to ride my motorcycle back to Toroweap to get my 4Runner.  The drive out to Schmutz Trailhead before the hike was very slow because of the rough road and my motorcycle was being jerked every which way, causing problems with the trailer hitch carrier system.  So I decided it would be best to ride the cycle back to Toroweap, leave it there and return to Schmutz without it.  This round trip took almost 3 hours.  We then piled into my car and drove back to Toroweap.  It was dark when we got there.  We mounted the motorcycle on the trail hitch carrier and began the long drive back to Kanab, and then to Page, where we had motel reservations.  We didn't get back to page until about 11 PM.  It was an exhausting day.

The next morning I dropped Rich and Ben off at the Page airport (they had an 11 AM flight), and I began the long drive back to Taos.

 

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