On a 4 day backpack through the Grand Canyon, I went down the 8 mile Hermit Creek Trail on the first day, then backpacked east across the Tonto Trail to Monument Creek on the second day.

The Tonto Trail winds across the benchlands above the river, traversing the upper area of many side gullies.  Hoisting a heavy pack, I followed the trail for a few miles (note the trail in the lower half of the photo below) over to Monument Creek, where I set up camp.

The Colorado River sits in the bottom of the gorge of the Grand Canyon and views down to the bottom are infrequent, but at one point along the rim of the plateau, the trail wound out to a point and the Colorado River flowed west to a narrows at Hermit Rapids.

Getting past the side gullies and gorges which run down to the river almost always meant a long detour south to the head of the gorge, then a steep drop into the gully.   Monument Creek is named for the stone pillar at the edge of the gorge.

The campsite lies at the edge of a trickle of a stream which disappears several times along its route to the river.   Scrubby trees flank the creek and frame in some tent sites.   Once my tent was set up and gear was stowed, I day-hiked down the creek bed to the river where it comes out to Granite Rapids.   I was delighted to find sand dunes fronting the river.   I found a small beach and went for a swim.

The Colorado is muddy for much of the year, especially after a rainfall, but the melting snows of April made the water clear and cold.  Just above the sand dunes, Granite Canyon Rapids is one of the more exciting spots for the many rafters coming down the river.   While I was there, I watched 15 navigate through the rapids.

After two days of hiking on the rock and gravels of the arid canyon, the sand dunes and beach was a welcome break.   At the end of the afternoon, I hiked back up the wash and into the canyon above.  As the sunset approached, the angled rays of the sun shone on the South Rim above, before dark folded the walls of the canyon in on the campsite.