The Trailhead for the Whitmore Trail is some 80 dirt road miles south from St. George, Utah. I had to ask to be sure that I was on the correct road. "What do you want to go out there for?" "But it is dark out there!" said the man at the grocery store. I stayed on the main road and finally saw the first sign after 23 miles.

I drove to Bundyville and car-camped at the newly rebuilt schoolhouse. The volunteers did a beautiful job! Soon after Bundyville the road starts to descend into Whitmore Canyon. It is steep, but not too steep for passenger cars. At the Double D Ranch, Buck came out to warn me of the road ahead. We talked for awhile, "You know what you’re doing!" "I’m surprised anyone would drive that road at all."

A mile past the airstrip the road starts up the first lava flow. I drove another mile up to the cattle guard near some cows and a water tank and parked, still some 8 miles from the real trailhead.

I shouldered my pack and headed south down the road. It was easy walking with great views of the Lava flows over the Hermit and Supai to the east and Whitmore Point to the West. At the trailhead there was a fire ring (bring your own wood) and an old cowboy cabin. I hope the cabin gets restored someday.

The old cowboy line shack at the head of the Whitmore Trail. A real beauty, it has two rooms and an open porch on the opposite side. The roof is in good shape. All the cowboys and cows are gone now.

The Whitmore Trail is only a mile to the Colorado River, some 1000’ below. It passes through some fantastic Basalt formations and joins the River .5 miles upstream from Whitmore Wash on a nice sandy beach. The trail is easy and well marked.

I hoped to connect with my route from last April to the Lava Flow at River Mile 183.5, so I dropped by pack, and headed upstream. It was the usual scenario. Walking along the water when I could, beating brush when I couldn’t. I had my tough workman’s gloves and long pants on. The brush is the corridor mix of willow, tamarisk, and mesquite. There were a few little blocks of lava to climb over. I saw one large private river party go by.

It was fun to come upon the big wall of lava going down right into the water. There is no possibility of getting around it even at low water. The current of the river goes right up to the wall! I climbed up the lava to connect with my route of last spring. I short 5^th class pitch would require raising/lowering packs. Joe Motter of Hurricane found an easier way more to the west on a trip over the winter.

Heading upriver to the impassable lava block on the left that comes right down into the river.

My line connected, and 2 pm, I stated back to Whitmore. It was a little faster doing the route the second time. I hurried over to the Whitmore Wash Beach to make camp, but was surprised to find a large river party of Canadians camped there. "You want some water?" "No, thanks, I have some", I said, standing on the beach with the Colorado River going by at 8,000 cfs. "What are you using to filter your water?" "Nothing!" I said dryly. I headed downstream a bit to the other camp.

Friday was to be a real adventure. I was solo, and unsure if I could make it all the way to Parashant. Harvey describes this stretch as "difficult and tedious". I was on the trail by 7 am and making good time. I stayed along the water when I could, beat brush when I couldn’t, and took a high deer trail when the way was blocked by lava or outcroppings.

"My bucket has a hole in it" have you ever heard the old Hank Williams' song? A small bucket and couple of other rusty cans in a sheltered area of Tapeats.

Tapeats was the first obstacle. I went up and at the had found some old cowboy or miner cans and a bucket. I wonder what they thought about being in such a remote place? Going higher, near mile 193, I was soon on a ball bearing traverse of loose cinders, but eventually dropped down again into Boulder Wash.

Heading down to Boulder Wash! A big, beautiful, wide open area. However, the brush is really thick, and travel is slow and difficult. This is the last photo of the trip on account of the camera jaming from dust and dirt.

I saw many signs of deer and beaver, but not one snake. The Ocotillo were just beginning to bloom. There were barrel cactus, and many creosote bushes. Boulder Wash would make a nice camp.

After Boulder Wash I went up again, starting to enjoy being away from the brush, and enjoying the great views. High above, on a precarious slope, I passed Mile 194 camp where a boat party was still camped.

I passed a nice beach below, where Harvey didn’t go up in time, and had to back track .5 miles and ended up camping, before going up again the next morning.

I was pretty well bushed. Everytime I got to the river I would drink 1-2 quarts of water or Gatorade and dunk myself to stay cool. I was never away from the River for more than one hour. I was averaging about a mile an hour, and knew I would be at Parashant about 5 pm. as long as I could keep moving.

Battling the brush, I often found myself at the losing end. Sometimes I would just fall backwards into it to create a bit of a path. The grass was waist high. I could not find any sign of hikers or deer ever coming though. I got slapped across the mouth with a Mesquite branch, drawing some blood. Finally, I went up and followed a faint deer track, but it pinched out and I returned to the river.

I cooled down and went up again, contouring around and finally coming to Harvey’s fault route. This route was discovered by George Billingsley, and he, Harvey, and a few others have used it to access Parashant from the Esplanade. I was not convinced it was really it, probably from exhaustion. I saw a ramp heading down the downstream side and followed that down. I was shocked when it cliffed out 30’ from the bed!

I climbed back up, and looked hard to see if there was another way. A route down the center of the fault, around the chockstone looked doable. Still not convinced, I left my pack and climbed down to see if it worked. It did! I climbed back up, grabbed my pack, and lowered it down step by step to the bed.

I knew I was almost there. I was only two miles from Parashant. But, from the River to the cliff was blocked by the thickest brush I have ever witnessed in the Grand Canyon. Even John Green says that he and Jim Ohlman had to "struggle a great deal to reach the base of Billingsley’s route." I made two attempts to penetrate into the thicket only to be turned back each time. Then I remembered Harvey saying to "stay close to the cliff". I have never heard better advice. I still had to fight, but at least it was only on one side. At one point I climbed 8’ up the cliff to climb over the worst of the Mesquite.

Finally, the going got easier, as I met a route from the other side. It looked like they gave it up and turned around. The cliff gave way and the beach opened up and in another mile I was at Parashant. The hardest day I have ever had in the Canyon. I was bruised, scratched, exhausted, and delighted. The day had been a real adventure!

Parashant is a nice camp, and the starting place for hikes downriver 3 miles to some Pictographs, most recently discovered by Harvey Butchart. The old trail, originally built by prospectors and once maintained by the wild burros continues for 40 miles downriver. Mollies Nipple is an all day destination from Parashant. Hike the wash for ten minutes and exit to your left up past the basalt flow and through the broken cliffs to the Esplanade. Continue west another 2 miles to Mollies Nipple.

Again, with an early start I headed up Parashant, taking advantage of the easy walking in the streambed. Parashant has some wonderful narrows as it passes through the Temple Butte Limestone. I calculated about seven miles before exiting the Parashant for Frog Spring.

Parashant is easy walking. Andrus Canyon comes in from the left about 4 miles from the Colorado River. Andrus Canyon provides exits to the Copper Mountain Mine. Frog Spring is another two miles up the main bed. I saw a good exit, which I’m sure now was the fault mentioned by Harvey, but I thought I hadn’t gone far enough. When I finally did exit Parashant, I could not locate Frog Spring or the trail. I must have gone too far. One green area looked like it might be a spring, but I found no water.

I saw a 300’ break in the Supai that I prayed would go to the Esplanade. I decided to try that, and if it didn’t work I would continue SW above Parashant until I got to Frog Spring. I climbed up to the break, and left my pack to climb up and see if it go. Eventually I topped out on the Esplanade below Whitmore Point. I climbed back down, raised my pack in one place, and was soon back at the top.

It was now an easy 12 miles back to the car. I headed east, cross-country, through overgrazed rangeland. It was easy going on the bare dirt. I looked for potholes in the likely places but they were all dry. Occasionally I saw arrowheads and pieces of flint. I had one .5 quart of water, which I sipped little at a time. Luckily a cool front was moving through, so there was a cool breeze. The sun was at my back.

The old jeep road to the Frog Spring Trail is possible for four-wheel drive trucks, but seems to be seldom used these days except for the occasional ATV group. I arrived back at the car at dark, after enjoying a spectacular western Grand Canyon sunset.

Sunrise on the recently rebuilt Bundyville Schoolhouse. The volunteers did a great job rebuilding it after vandals burned the orginal school. Do you know the story of Bunndyville?

Three days, and 46 miles. I found no water other than the Colorado River. As usual, I traveled light and had fairly cool weather. It did not get above 80 degrees. Not a trip I would recommend. There are many nicer parts of Grand Canyon to see with a lot less struggle. Thanks to Joe Motter and Mike Quinn for encouragement, information, and assistance!