Tonto Trail: Boucher Trail to Bass Trail
As Canyon hikers gain experience many seek to broaden their wilderness horizons and inevitably thoughts turn to Tonto Trail west from Boucher Creek to Bass Trail. This segment of the Tonto is notorious, regarded by Canyon experts as the most difficult and potentially dangerous section of this long trans-Canyon trail system. Main reason: It is almost 30 rough, unmaintained miles from the permanent water in Boucher Creek to the South Bass Trailhead, and throughout that entire stretch there are no reliable water sources near Tonto Platform level. None. Another thing: Once started, hikers are committed. The complete lack of bail-out routes to the rim between Boucher and Bass means the only possibility for help is at the end of the trek. Combine these factors with the unusual selection of Tonto Trail hazards (such as narrow, eroding trails, numerous passages near the brink of sizable cliffs and a notable lack of shade) and it all adds up to a serious undertaking.
Vital Statistics
Mileages
Boucher Creek to Salt Creek: 5 miles (8 km)
Slate Creek to Turquoise Canyon: 9.3 miles (15 km)
Turquoise Canyon to Ruby Canyon: 5.8 miles (9.3 km)
Ruby Canyon to Serpentine Canyon: 4.8 miles (7.7 km)
Serpentine Canyon to South Bass Trailhead: 9 miles (14.4 km)
Monument Creek to Hermit Creek: 3.8 miles (6.1 km)
Hermit TH to Boucher Creek: 9.5 miles (15.2 km) via Boucher Trail
Maps
Grand Canyon, Piute Point, Shiva Temple and Havasupai Point 7.5 USGS Quads
Elevations
South Bass Trailhead: 6646’ (2026 m)
Tonto Trail: 3500’
Hermit Trailhead: 6640’ (2024 m)
Trailhead Access
Access from the east is typically via Hermit or Boucher Trails. From the west the South Bass is the usual starting point. Please see these rout descriptions for further information on reaching the trailheads and accessing the Tonto Trail. Driving directions to South Bass Trailhead are also available
Trail Description
Follow Boucher Creek down to the confluence with Topaz Canyon and look for the place the trail climbs the slope west of the drainage bottom. Climb the trail to the top of the Tapeats Formation and start around Marsh Butte, headed for Slate Creek.
Progress west of Boucher is generally straightforward for an experienced Tonto Trail hiker. The Tonto is like a contour line on a top map. The trail much prefers a consistent elevation, climbing or descending only when there is not other option. The route stays relatively close to the top of the Tapeats so hikers can generally guess about where the trail is likely to be. Crossing the sidecanyons can be tricky. The trail usually goes more or less directly across the cobble filled beds of the drainages to the far side before continuing, but not always. Should the trail seem to vanish when crossing a sidecanyon, back up and look up or down the drainage for the proper exit. The trail gets a bit vague when rounding the pints between the sidecanyons, and occasionally seems to disappear altogether. Remember the Tonto Trail is seeking that theoretical line of least resistance between the Tapeats rim and the steepening talus slopes above. Stay on that line and the trail should reappear shortly. To say the Tonto Trail is indirect represents masterful understatement. Map study does not adequately prepare one for all the ins and round-abouts, but given the time, water, and energy, it is mostly just a question of slogging out the miles.
Water Sources
As previously stated, drinking water is the essential issue along the western Tonto Trail. There are no permanent springs, only unreliable, unpredictable, seasonal trickles here and there. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not. The Backcountry Office occasionally receives and files water reports from hikers or patrol rangers, but the utility of these reports is limited because what was there two weeks ago might not be today. The only way to obtain accurate water information before departing is to talk with someone who walked the route very recently, but that is easier said than done. Under these circumstances, hikers have no choice but to assume the worst. It is the responsibility of the trip leader to always have a backup plan if anticipated water sources come up dry.
The most critical step you can take to protect yourself and your group is: Schedule your hike for the cool months, November through early March. This is when water is most likely to be found in the sidcanyons, and cool weather means hikers can cover the ground most efficiently. Secondly, get it when you can! Fill your water containers, and your belly, every chance you get. Heavy water loads and dry camps are almost inevitable.
Water records indicate (predictably) that the best chance for water occurs during cool weather in the larger drainages, Ruby, Turquoise, Sapphire and Slate. Water is sometimes found above or below Tonto Trail level, but you will have to decide if it is worth the time and effort to check. There is relatively easy access to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Bass Trail and via the beds of Serpentine canyon and the unnamed sidecanyons east of Serpentine. There are rugged scrambles to the shoreline from the rim of the inner gorge west of Turquoise and via the drainage bottom in Ruby and Slate, but all routes to the River are major detours off the Tonto Trail and the latter three require well developed climbing and route finding skills.
Campsites
The Tonto Trail between Boucher Creek and South Bass Trail is contained within “at large” use areas. Decent sites can usually be found where the trill crosses the sidecanyons and occasionally near the trail between the drainages. As usual, hikers are requested to utilize established sites to minimize impact on a pristine part of the Canyon.
Special Notes
The Tonto Platform provides the only convenient route between the sidecanyons for almost 40 river miles, but it falls far short of traversing the entire length of the Grand Canyon. West of the Bass Trail the Tonto starts pinching down until it disappears entirely at Garnet Canyon. West of Aztec Ampitheater the Esplanade, a new platform system at the top of the Supai Formation, becomes the main playing field for trans-Canyon walkers.
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