I parked at Millard Campground and headed up the Sunset Ridge Trail. Above Millard Falls I abandoned the nice singletrack and began boulder-hopping and sometimes following remains of the old trail up Millard stream, which flowed through a maze of wind-damaged, fallen trees. Further up-canyon the forest grew more lively and upright. I climbed over a significant boulder field where some seepage comes in from a steep gully on the right. A few groups of people were also exploring the area, including some at Dawn Mine, where I snacked for a bit and peaked inside the dark hole.
Further upstream a second mine opening on the left warranted a quick glance. I then proceeded to the junction with Grand Canyon, which slowly poured in from the right. Here I half-heartedly looked for the trail that used to continue up Millard to Tom Sloane Saddle, but didn't find much.
Beginning up Grand Canyon was relatively easy. For the most part the canyon was plenty wide with a gentle grade. I found traces of an old trail here and there. A handful of side gullies and tributaries sometimes made navigation an issue, especially during a stretch where the main streambed was dry and my options looked similar. However, thanks in part to my GPS device, I quickly realized that keeping to the right was key in most cases.
I passed the ruins of an old cabin in a relatively flat, open area. I'm not sure who built it, but a long time ago Joe Chapman used to do logging here, and the place became known as Chapman's Glen. Perhaps the cabin was his.
Beyond the glen a little snow lingered on the ground. To the left rockfaces closed in and rose vertically. I entered a narrow, enticing, high-walled tributary, following the sound of splashing water. Suddenly I found myself stopped at the base of spectacular, multi-tiered Alpine Falls. A small amount of water plummeted down maybe 200 feet from the top.
Backtracking, I continued up Grand only a short distance before again being stopped, this time by what I assume was Grand Canyon Falls, tucked inside a very narrow slot now filled with sediment, rocks, and fallen tree trunks. This debris makes it possible to climb most of the way up the slot to maybe fifteen or twenty feet below the top of the waterfall. However, the final hurdle requires some advanced rockclimbing skills. I'm not a technical rockclimber, but I think the counter-balancing technique is called stemming. I tried going up the slot using such a move, but the slippery and slightly crumbly rock convinced me to search for a bypass, which I found easily enough down at the confluence with Alpine Canyon. It's possible to scramble around the south slope of the canyon. Once on this slope, I decided to stay there, managing to follow some bits of the old trail which bypassed both the waterfall and a series of cascades above it. After one or two little slips and slides, the slope dropped me below Mt. Lowe Campground, where a boisterous group of Scouts were setting up tents for the night.
A mossy boulder in Grand Canyon
Some more of Grand Canyon
Alpine Falls
Debris in Grand Canyon Falls
Looking into slot where technical moves are required
Close-up of technical climb
Pretty cool that you didn't settle for a car shuttle or 'pick me up when I'm done' finish...