ALL HIKERS

POSTSCRIPT

     This hike worked out very well.  I was dragging a little toward the end of the first day on the lower sections of the Hermit Trail.  Fortunately, we had two easy days after that, so I recovered nicely.  I can't tell you how neat all the old stuff above the Old Hermit Camp corral was.  That place must have been amazing back in 1911-1930 in its hayday.  I had never seen any of this before, so I was glad Richard showed it to me.  I also enjoyed our exploration down Monument Creek below the Monument.  Camping at Salt Creek completed my bucket list to camp at all the spots between Hermit Creek and Indian Garden.

     Numerous critters such as mice, ravens, squirrels, and ringtails are a threat to attack your food in the inner Canyon.  For many years, there were two widely used defenses against critter attack: the Ratsack Cache bag, a mesh, stainless steel bag, which came in three sizes, and the Ursack, a bag made with a Spectra material.  I bought both, but preferred the Ratsack because it was larger, cheaper, and had a superior Velcro closure system.  Even though the Ratsack company website is still active and will accept your money, many people now indicate they never received their order, their money was not returned, and they could not get the company to return a phone call.  Due to the widely reported difficulties and lack of response from the Ratsack company, that product is no longer carried by the General Store in Grand Canyon Village.  Two new products have recently come forward to fill the void:  the Outsak and the Foodsack.  Both are similar in design to the Ratsack and utilize a mesh stainless steel bag with a Velcro closure system.  The Outsak is a lighter duty version and some people report that animals were able to penetrate it.  The Foodsack is the heavy duty version and appears to be bullet-proof, so it is the product that I recommend.  I have and use the Foodsack.

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