Boucher (Grand Canyon)

Hike Name: Boucher (Grand Canyon) Location: northwest AZ Length: 9 Submitted by: Kwang Lee Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more Arizona trail reviews Arizona national parks Arizona state parks
For more trail descriptions and topo maps, try a Free Trial Offer from Trails.com

Description
A difficult, but rewarding hike usually used in conjunction with a multi-day journey into the Grand Canyon. Like most of the rim-to-river hikes, this one descends sharply through the encyclopedic layers of the canyon. The trail doesn't officially start until you mangage an easy, but steep set of switchbacks through limestone and sandstone. As the trail begins to level off at the top of what's called the Hermit's shale, you come across a sign for Boucher. Here begins the trail proper. It follows the contour of the shale until you reach a small, inner canyon. A wrong step means you could plunge off the primitive, path, tumbling hundreds of feet into the canyon. Here is where some of the best views of the canyon can be found. Though some occasional route-finding ability is required, it's fairly easy going for the next four or five miles through the palette of rusts, yellows, and brown earth colors. Consider yourself a adventurer in time as well as space since you'll be viewing sections of the earth that were last exposed when T Rex and pterodactyls were at the top of the food chain. The last few miles of hike feel like desert travel. And to make things worse, the leisure middle sections begin to give way to sharp descents through steep, crumbling sandstone. Last time I was on this section (spring), our group had to do some 'hairy' down climbing with our fifty pound packs. If you've been suffering excessively up to this point, then these down climbs will be sure to make you decide to never come back. (Hint: Obviously this is not your average day hike.) The last mile or so is part of the well-developed Tonto trail system, which is the 'highway' connecting various trails of the southern canyon. Chances are, if you spot anyone, it'll be on this part of the trail. There will be an obvious arrow which points to the last switchbacks of Boucher which descend down a cliff-like area, then to the campground only a couple hundred yards away.

Directions to Hike
To get to the trail proper, you have to use part of the Hermit/Dripping Springs trail. This starts at the parking lot near Hermit's Rest.

Contact Information
Backcountry Reservation Office
602/638-7888

submit a new trail review

---

About Our Reviews

Many people ask us to recommend a place to go hiking. Instead of us deciding what places are best, we let the backpacking community help out. The reviews on thebackpacker.com have been submitted by our viewers. Some reviews are positive and some are negative. If you don't agree with a review, feel free to submit your own trail review.