Skirting the Tonto

The night before we had met Ranger Wisher and we discussed the Clear Creek Trail and climate. My TOPO shows it at just under 10 miles, but the rangers there all believe that it borders around 11 miles. By days end it would feel like 21. Ranger Wisher strongly recommended getting an early start and that we leave around 04:00. He reminded us that it would be a full moon and the trail would be well lit. I wanted to leave by first light (around 05:30) but El thought I was a tad crazy. I got that look. I capitulated. We didn't leave until 06:20. That decision would now come back to haunt me later in the day. A little side note. The rangers there know what they are talking about. Listen to them. (You like the foreshadowing?)

We made our first ascent up to the Tonto Platform through a series of switchbacks (We would make the ascent to the Tonto two more times before this trip was over). It turned out that day the temperature in the shade at Phantom reached 98. On the Tonto Platform heading east into the sun the temperature would soar in to the 100's. As we curved our way on the trail, Zoroaster Temple loomed over us. It would be a welcome sight on the return trip. Clear Creek trail is not flat, but rolls over the platform through several washes. You know those washes with the nice sized rocks that make great ankle twisters and play hell with the sole of your foot.

I remembered seeing a suggestion box at Phantom. My suggestion would be: "Can you please remove all Prickly Pear Cacti and Agave (Century Plant) from the trail." I made sure I hit almost everyone. My legs look like a scratching post (I can now sympathize with Wild E. Coyote). Of course El was enjoying everyone I hit. One of the down sides of being in the lead, everyone witnesses your mistakes (but all for the benefit of the group assured!).

Two thirds of the way there we met two other hikers heading out. We chatted for awhile. I asked what the trail into Clear Creek was like. "Interesting", came the reply. There's a warm thought. Well, it was closing in around 11:30 and we had about another two hours to go by our estimates. I was really feeling the heat at this point. I was taking in liquids regularly (drank close to 3.5 liters by now) and having trail mix to off set the electrolyte loss, but I started to get a watery-nausea feeling in my stomach. I thought that maybe this was the result of a little water intoxication or hyponatremia (below normal sodium level). We stopped again for a break and I ate again. I felt pretty good for a while until we started to make our descent into Clear Creek. The nausea returned and I started to feel slightly wobbly, my hands were considerably swollen, I was starting to get leg cramps, and worse the fringes of anxiety were creeping in. The signs were there; heat exhaustion was setting in and most likely hyponatremia.

The descent into Clear Creek is not exactly fun. The upper portion is loose rock. After descending through the loose rock, you are greeted by more scree. The scree is truly fun especially while trying to navigate a path that is less than a foot wide. At times the path would actually narrow to about a boot width. They say the Canyon can transform you..... it can also increase your religion. El and I were both astounded to find out from the rangers that they send a trail team on mules down those same paths to maintain the toilet at Clear Creek. As we hobbled into camp, or should I say I hobbled, Elliot was still playing Roadrunner at this point; we set up our tents under the first set of Cottonwoods at the camp site. We had the entire site to ourselves; we were the only ones there. I then proceeded to sit in the shade on a nice rock just above the waterfall and let the ol' dogs cool in the stream. I was feeling pretty lousy at this point and, unfortunately, the anxiety was starting to set in hard. (The rangers say about 80% of the calls to the aid station at Phantom are due to anxiety about climbing out; mine was coping with the heat exhaustion). I ate my usual lunch of peanut butter & honey on tortilla. By dinnertime, I had recovered fairly well, but had no appetite what so ever, especially for spicy Cajun rice and beans. Why do this trail? Although you primarily travel across nothing more then baked rock, the vistas this trail presents are truly incredible. The trail is well defined and the only time you have to pay attention to cairns is when you cross one of the washes. Clear Creek is also a wonderful oasis in itself. If you want to get away from a lot of other hikers this is a good place. Be prepared though, I forgot how quickly the desert can humble you.

Distance traveled: 11 miles. Time: 6 hrs 50 min.