I had first planned this trip for the autumn of 2020 but fear of flying during the early days of the Covid pandemic put an end to that plan. I tried again for the autumn of 2021 but could not get the permit that I wanted and ended up with one night at Hermit Creek, one night at Granite Rapids and one night at Monument Creek. By the time we got to Hermit Creek and setup camp I did not really feel like doing the day hike down to the river.

I tried again for the autumn of 2022 and managed to get this trip. I had originally requested to go in on the Hermit Trail and out on the Bright Angel but, again, that was not available. This trip gave me the two nights at Indian Garden which would allow for the day hike down to Phantom Ranch. I had wanted two nights at Hermit Creek but could only get one and ended up with two nights at Monument Creek and then the final night at Hermit Creek. This would give me a lay-over day at Monument so I could also do a day hike down to the river there which was nice. And going from Monument Creek to Hermit Creek was pretty easy and I arrived at Hermit Creek early enough to setup camp and then still do the day hike down to Hermit Rapids and back. I gave the Backcountry Office plenty of flexibility on dates and itineraries and they came through for me. This trip would also start on a Tuesday so it would not be the typical rush job of flying out on Saturday and starting a trip on Sunday. I had plenty of time to get gear together and relax for a couple of days before.

I had been toying with the idea doing a rim-to-rim-ti-rim hike during my second week out there but some strange foot/boot/sock problems during the backpacking trip put an end to that idea. I had planned to do it withing camping, just taking some long rest breaks at various places, and that did not sound like a very good idea when I really did not know what was going on.

Instead of the rim2rim2rim hike I decided to climb Kendrick Peak instead, which is something else that had been on my bucket list for a while. This was my second mountain in Arizona after Huumphrey's and I had a beautiful day for it. Kendrick Peak is 10,425 feet (3,178 m) and the round trip hike was about 10 miles with 2,500 feet of elevation gain.

Trip highlights

• Getting down to Phantom Ranch again and getting one of the 100th Anniversary T-shirts
• Nice visits with two river trips at Granite Rapids
• Finally getting to do the section of the Hermit Trail down to Hermit Rapids
• Nice clear nights at Monument Creek and Hermit Creek campsites
• Having beer with lunch and dinner for the first two days was pretty nice
• Bagging Kendrick Peak