Grand Canyon National Park: Tanner and Beamer Trails to Little Colorado River | Backpacking in Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park: Tanner and Beamer Trails to Little Colorado River This stout three-day backpacking trip emphasizes the "grand" in Grand Canyon as it follows hardscrabble trails to remote campsites, old mining claims, and the scene of an airplane crash.

Ter Map Sat Hyb Ter MyTopo OSM OCM MS Map Tanner Trail (26 photos) MS Sat MS Hyb 1 of 1

MAP TOOLS Author: Backpacker Magazine Activity: Backpacking Elevation Profile State: Arizona (AZ) Distance: 37 mi SHARE TRIP Difficulty: 7 / 10 USGS Topo Map: Desert View, Cape Solitude Social Bookmarks Rating: 2 rating(s) Like

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Here's the deal: This 37-mile trip, connecting the Tanner and Beamer Trails to the Little Colorado River, is for seasoned, fit hikers with solid navigation skills. If that's CREATE A TRIP you, read on. If not, amp up your adventure resume with other Grand Canyon hikes before trying this challenging trek to beachside campsites, a plane crash site, and All Gear Preplan Trip & Map 100-year-old mining ruins.

Upload .gpx File To start, drop off the South Rim from Lipan Point on the Tanner Trail. It's a 4,600- Download From foot, knee-buckling descent to the Colorado River over 9 miles, your first water Garmin source on this three- to four-day trek. Pack enough water for five hours of descending and consider dropping a water cache at Seventy-five mile saddle or the Guide To Using GPS top of the Redwall for your ascent back to the rim. The first hour descends quickly through the Coconino layer then at mile 1.2 the trail eases near the base of Related Topics Escalante Butte. Next, the trail gains and loses an extra 400 feet as it S-curves Arizona around Cardenas Butte to a break in the Redwall Limestone. Tackle a series of steep switchbacks and take in long panoramic views across the red-stained Grand Canyon canyons to the mighty Colorado River. Follow the thin but obvious trail down the Grand Canyon steep ‘redish’ Dox sandstone slope to the Colorado River at Tanner rapids. Fifty National Park yards before the final descent to Tanner rapids beach you’ll notice a cairn with a trail taking off to the right – that’s the start of the Beamer Trail. There are plenty of North Rim campsites on Tanner beach including a nice hidden overhang camp for those

http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=515868[9/13/2012 8:18:36 AM] Grand Canyon National Park: Tanner and Beamer Trails to Little Colorado River | Backpacking in Arizona

inclement weather days. You’ll also find a composting toilet as a small reminder of civilization. Refill water bottles near Tanner Rapids or continue north (upstream) on the Beamer Trail. NATIONAL PARKS HALL OF FAME Share your tales of travel & The first 3 miles on the Beamer Trail crosses Comanche and Espejo Creeks and The best videos, photos, and beta from adventure with our step-by- step guide. Upload trail follows a skinny path with some scrambles along sandstone cliffbands then drops Denali to the Smokies. descriptions, photos, video, to a sandy campsite near Lava Canyon Rapids and Palisades Creek to end a 13- and more. mile day; it'll take about 8-9 hours from the trailhead to here. GEARFINDER Find all the outdoor equipment you The next day leave camp with only a daypack, food, and water. Explore the need. leftovers of a nearby copper mine then head north again along the Colorado River where the Beamer Trail will quickly ascend to the top of the Tapeats Sandstone cliffs just North of Palisades Creek. The trail skirts the Tapeats cliffs for 6 miles in PHOTO & VIDEO CENTER and out of small drainages until the junction with the Little Colorado River. Essential gear, instruction, and more.

Between Chuar and Temple Buttes, look across the Colorado River to an area known as Crash Canyon. At 11:30 a.m. on June 30, 1956, airline officials received GPS TRAILS APP FOR IPHONE & a transmission: "Salt Lake, United 718—ah—we're going in." Moments later, United ANDROID Airlines Flight 718 collided with TWA Flight 2 over the Grand Canyon, sending both Locate, research, plan, and save trips on planes plummeting earthward. The fiery wreckage struck Chuar and Temple Buttes your smartphone. near the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers, killing all 128 people aboard. The tragedy sparked the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration. You can still see plane debris glittering in the sun on Chuar Butte.

Ahead, the Beamer Trail descends to the beach just inside the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. Now, follow the idyllic blues of the Little Colorado River to Beamer Cabin, a 100-year-old mining cabin. Rest and eat before heading six miles back to camp. If you camped at Lava Canyon Rapids, it's best to

backtrack an extra three miles to Tanner Rapids for night two or three, depending on your permit. This provides an ideal position for the final day's ascent back to Lipan Point. There is no camping allowed within 1/4-mile of the mouth of the Little Colorado River.

PERMITS: Required backcountry permits are $10, plus $5 per person per day. The use area covering Tanner Trail is BB9. The use area covering the Beamer Trail from Comanche Creek North is BA9. Download application at nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry-permit.htm; then fax to (928) 638-2125.

MORE INFO: Grand Canyon National Park, (928) 638-7888; nps.gov/grca

--Mapped by Dale Diulus and Rich Rudow

PLAN IT

GUIDEBOOK AND MAP Hiking Grand Canyon National Park, 3rd Edition , Ron Adkison and Ben Adkison ($19, falcon.com). Trails Illustrated Grand Canyon ($12,natgeomaps .com). Plan other trips in the park using BACKPACKER's Grand Canyon National Park page.

SEASON March to May and October to November. From June to September, inner canyon temps from are often above 100°F. Start early to beat the midday heat. Also, don't forget it is much easier to descend into the canyon than climb back up. Expect to spend at least double the time climbing than descending

KEY GEAR Wide-brim hat and six liters of water storage.

CONTACT Backcountry Information Office: (928) 638-7875 (from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday to Thursday), nps.gov/grca

STOCK UP Canyon Village Marketplace, South Rim. (928) 638- 2262 http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

FREE TRIP PLANNERS Get news on vacation deals and lodging at mygrandcanyonpark.com

10 Summer Hiking Essentials

Water - Plain and some with electrolyte replacement. Food - especially salty foods. Eat twice as much as normal. First Aid Kit - bandaids, ace wrap, antiseptic, moleskin, etc. Map - while many trails are well-marked, maps are helpful tools.

http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=515868[9/13/2012 8:18:36 AM] Grand Canyon National Park: Tanner and Beamer Trails to Little Colorado River | Backpacking in Arizona

Pack - to carry the essentials. Flashlight/Spare Batteries - allows you to hike out during the cool of the evening. Spray Bottle - fill with water for your own personal air conditioning system. Hat/Sunscreen - to keep the sun off you and protect your skin. Whistle and/or Signal Mirror - for emergency use. Waterproof Clothing - poncho or jacket; especially usefull during monsoon season (mid-July to early September).

TO TRAILHEAD: From Grand Canyon Village, drive east on AZ 64 for roughly 21 miles. Turn left onto Forest Service Rd. toward Lipan Point and the trailhead for Tanner Trail.

Position Format: Datum: Degree WGS84/NAD83 Tracks TRK01 Distance: 31.45 mi Points: 3897 Tanner and Beamer Trails

Points of Interest 39 Points of Interest in this trip Location: Unknown WPT001 Location: Unknown Trailhead: Descend from Lipan Point on the Tanner Trail. It's more than 4,600 feet to the Colorado River.

Related Trips

Comments Post a comment Hiking to the Confluence 12/14/2009 I have hiked this route four times from the South Rim to the Confluence of the Little Colorado River (LCR). Plan on a full day of hiking to the LCR and camping overnight. This is especially true if you want to spend anytime exploring the area. Also, bring plenty of water as the upper Beamer Trail climbs nearly 500 feet above the river and provides little to no access to the river water below.

If you plan to actually visit the crash sites you will need to pack a small raft and oar to cross the river. The aircraft that collided are separated by 1.5 miles (Temple Butte and Chuar Butte). The impact site of United Air Lines Flight 718 is not accessible unless you are a technical rock climber and desire to scale over 800 feet of vertical cliff. Small fragments can still be found on the lower slopes near the Colorado River.

"Crash Canyon" as it is referred is not the crash site location of either aircraft, but does provide hiking access to TWA's impact site on the northeast slope of Temple Butte. The tail section of the TWA aircraft separated after the collision and fell on the north slope of "Crash Canyon".

Some wreckage has been located along the upper Beamer Trail across from Temple Butte where the TWA plane came down. This wreckage was debris from the collision impact and fell to this location.

To correct the above trip report story, the distress message received by airline officials was from United Air Lines Flight 718 AFTER the collision with TWA Flight 2. The photos and full story of the accident can be found at www.lostflights.org. Added by LostFlights Trip Update 11/30/2009

http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=515868[9/13/2012 8:18:36 AM] Grand Canyon National Park: Tanner and Beamer Trails to Little Colorado River | Backpacking in Arizona

Today we added new trip details and photos sent in from map contributor Rich Rudow. Thanks Rich.

Kris Wagner, map editor Added by kriswagner

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