2026 Jan-Feb GRCA/Clear Creek

  •   Category Price Weight
  • Food for 4.5 Days $48.20
    5.47 lb
  • Water $0.00
    4.41 lb
  • Clothes, Worn $0.00
    0 lb
  • Above the Rim $0.00
    0 lb
  • Sleep $515.00
    2.33 lb
  • Clothes, Carried $187.50
    1.87 lb
  • Pack $241.50
    1.22 lb
  • Shelter $434.00
    1.01 lb
  • Electronics $112.53
    0.95 lb
  • Weather-Dependent $0.00
    0 lb
  • Kitchen $54.00
    0.27 lb
  • Water $0.00
    0.21 lb
  • Ditty $43.28
    0.17 lb
  • Navigation $229.00
    0.04 lb
  • Camp Entertainment $22.99
    0.03 lb
  • Toilet $1.00
    0.02 lb
  • Total $1889.00 17.99
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 10 lb
  • Base Weight 7.99 lb

Prev: 2025 Winter GRCA/Hermit-Tonto-BA

Next: 2026 HDT/ARCH-CANY-Hite

Update

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.

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.

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 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 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