The Boucher Trail is a

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

of the South Rim in

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

, located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Access and description

The trail officially begins at a low point on the

Dripping Springs Trail The Dripping Springs Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Access and description The trail begins along the Hermit Trail after a hike from Hermit's Rest. From Hermit ...

, in the southwest part of Hermit Canyon. Access to the Boucher Trail requires a hike of about along the

Hermit Trail The Hermit Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. This trail provides access to a historic area of Grand Canyon and offers a more challenging route to the Colorado River for more experienced ...

and Dripping Springs Trail. Cairns exist in key places and can be spotted with some careful looking. The trail heads to the north and has little elevation change after leaving the Hermit Trail. There are a few short, sharp descents and climbs around minor rockfalls and washbeds. After about the trail contours around Yuma Point and heads southwestward until a sharp descent at the head of Travertine Canyon through the

Supai Group The Supai Group is a slope-forming section of red bed deposits found in the Colorado Plateau. The group was laid down during the Pennsylvanian to Lower Permian. Cliff-forming interbeds of sandstone are noticeable throughout the group. The Su ...

. This descent steepens above 25% at places, which requires care to descend. Hikers descending in this area may need to exercise care as some points require steps down of . After the descent, the trail heads up for a short stretch on the east side of Travertine Canyon, then immediately crosses over to a long stretch on the west side of Travertine Canyon to the Whites Butte saddle between Travertine and Boucher Canyons. After the Whites Butte saddle, the trail descends through a natural break in the

Redwall Limestone The Redwall Limestone is a resistant cliff-forming unit of Mississippian age that forms prominent, red-stained cliffs in the Grand Canyon, ranging in height from to . Lithology Redwall Limestone consists predominantly of light-olive-gray to ...

onto the Tonto Platform to a junction with the

Tonto Trail The Tonto Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Access The Tonto Trail does not terminate at either rim of the Grand Canyon, but begins along the south ...

. This section is not as steep as the Travertine Canyon section, but can still exceed a 20% grade. The junction is marked by a noticeable cairn. At the junction, the Tonto Trail heads east towards Hermit Canyon or west into the Boucher Creek drainage. To the west, the Boucher Trail and Tonto Trail descend through the

Tapeats Sandstone Except where underlain by the Sixtymile Formation, Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone is typically the lowest geologic unit, about thick, at its maximum, of the 5-member Tonto Group. It is famous for being the highly-resistant mostly-horizontal unit abo ...

for to Boucher Creek. At the confluence of Boucher Creek and Topaz Creek, the Tonto Trail splits off and continues northwest, while the Boucher Trail follows the creek northeast as it continues to flow to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, which marks the end of the trail. Boucher Creek's flow disappears and reappears numerous times on this section of the trail.

Condition

categorizes the Boucher Trail as a "primitive trail". With this designation it receives only low-key maintenance as conditions warrant, or to prevent resource damage. There are few patrols by park rangers along primitive trails, depending on daily usage. The Boucher Trail is less travelled than the Hermit Trail on the other side of Hermit Canyon and is not as well defined. Because of this, the trail can be hard to pick out in places and is overgrown in a few places by canyon flora. The section descending the Supai Group in Travertine Canyon is marked by rockfalls and is exceedingly steep, requiring care when descending.

Water availability

The only water sources along the trail are in the last mile at Boucher Creek and at the Colorado River. An additional water source can be found at Dripping Springs, on the

about a mile northwest of its junction with the Boucher Trail. All natural water sources need to be treated, filtered, or boiled prior to consumption.

Camping

Camping is allowed at-large along the Boucher Trail, except within ¼ mile of the junction with the Dripping Springs Trail. The park requires selecting campsites that have been previously used. Due to the proximity to water, there are many suitable camping locations around Boucher Creek.

Hazards

Hazards hikers can encounter along the 'Boucher Trail include

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

, sudden rainstorms, flash flooding, loose footing, rockfall, encounters with wildlife, and extreme heat. At the Colorado River, additional hazards include

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

(due to the river's consistently cold temperatures),

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

(due to collisions with boulders in rapids), and

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

. Hikers are more likely to find solitude and isolation in addition to other hazards related to desert hiking.Grand Canyon Explorer / Boucher Trail Description
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History

The trail is named for Grand Canyon prospector and guide Louis Boucher, who lived in a cabin he built alongside Boucher Creek while mining in the area. He lived alone while in the canyon, making supply runs to the south rim from time to time. Because of his solitude, he was often labeled as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, and is often credited as being the hermit referenced by canyon features of the same name, including the

References

External links

Grand Canyon National Park, Official site
{{Grand Canyon trails Hiking trails in Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon, South Rim