April 11 - 19, 2026
“Go anyway. The unknown is where everything worth finding lives.” ~ Anonymous
The Gems route in the Grand Canyon follows the South Bass, Tonto, and Boucher trails. It’s not especially technically difficult but is very arduous. The biggest issue is finding water and shade. I researched this route pretty heavily, marking any place others had found water. And, it had been an unusually dry winter. But we felt relatively confident we’d be ok with the potential routes to the river as a backup.
On Valentine’s Day, just 8 weeks before we were to drop in for this 9-day backpack trip, I tore my meniscus. I was unable to bear any weight for almost 5 weeks, meaning I only had 3 weeks to determine whether I could do this trip or not. I saw a PT who gave me a couple exercises but then was gone until a week before the start date. I saw her 3 days before we were to leave and fortunately, she gave her blessing.
She did say it may be a bit painful, especially on the downhills, and I may have some slight relapses but likely wouldn’t do any further damage. So, the trip was on!
Day One - April 11, 2026
Down we went, dropping 3,834 feet from the South Bass trailhead. Lenny and I were joined by his son Reid and girlfriend Hilary. They are both very strong but, also very upbeat and fun. And, it was Hilary’s birthday. Happy Birthday Hilary and welcome to the Grand Canyon!
About a half mile down, the trail rounds the inside of a gully and levels out for a short bit. Right above that are some old, Native American ruins. Don’t blink or you’ll miss them! Then the trail runs down a slope of cream sandstone.
Although my knee was hurting on the regular trail from the start, it was very painful when we got to the sloped sandstone section. I started to get worried. I didn’t want to make anyone in the group turn back, nor did I know what the backup plan for me would be. I turned sideways and slowly side-stepped my way down. On the trail, I could dig in my poles in front of me to use as brakes. Soon we reached the Esplanade level, where it was pretty flat for about a mile or so. And, just before we were ready to drop off this level, we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we dropped into the canyon in a much bigger way. Initially, you go down red sandstone rock steps that William W. Bass and crew put in about 100 years ago. It’s really pretty amazing.
Next, you round the corner, heading to the inside head of the canyon to a break in what is called the Redwall. It’s a massive layer in the Grand Canyon running about 500-800 feet thick. The Redwall is a layer of limestone deposited about 340 million years ago during the Mississippian Period. It’s a blue-gray layer that has been stained by iron turning it orange-red. It’s one of the hardest rock types in the canyon, pretty resistant to erosion.
We headed back to the inner canyon stepping down off blocks of sandstone and even having to crawl over a minor rockfall. Whenever the steps were too big for my knee, Lenny was there to offer a hand or a shoulder to lower me down.
Once at the inner canyon corner, the trail dropped precipitously. Reid kindly offered to carry my pack down at this section and I carefully made my way down with Hilary. Once off the hill you see above, you enter a narrow, bouldery section where we took a break.
From here, the trail gets back to being a more steady, less steep, more normal trail down to the base where Bass tanks are and where camp will be. About one mile from the river itself. I took my pack back and we all headed down to camp.
Once down at the base, we set up camp. Then Lenny and Reid went to get water from Bass tanks. There is a very large pothole that retains water most of the year. However, they came back empty handed! The pothole was dry!
They made the agonizing decision to hike the 2+ mile round trip to the river to get water. It was getting late, about 6:30 pm and the sun was beginning to fade. They grabbed their headlamps and took off. Dinner would have to wait.
Hilary and I set up our respective tents and rested while we waited for them to return. About an hour later, they called on the radio (we brought two) and let us know they’d gotten water and were heading back. By the time they returned and made a little dinner, it was close to 9:30. Luckily, we had a planned day off the next day so we could all sleep in.
And, luckily, my knee felt ok!
Day Two - April 12, 2026
It was a very lazy morning…a lazy day in fact. We planned a day off so that we could go to the river. I really wanted to see the boat, the Ross Wheeler.
Each of us brought with us our own exhaustion though. I had just returned from a two week trip to Boston after finally walking without crutches. Lenny had returned just a couple days prior from a Canadian ski trip. Reid and Hilary both had their own challenges just getting ready and getting here given all they are doing–Reid working full time and Hilary working on her PhD.
So, we indeed slept in. Then we went down to the Bass tanks for breakfast. Even though they were empty, there are some nice ledges to hang out on. We ate, napped, snacked, and napped some more. Before we knew it, it was almost dinner time!
Late in the afternoon, we packed our daypacks with our dinner fixin’s and our water setup to prepare our water for our hike the next day. The Gems route is notorious for its lack of water. Tomorrow will be the first of many water carries for “dry” camping.
We quickly found the trail to the river. The guys hadn’t quite found it the night before when they went for a water run in the dark. Instead, they went mostly down the wash. It was a pretty easy trail though except when it crossed the wash. We were always on the lookout for the next cairn.
Just above the river, there is a stone box. Was it an oven? Storage? Or?
We worked our way down to the river. The trail was faint but we found our way ok. Then we stumbled upon it. The Ross Wheeler boat!
It’s a great story — here’s the full tale of the Ross Wheeler:
The Building of the Boat
The Ross Wheeler was designed and built in 1914 by Bert Loper, who named it for local steamboat pilot Roswell “Ross” Wheeler. Loper was one of the legendary pioneer river-runners of the American Southwest, spending decades navigating the Colorado River and its tributaries. Adamschallau
The 1915 Film Expedition
The boat was used during an expedition led by Charlie Russell, who, along with August Tadje and Leslie Clement, had planned to make a motion picture of running the Grand Canyon by boat. It was an ambitious project — capturing on film what was still one of the most dangerous and remote river journeys in the country. Adamschallau
The plan fell apart quickly. They discovered that the small boat was cumbersome and prone to tipping. After several mishaps and with fatigue setting in, they elected to abandon the boat at Bass Rapid at river mile 108.3 and hiked out of the canyon, never returning. Adamschallau
The Boat’s Strange Second Life
Rather than letting the Ross Wheeler be swallowed by the river, a miner gave it a second life ferrying material across the river to his asbestos operation. A miner by the name of John Waltenberg thought the boat might be useful to someone at some point, so he winched it up into the rocks above the high water line. Brad EdmondsonAdamschallau
Where It Sits Today
In 1984, the Ross Wheeler was secured with a chain by the National Park Service. It remains there to this day, perched high above the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon — a rusting steel relic of one of the early attempts to film the canyon’s rapids. Adamschallau
Bert Loper’s Own Fate
As for Loper himself, his story has an equally dramatic ending. In 1949, at the age of 79, Loper ignored his wife’s pleas and, despite his heart trouble, set off in a boat he had built to run the Grand Canyon one last time. He died in the rapid at Mile 24.5, probably of a heart attack, and went missing for 25 years until a hiker found his skeleton near the high-water mark around Mile 180. Brad Edmondson
The Ross Wheeler and Bert Loper are both fixtures of Grand Canyon lore — the boat still visible to river travelers passing Bass Rapid, a monument to the wild early era of Colorado River exploration.
The South Bass beach is small but adequate. Reid and Hilary chose to sit on the sand and make their dinner. Lenny and I sat on the rock layer under the South Bass pouroff. We all enjoyed the evening and wished we would have come down sooner.
After dinner, we headed back the 1+ mile to camp. Thankful I brought my headlamp. One thing I learned early is whenever you go on a hike with Lenny, always bring a headlamp!
Day Three - April 13, 2026
We were up with the sun and packed up our things. Goal for today is Serpentine canyon. It’s not far – maybe 4 miles. And, I heard you can take the canyon to the river if you want or need to. We also heard that sometimes there is a trickle of water flowing where the trail crosses the head of the canyon. Guess we’ll see!
We worked our way back up onto the Tonto. It was a bit of a climb! But then we cruised along, back out to the rim. Along the rim, we had intermittent views of the river. The weather was nice and cool. In fact it was getting cloudy. We made it to the back of Serpentine canyon at around 1:30pm.
Turns out none of us really wanted to hike to the river. Not to camp and not for a water run. But, there also wasn’t enough of a water trickle for us to get water from.
