ram
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- Joined
- Feb 15, 2013
- Messages
- 116
All trip reports in this series:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Next installment
Day 3 & 4
Up not so early the next morning, Jenny and are first out of camp at 9:30. We hike the 1/4 mile to the break and down to the river and note that a river trip came around the corner and is coming over to check us out. Man, some of those people look familiar. Ahhh, is that Dave Nally? And A.J. Pastula. And Dean Brooks and Marty Smith and a bunch of relaxed smiling and interesting looking people we don't know? Yup! Small world. The rest of our crew comes along and an impromptu reunion occurs. I knew they were on the river but had thought them further along than they were. Jenny and I hitch a ride with DNally across the river, saving us the hassle of changing from hikers, to pack rafters and back to hikers, all for a 50 yard passage.. Matt and Mark jump in with another boat. Bucky and Aron blow up their rafts and paddle it. Our friends are soon on there way.
Once on river left, we pack up and do the up and down hike all the way into Matkat, stopping when we get to the stream. Water is gotten and treated and a hike to the river down the beautiful lower gorge and back ensues. We see one more person from another rafting trip. He is the last person we see on our trip.
Matkat is a tough canyon to get up with big packs. Huge boulders block the way. Sometimes its hard to know which way to go. We haul the packs in a few places and eventually exit the southern most fork of the canyon, near the top of the Redwall. Six miles or so, takes 6 physical hours We enter a new world, walking the top of the Redwall for over 5 miles, using burro trails, spying the occasional burro, dodging all the poop and enjoying the vistas, on the way to the the top of the Panameta Fork of Matkat (SE fork).
We even had an hour or so of daylight to enjoy, after setting up camp. We were back on schedule. The next day was a joy. Why you ask? We were in DAY PACKS!! The descent of Pamameta is one of the best in Grand Canyon. Glistening white and polished Redwall Limestone, with deep swims in between. Rappels down 2 and 3 drops at a time, to save building difficult anchors and just to quote Rich Rudow..."Drop Dead Gorgeous!" A top 5 Grand Canyon slot on my list.
Once the slot ends, we hike a bit to the bottom of the Dump Truck Fork (NE Fork), seeking and finding sun. Drying our gear and warming our bodies. We have the afternoon to wander down the fork, intersect the route from the day before and do those final 7 miles or so again, back into camp.
Mark suggests getting our water a little higher up at a spring. Jenny volunteers. When she gets back she notifies us that a burro is dead in the pool below the spring. We wander up for a look. Yup. Quite dead is the burro, in the water source above where we have been drinking out of, the last 24 hours. It is 15 days now and no reports of illness. Hopefully the aquamira and stri pens did the job. Another hearts game, then to bed. Much lay ahead.
To be continued........
Pictures then a slideshow below.
Jenny Marty and AJ.... l to r
Dean Brooks
DNally
Aron and Bucky crossing the river
Matkat rapid
In Matkat
Yellow reflections
Arriving Panameta Camp night 3
Getting started in Panameta
3 tier drop
Reflections
Burros at a distance
back in camp
Our water supply friend
Slideshow of the whole album
https://picasaweb.google.com/108034287150978265447/150MatkatPanametaOloPart2#
All trip reports in this series:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Featured image for home page:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Next installment
Day 3 & 4
Up not so early the next morning, Jenny and are first out of camp at 9:30. We hike the 1/4 mile to the break and down to the river and note that a river trip came around the corner and is coming over to check us out. Man, some of those people look familiar. Ahhh, is that Dave Nally? And A.J. Pastula. And Dean Brooks and Marty Smith and a bunch of relaxed smiling and interesting looking people we don't know? Yup! Small world. The rest of our crew comes along and an impromptu reunion occurs. I knew they were on the river but had thought them further along than they were. Jenny and I hitch a ride with DNally across the river, saving us the hassle of changing from hikers, to pack rafters and back to hikers, all for a 50 yard passage.. Matt and Mark jump in with another boat. Bucky and Aron blow up their rafts and paddle it. Our friends are soon on there way.
Once on river left, we pack up and do the up and down hike all the way into Matkat, stopping when we get to the stream. Water is gotten and treated and a hike to the river down the beautiful lower gorge and back ensues. We see one more person from another rafting trip. He is the last person we see on our trip.
Matkat is a tough canyon to get up with big packs. Huge boulders block the way. Sometimes its hard to know which way to go. We haul the packs in a few places and eventually exit the southern most fork of the canyon, near the top of the Redwall. Six miles or so, takes 6 physical hours We enter a new world, walking the top of the Redwall for over 5 miles, using burro trails, spying the occasional burro, dodging all the poop and enjoying the vistas, on the way to the the top of the Panameta Fork of Matkat (SE fork).
We even had an hour or so of daylight to enjoy, after setting up camp. We were back on schedule. The next day was a joy. Why you ask? We were in DAY PACKS!! The descent of Pamameta is one of the best in Grand Canyon. Glistening white and polished Redwall Limestone, with deep swims in between. Rappels down 2 and 3 drops at a time, to save building difficult anchors and just to quote Rich Rudow..."Drop Dead Gorgeous!" A top 5 Grand Canyon slot on my list.
Once the slot ends, we hike a bit to the bottom of the Dump Truck Fork (NE Fork), seeking and finding sun. Drying our gear and warming our bodies. We have the afternoon to wander down the fork, intersect the route from the day before and do those final 7 miles or so again, back into camp.
Mark suggests getting our water a little higher up at a spring. Jenny volunteers. When she gets back she notifies us that a burro is dead in the pool below the spring. We wander up for a look. Yup. Quite dead is the burro, in the water source above where we have been drinking out of, the last 24 hours. It is 15 days now and no reports of illness. Hopefully the aquamira and stri pens did the job. Another hearts game, then to bed. Much lay ahead.
To be continued........
Pictures then a slideshow below.
Jenny Marty and AJ.... l to r
Dean Brooks
DNally
Aron and Bucky crossing the river
Matkat rapid
In Matkat
Yellow reflections
Arriving Panameta Camp night 3
Getting started in Panameta
3 tier drop
Reflections
Burros at a distance
back in camp
Our water supply friend
Slideshow of the whole album
https://picasaweb.google.com/108034287150978265447/150MatkatPanametaOloPart2#
All trip reports in this series:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Featured image for home page:
