I know you aren't going to have that much time but I thought I would say a little about the one time I really got to experience the Grand Canyon in all of its glory….and can't wait to go back!
I had driven by once before in the 80's and basically got out of the car and did the "Clark Griswold nodding look and ok back in the car" thing.
But in October of 1999 a bunch of us met in Phoenix, caravanned up to the South Rim and spent the night. There were about 15 of us in total with 2 or 3 that were designated as drivers. The drivers were taking our stuff by van over to the North Rim. The rest of us…..well…..we got up around 5 am and headed over to the North Rim, 21 miles away and close to 11,000' of elevation change (up and down). It's about 7 miles down to the Colorado River and the first good stop at the Phantom Ranch (you can make reservations to stay there). From there it's approximately 7 miles upstream beside a small creek on the Bright Angel Trail to Cottonwood Campground. There are a few other places to stop with trees but not many. Then it is another 7 miles or so climbing back out of the canyon to get to the North Rim. I barely made it… You can't carry too much as it's gets too heavy but you have to bring enough to stay hydrated and energized. There are warnings all over the place that there is no guarantee of water….other than the streams. There are also warnings not to hike rim to rim. It took me about 11 hours with a few stops along the way.
The North Rim is much nicer as there are far fewer people since it is so remote. The main lodge/dining room is right on the canyon edge so you really get an amazing view looking out over the canyon. We stayed in small log cabins which sleep 2-4 people…
The second day we just rested.
The third day we started about 4am as there were several people needing to catch flights out of Phoenix so we had to get to the South Rim and get on the road. We took the same trails back down to the Phantom Ranch but took a different trail up to the South Rim for a total of 23 miles on the return trip!! So an overall total of 44 miles and around 22,000' of elevation change! `
It was the hardest thing I have ever done from a hiking/camping standpoint.. I've hiked three fourteeners in Colorado and that is pretty hard too, but this was in another league.
You really can't describe how immense the canyon is.
As we were about to reach the top of the south rim we began to run into people that were just hiking down a few hundred yards or so… They would ask how far we had hiked and we just pointed over to the North Rim….some did not believe us!
I really look forward to going back and hiking down into the canyon and camping down along the river several places….. It is an indescribable place with much to discover for those so inclined!
This post was edited on 1/5 2:09 PM by CowboyTanker
