2026 Jan GRCA/Clear Creek

  •   Category Price Weight
  • Food for 4.5 Days $49.40
    5.67 lb
  • Water $0.00
    4.41 lb
  • Clothes, Worn $0.00
    0 lb
  • Above the Rim $0.00
    0 lb
  • Sleep $515.00
    2.67 lb
  • Clothes, Carried $169.50
    1.63 lb
  • Pack $241.50
    1.22 lb
  • Shelter $437.00
    1.01 lb
  • Electronics $111.53
    0.95 lb
  • Weather-Dependent $0.00
    0 lb
  • Kitchen $54.00
    0.27 lb
  • Water $19.00
    0.21 lb
  • Ditty $43.28
    0.18 lb
  • Navigation $229.00
    0.04 lb
  • Camp Entertainment $22.99
    0.03 lb
  • Toilet $1.00
    0.02 lb
  • Total $1893.20 18.31
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 10.21 lb
  • Base Weight 8.1 lb

Prev: 2025 Winter GRCA/Hermit-Tonto-BA

Next: 2026 HDT/ARCH-CANY-Hite

Trip

Winter in GRCA. 5 days, 4 nights in the canyon; bookended camping on the South Rim. Fly to PHX, shuttle to GCV, the same back out.

Results

WOW! What a place! The Grand Canyon invokes emotions in me stronger than any other place I have so far been. I had an experience on CCT that was genuine, real and powerful. This was my first significant off-trail experience and the miles were slow! Never gone <= 1 mph for so long. One day I went under 5 miles total(!).

Overall I did ~41.4 miles: 14 on maintained trail, ~18 on unmaintained trail and 9+ on use trails/off-trail (always <= 1 mph). This is my most significant off-trail experience since Knapsack Col on the CDT, exceeding it.

This is the first time I have assembled a trip from scratch: piecing together trails and cross-referencing a collection of uncorrelated beta and seeing what's out there for myself. All info I was able to find from 2+ sources ended up largely being reliable, though some lines apparently intentionally hide key trail features and I understand why that would be. I set a sorted list of priorities with the goal to gather as much information as possible.

I experienced very favorable weather conditions: sunny days with bluebird skies, some clouds finally appeared day 5. Temps 30F-75F. Long 13+ hour nights, during the day lots of shade, might be in the shade 14-17 hours per day, possibly longer depending on location. Due to the relative paucity of winter sun the ground is colder than you'd expect and you're laying on it a long time. Bring the warmest sleeping pad you have. Some cool breezes at night but nothing unpleasant. Distant high-wind sounds. Mostly fleece and pants weather during the day especially in the shade, sun hoody and shorts in the afternoon sun.

Gear-wise

Great

  • Hoka Speedgoats: these were fantastic, they did exactly what I needed, they protected me from the ground and the Vibram Megagrip outsole never slipped even on wet rocks. I've had failing shoes ruin trips. Loved these.
  • XTherm: the star of camp life. a comfy warm bubble to sleep on. slept well on this every night, this is perfect for me.
  • MYOG sun hoody v2: kept me comfortable, cool, dry. the fabric is soft on my skin and tough enough to mostly stand up to cat's claw. the top button locks down the hood, i did not get any sunburn at all and it visually looks low-contrast and natural. the sleeves are slightly shorter than my ape arm would prefer but with sun gloves it covers my skin. chest pockets are super-useful, used them throughout every day to stash and fetch items, and zipper setting also vents shirt which is insanely useful, as is venting via the front buttons.
  • Caltopo Pro: used on my phone regularly, started dropping pins as notes on day 2 onward which I can use to understand my decisions, distance and time.
  • dance pants: i almost never took these off (only on Clear Creek Trail, in both directions). i was in shadow most of the time so i was rarely excessively warm, the use trails so tangled and the flora so spikey -- they protected me. If only these had pockets they'd be perfect, but I also kind of love their uncompromising cheap minimalism.
  • Pa'lante V2: i absolutely love this pack. it fits so well, it has so many pockets and I use them all (7 or 8, depending on how you count), the pack expands and contracts as needed and everything fits just right. The curves on this thing are incredible. I have my kit and my hiking workflow pretty locked down and this fits hand-in-glove. full loaded with a day of food it fits under the seat in front of me on a plane as my personal item.
  • Sun Company Brr-Ometer thermometer: this was a surprise, i found myself using this multiple times everyday at camp and occasionally as I was moving for informative and layering purposes. In the canyon, especially in winter, I found myself having to layer and de-layer more than I expected as I moved in and out of shadow.
  • Borah bivy: a comfy warm envelope for sleep, love it. a wind jacket for my quilt -- air never stops moving in the canyon and all campsites in the canyon are either next to a creek or wildly exposed. day 1 i struggled a bit with all the layering but i got better day 2.
  • Nunatak quilt: 200+ nights, never a bad night's sleep. i've tried other quilts but never found one that fits me so perfect.
  • Patagonia down sweater hoody: kept me warm and mostly toasty below and above the rim, folded up at night into the hood for a pillow. wish it was an ounce or 2 lighter but it's durable and took some abuse; can't complain. Theoretically for a great forecast one could bring a lighter jacket, but in winter this would be trusting your safety to a forecast being 100% right, which is a very bad idea. In winter I want a buffer to ensure that I can be toasty warm in all realistically possible conditions.
  • nasal dilator: used this throughout every day to keep my nostrils open. due to some breathing issues I find I end up mouth-breathing quite a bit normally and this dehydrates me faster in the desert.
  • BD Distance z-pole: fantastic. used it at 135mm for descent into the canyon, 122cm for tarp pitch, 130cm most of the time. folds down compact enough to fit perfectly in a V2 side pocket. theoretically these are allowed in carry-on now but i'm too nervous it will be taken away.
  • 6-panel z-lite: I used this multiple times every day and always enjoyed it. The terrain is very rugged and the ground was surprisingly cold; I would have regretted not having this. Due to the cold ground this was not warm enough to comfortably sleep, which I tried twice and ended up inflating the XTherm.
  • Apple AirTag: i have been shipping all boxes and the occasional checked luggage with an AirTag and I've never regretted it. On this trip the AirTag is probably the reason I was able to catch the 9pm shuttle instead of the 10:30pm one: due to an extended delay my bag shipped on an earlier flight than I did, and it was set to the side of the baggage carousel with at least a hundred others. It would have taken me a very long time to find it otherwise. This allowed me to to leave the terminal in a few minutes rather than an hour or more and meant I lost less sleep on that awful first day than I otherwise might've. This is a no-brainer application for me.
  • Simblissity LevaGaiter: first trip with them, they worked great and protected my shoes and ankles from copious red dust and plant life. more durable than dirty girls but still light, and they velcro on without having to take my shoes off.
  • DAC V stakes: i love these, they are good stakes and they store fitted together perfectly in the V2 stake pocket. these are my stakes.
  • alpha direct hoodie: worked great, kept me warm and never sweaty. stylistically it's torso is on the short side while my sun hoody is a few inches extra long so it's a bit clunky but there are no style points in the backcountry.
  • Nitecore NU20 Classic: classic headlamp is the way to go for winter. used more than i expected every night, used red light when appropriate, wore it around my neck and never needed a recharge after 4 nights. perfect! i think i can shave a gram or 2 by tweaking the band.
  • Evernew 2L: worked great, needed 4L a few times. pouring from this is awkward at best but i think that's just
  • headphones: used these a ton at camp, ran down my phone battery a little more than I should have, but really enjoyed music on the long nights looking up at the sky.
  • Ibuprofen: popped regularly starting day 2. had some swelling in my right knee after a slight slip and needed it more than usual.
  • Sun Bum 30 SPF lip balm sunscreen: used this for my nose every day, and used on my legs when I stripped to shorts for Clear Creek Trail. this is the sunscreen version of toothpaste dots, it weighs 9g vs ~30g for a travel sunscreen tube. not unreasonable for just applying some to my nose ~3 times per day. Everything else is covered by clothing. I grew my beard a few days beforehand to shield my lower face a bit.

Did its job

  • food: ended with one extra PB packet and a handful of mixed nuts. the calorie count was good for 4.5 days.
  • duffle: did the job, checked it on the way there and stashed items at the south rim, carried it back in my V2. I think this is a useful tool for canyon hikes, although it has to be stashed somewhere you will return to. I think gray would be a smarter color than black, but it did its job.
  • wool cap: light and warm. I live in this thing all winter so it was a familiar little piece of home.
  • USB-A to USB-C adapter: hey! used on the plane to plug my USB-C-to-lightning into USB-A
  • scissors: use a couple of times: opening packages, popping a blood blister on my toe, trimming a cats-claw-pulled-thread on my new sun hoody (it passed the durability test)
  • printed permit: showed to the ranger at CBG

Room for Improvement

  • cat can stove: somehow worked great on night 1, then not-so-great every time thereafter, regardless of my attemps at improvised windscreens. must've been beginners luck. this absolutely needs a dedicated windscreen. aluminum foil would probably work.
  • TJ's fancy mixed nuts: these are slightly higher calorie than the trail mix I used last year so I tried it for that reason, but I didn't like these nearly as much. evidence: i still had a handful left at the end of the time, pure heresy. good food always runs out first. need more chocolate next time. i don't eat much chocolate in real life but find myself craving it on trail
  • toothpaste: for short trips like this i should just bring toothpaste tabs one-per-day, the tube itself is mostly overhead

R.I.P.

  • buff: left behind somewhere north of the CC/ECC confluence. i HATE that this happened, i LOVE a buff for layering and use one every day. Despite being exhausted I spent 45 minutes going back for it but couldn't find it. This caused me to adopt a new policy: while stopped, do NOT put down any item small enough to fit in a pocket. ALWAYS put it in a pocket so you don't leave it behind. I looked to buy a replacement in GCV and Flag Walmart but had to get one from REI.
  • soap dropper bottle: left behind somewhere. where?
  • ditty bag has enough holes in it that stuff is falling out. i've gotten years from this freezer quart ziploc, this is just the perfect ditty. time for a new one, but i don't want to buy a box of 25, i just need one...

Never Used Once

This is the lowest gear tier for an inveterate weight weenie, I mean, ultralighter, like me: stuff I carried that I never used. I hate carrying crap I don't need, it weighs me down in more ways than one. Even the R.I.P. stuff at least got used.

  • wallet: obviously I used it above the rim but not useful below (although technically you can buy stuff from Phantom Ranch)
  • paper maps: never used once
  • carabiner: I actually never used it; CBG has boxes, true backcountry sites aren't plagued by critters, but Clear Creek would've been a good place to use it, as mice were around (I stuck my smellables in the crook of a tree and they were not touched)
  • patches/tape: luckily never needed them
  • matches: never needed, mini Bic was 100% reliable

In total that is like an ounce of stuff unused. Not bad!

Last Minute

As of a day before, the forecast for the next week looks ideal: sunny with lows in the mid 30Fs, highs in the 60Fs. I will leave behind all of my weather-dependent optional items.

Due to a logistical blunder I will miss a connecting shuttle from Flagstaff to GRCA by 18 minutes, forcing me to stay the night in Flag and get to the canyon the next morning. I will need to be more comprehensive in my planning to prevent this sort of thing in the future.

Details

Weather Forecasts: Grand Canyon Village, Phantom Ranch

Expect temps 5F-70F: 5F-55F on South Rim, 20F-70F inside, 30F-60F likely. Expect any kind of weather: wind, rain, sleet, snow, cloudy, or maybe summery bluebird days. Blustery winds are probable. According to the National Weather Service's Flagstaff office data over the last 20 years January averages 4-5 precip days -- so for me some precip is possible, extended precip is unlikely but not impossible. South rim may have a foot of snow or be snow-free. Snow deep inside the canyon is rare. High exposure. Rugged terrain. Clear Creek Trail is unmaintained but the description from 2024 suggest no surprises.

This lighterpack represents my carry from the South Rim on Day 1 into the canyon.

Layer for comfort between 5F static to 70F moving; for high winds, freezing rain and whiteout snow. A typical winter day in the canyon is partly cloudy with highs in the 50Fs.

Water Availability 1. According to GRCA Alerts water is currently off at Phantom Ranch but should be back on by the time I get there. Luckily they haven't turned the Colorado off (although that is a joke I guess they could at Glen Canyon :-P) 2. According to SNOTEL as of Jan 22 it is DRY, less than half median rainfall. Don't assume you'll see any water other than the guaranteed sources.

Context

If there is a point to being in the canyon, it is not to rush but to linger ... for as long as one possibly can.” ― Kevin Fedarko

Comparable but more aggressive trip and mileage to 2025 Winter GRCA/Hermit-Tonto-BA but this time on the other side of the river with more wide-open views of the South Rim. According to NPS statistics, Clear Creek is the most popular permit in winter outside of the corridor, averaging a bit more than 1 permit per day in January. It is more popular than the Hermit's Creek-BA area on the Tonto I visited last year where I saw equal numbers of bighorn sheep and people (7).

Most visitors seem to just tag Clear Creek, but major hiking opportunities abound in all directions: downstream tagging the Colorado River, upstream Cheyava Falls and nearby Obi Canyon with ruins and a rough scramble up to the north rim. Eastbound traversing ECC up between Wotans Throne and Angel's Gate one may reach Vishnu Creek and downstream to the Colorado or upstream to Nankoweap via the Juno Saddle and Butte Fault Route. I am interested in all these potential possibilities.

I was spoiled by the conditions last year, just a little bit of snow to walk through and a colder-than-average 7F night on the South Rim and then essentially perfect weather inside the canyon (40F-75F, clear skies, low wind). Weather will not always be this nice, be ready for clouds, precipitation and especially wind!

Changes from last time

Don't carry stuff I didn't use last time: the 6 oz Zojirushi is out, never used it. I carried a 13 oz umbrella because my wife borrowed my 4.5 oz Montbell, don't let that happen again. I may still carry an umbrella for precipitation but I will check the forecast first. I also didn't use any decaf coffee, which I drink huge amounts of daily in real life. I imagine myself having to hunker down and ride out some weather, maybe bring a single tiny packet or none at all... barely read my e-book but it doesn't weigh anything.

Don't carry stuff I don't need below the rim: The biggest change is to 2-bag it. Instead of mailing myself a box of food to GCV I'll bring a cheap, light duffel and check food + airtag + stakes for the flight, then use the duffel to stash items I don't need below the rim before I descend, then pick them back up at the end of the trip. This'll let me avoid carrying ~2 lbs I don't need and have a TPW ~3 lbs lighter than last time. This will keep my TPW below 20 lbs with a brief exception of the end of day 1 between CBG and Sumner Wash.

Increase caloric density: my TJ's ramen and hot cocoa are nice but are 115 cal/oz and 83 cal/oz respectively, which is too low. Replace with higher-calorie options such as coconut crunchy clusters, dark chocolate, oven-baked cheese (delicious!) and a different ramen/pb setup. Replace low-calorie beef sticks with TJ's oven-baked cheese -- high-cal, high-protein, high-salt and high-fat...

More calories: Last time my 5 lbs / 10,400 calories (130 cal/oz) food worked out almost perfect for 4 days but was too light on day 5. The only thing left at the end was my decaf coffee which I didn't use at all. On day 5 a group of 3 locals I hiked and camped with gave me a few extra snacks on their way out that allowed me to take a few more hours exiting the canyon to do an out-and-back to the Tipoff. I think I'll bring a bit more food... Currently at 5.48 lb / 13,637 calories (155 cal/oz).

Calorie math:
=2850+2400+(960*2)+(370*4)+(570*2)+917+(340*4)+810+(190*4)
13637

A proper headlamp: For summer hikes I love a tiny flashlight because it's rarely used as the days are long. But in winter you spend much more time at camp and in the dark; a hands-free light source is much more useful and worth a bit of weight and bulk. The headlamp is easier to wrangle in the dark, I can sleep with it around my neck or in a chest pocket whereas a tiny flashlight is easier to (temporarily) lose.

More neutral colors: I brought some brightly-colored clothing (beanie and wind jacket) last time and got polite feedback on two separate occasions that it was inappropriate ("Do you go hunting?") so I will tone down the colors. I figured people would wear brighter clothing for safety/visibility reasons but I guess not!

Water carrying: After running out of water once on a 2L carry last time, I'll carry 4L from every source in the Canyon. I have to adapt a different mindset from thru-hiking where you can just walk further to water. GRCA is very dry.

Is the fleece worn or carried? Fleece is likely NOT worn during mid-day while I'm moving in the sun, but is worn every other time -- morning, stops, shade while moving, evening, night. Now Clear Creek is popular in the winter specifically because it gets longer sunlight due to being south-facing and exposed... however, I'll only be on the exposed part of the Clear Creek Trail in the evening and morning, and once I drop into the greater Clear Creek area it's more protected and likely in the shade, so given the fleece is worn more often than not, I'll count it as worn.

Itinerary

Day 1

Mather Campground to the Village Market for a hot breakfast, then around the rim eastward to South Kaibab to the Tipoff shelter then down to Black Bridge and Bright Angel campground at just over mile 10. I'll rest and get some water. If the weather is poor or I'm not feeling it I'll stay at the campground, but this would be a short day. This would be a repeat of my R2R via the AZT in 2022. The group I was with got a permit for CBG but it's only 10 miles and we got there and had lunch and then just hung around the whole afternoon. If the weather is decent and I'm feeling good I will hike another few miles and climb ~1300ft to gain the Tonto Platform, there are flat spots around mile 13 before Sumner Wash and the AJ9 boundary.

Day 2

Explore East Clear Creek and if I'm feeling up to it scramble up between Angel's Gate and Wotan's Throne. I am interested in someday attempting the Butte Fault route which connects Clear Creek to Nankoweap via drainages and saddles, so this would be a small but not insignificant and necessary part of that much larger objective someday.

Day 3

Scramble up Obi Canyon and see what I can see

Day 4

If there's time follow Clear Creek down to the Colorado

Day 5

Back up the way I came to the South Rim for a late lunch at Village Market, sleep Mather Campground. I technically have some flexibility as I have a permit at Cremation which I don't intend to use, but the permit system doesn't allow people to exit directly from Clear Creek because it's too far for most folks but I'm in good shape and from experience I know I can do the mileage and vert. But for example if the weather is terrible at the South Rim I could theoretically stay one more night below the rim though it's unlikely.

Skills

  • try cooking with the matches instead of the mini bic, maybe just bring matches next time?

Research

  1. Butchart, Harvey. (1970). Grand Canyon Treks: Vol. 1. Glendale, CA: La Siesta Press.
  2. An index map of Harvey Butchart’s Grand Canyon quadrangles
  3. The best Grand Canyon winter🥶 hike? Clear Creek!. Charming.
  4. Grand Canyon backpacking: Clear Creek from the South Rim
  5. Lisa P Hikes: Clear Creek Trail with Grand Canyon Employee and Mule Wrangler “Tex!”
  6. SNOTEL Lower Colorado-Lake Mead
  7. Rain gear