Grand Canyon Trip #3

[austinado16]

Less than 48hrs before we head out for our annual backpacking trip inside the Grand Canyon.  We're setting up base camp on the South Rim again this year, in Mather CG, but within an hour so of arriving, we hop on the trans canyon shuttle van and hitch a 5-1/2hr ride to the North Rim where we'll overnight in a log cabin, and then start out on the North Kaibab Trail the next morning.  

We're hiking from the North to the South Rim over 3 or 4 days....depending on what we feel like doing that 3rd day.  

It winds up being a 12hr drivel, which we take in 2 days on the way there, but just do it all in 1 day on the way home.

[AZCAMPPINAL]

Get a chance visit //www.hikearizona.com  And if you get a chance, Mark Kelsey authors some excellent hiking guides to the Four Cornors area.

[austinado16]

Cool site!  Thanks for the link.

[maromeo]

Todd,

Have a great time. I can't believe it has been a year since we saw you all. We are now hooked on your Camptrail beans you gave us last year. I ordered  6 a few weeks ago. Have a safe trip. Looking forward to seeing pictures.  

Take care.

Mary Romeo

[austinado16]

We can't believe it's been a year either!  And then it seemed like July 31st was never going to get here after we received the back country permit, and now here we are, all packed up and other than fuel and throwing food in the fridge, we're ready to go.

[austinado16]

Just got back a few hours ago and man, what a trip.  I'll be sorting through photos and movies and upload a few over the next few days.

A few quick highlights:

-My addition of the electric fan to the external trans cooler dropped the trans fluid temp from the usual 230*F while climbing one particular large mountain, down to 205*F.

-Not checking where I was backing in a parking lot, I wound up backing one of the camper wheels into a curb and up on top of it.  No damage done though!

-My addition of a propane level (the pressure reading kind) caused the propane fitting (the black plastic screw-on thing) to loosen while driving interstate 40 (wash-board for umpteen hundred miles) and when we got into our first overnight in Needles, CA (9pm) at 100*F we had no propane to power the fridge.   After the panic subsided....me thinking that I had broken a propane line somewhere during the drive.....I discovered the loose black screw-on fitting at the tank, and that the tank safety valve had stopped the leak.  Note to self:  I will never travel with the propane tank "on" again.

-Not replacing the tires on the Suburban (figuring they'd just done 2 trips of 500mi each to Kings Canyon/Sequoia Nat'l in the heat, so they must still be fine even though they were getting some cracking in the sidewalls and between the tread) cost me a rear tire at the Grand Canyon when in the check-in parking lot at Mather CG, I saw this strange shiny thing on the LR tire tread and discovered it was sections of steel belt coming through the inner tread row about every 6 inches.  And then with no spare, the RF tire broke a belt and became egg shaped about 200mi from home in a tiny little town at 7:30pm on a Friday night.  

-The North Rim is magnificint!

-The North Kaibab Trail down to Cottonwood CG and Bright Angel CG is 14mi of the most amazing scenary and experiences.

-Temps were mild and we even had a huge rain and thunder storm that actually dumped rain into the bottom of the Canyon (but we'd already hiked out the day before so we missed getting caught in it).

-My DW and 9 year old DD are tough as nails because on the 3rd day, instead of stopping and overnighting at Indian Garden (5mi up from the bottom) they decided to hike all the way out......and we did it with just a short "get water" stop and during the "no hike" hours after 10am.

-My DD has nerves of steel.  When a Big Horn Sheep buck walked down off the cliff at 1.5mi House, right next to her, and over to take a drink from a water puddle on the ground, (I was in the bathroom) she grabbed my camera and started taking pictures.

-We're already brainstorming about where we'll hike in the canyon next year.

[6Quigs]

Sounds like you had a great trip Todd.
Can't wait to see the photos

[austinado16]

We arrived at the North Rim Lodge about 5:30pm on the Trans Canyon Shuttle, after setting up base camp in Mather CG on the South Rim.  Actually, we didn't even have time to pop-up.  We just grabbed our packs, put our boots on, put 2 hitch locks on the PU, and jumped on the blue-line shuttle for a ride over to Bright Angel Lodge.  There we met the trans canyon shuttle people and loaded up for the 5-1/2hr drive around to the north rim.

We arrived to a typical great sunset across the canyon as seen from the veranda of the Lodge:


Anyway, the north rim is fantastic and the architecture of all the buildings and the cabins is just 1930's Deco......wonderful.  They even have 30's era music playing in all the main buildings as if you were there and the radio was playing.  Here's a panoramic I took of the dinning room in the North Lodge.  We didn't eat dinner here, but did catch a great pre-hike buffet breakfast the next morning.


Here we on day one, maybe 1/2 a mile down inside the north rim at the Coconino Overlook.  Although there were a view choice little views prior to this, this was the first big:yikes:look at where we were headed on day one.  In the full size version of this photo, the trail is visible about 2,000' below, winding along the west wall after crossing a foot bridge.


At about 2-1/2mi into the trail we come to this foot bridge and a great view down into the gorge, showing where the trail has been blasted right into the west wall of the canyon.


Here's my DD making her way along that west wall I previously mentioned.  That drop-off in front of her was hundreds of feet and the bottom was not visible due to the curvature of the rock.


At about 4mi in (7mi total for the first day) we come to Roaring Spring Falls.  This magnificant waterfall simply appears out of a hole in the side of the canyon wall.  From here, Bright Angel Creek gets going and the trail becomes flatter as it descends along the side of the creek and leads us eventually to the Colorado River.


7mi into the canyon we get to Cottonwood CG and setup camp.  Bright Angel Creek is really pumping through here and made for a great place to cool off for the entire day.....it was 110*F in the shade and felt like 120*F out in the open!


With camp all set up, and a trip to the creek under our belts, it was time for a nap.  A little hint:  When camping in the Grand Canyon, if you bring a tent, it better be 100% mesh on top!

[austinado16]

Day 2 was a day of water:
As we approached Ribbon Falls, we got to cross Bright Angel Creek, get our shirts, hats, and hankerchiefs wet and get a jump on the heat of the day.


Then it was time for the short side trip to Ribbon Falls....which quite simply left us speechless.




To give you an idea of how big this millions-of-years-old dome was, check out the person to the left and the group of backpackers up on the right!


With about 3 miles to go, (of the 7mi for Day 2) we entered "The Box," a very narrow boxed in gorge that is just wide enough for Bright Angel Creek.  Several bridges take the trail back and forth over the creek from one side of the gorge to the other and the trail is blasted out of the canyon walls.




We arrived at "the bottom" of the Grand Canyon just as the temps were starting to come up.


After lunch in the Phantom Ranch Cantina.  It was time to get in the Bright Angel Creek.  We grabbed a camp site that was right on the bank, so we had our own little swimming pool just 15' away!


We did a little walk down to the Colorado and stood in it's waters.  The Colorado is at 2,400' elevation and the top of the North Rim where we'd started was at 8,000'.  We dropped 4,000 in the first day.  We checked out some ancient Puebloan ruins along the river, and then walked down river to the Black Bridge, and crossed it.  Just didn't seem like a trip to the bottom without crossing the Black Bridge and standing in the Colorado!

Once back at camp, it was time to get down to the business of the Junior Ranger program.  We attended a ranger talk about California Condors and after that, my DD was sworn in and earned her second Rattlesnake patch for being at the bottom.  


My wife had signed us up for stew dinner at Phantom Ranch, so that's how we closed out the day.  Not that you really feel like eating stew when it's 105*F out, and it wasn't that great, but still kinda fun, and in a way, part of the experience of going to the bottom.

[austinado16]

Hardly any sleep because it stayed in the 90's until about 2am and then finally cooled to 65.  Our DD slept like a rock, but Kim and I were laying there blinking like toads.  It was a full moon too, so when the moon finally rose high enough to clear the canyon walls, it was like a car headlight on high beam....just blinding.

We got up at 4:30 for breakfast at the Cantina at 5, and then broke camp and were on the trail by 6:40am.  That's reeeeally late by GC hiking standards.  Many people start their day while it's still dark, and 99% are gone by 5am.  But, this being our 3rd year in a row, we know what to expect and how to handle the journey and the heat.

About 2-1/2mi up the trail we encountered 2 Mule trains bringing supplies to Phantom Ranch.  Man do the kick up the dust and it just hangs in the air.


And then it was time to negotiate the Devil's Corkscrew.  Personally, I call it the stairway to heaven...but I'm kinda not right in the head!  This long set of large steps leads to a killer group of switchbacks.  These give way to a long, hot haul, out in the sun and when it's all said and done, I think an altitude gain of maybe 800'.  But it basically gets you up out of the gorge and up onto the Tonto Plain and headed into Indian Garden for what is usually 5-1/2mi total and the end of the hiking for the day.


Here's a shot of that Big Horn Sheep that likes to hang our at 1.5mi house.  He had a buddy there, up higher on a rock, but he wouldn't come down.


We stepped out of the Canyon at about 1:30pm and made our way to the one shop that sells icecream....something called "Butterfinger Blast" has become our spoils of victory!




Looking back, here's a view across the canyon with the North Rim Lodge visble 23mi away.  Our trail for the first 2 days and 14mi was up into that long gorge you see in the upper middle of the photo.


Final Days:
During the last 3 days we were there we rode the red bus line out to see all the stops on Hermit's Rest Route.  Incredible!  We actually came back the next morning for a ranger led hike down the Hermit's Trail.  It only went about 1/2mi down, but it was interesting to learn more about the canyon, and this "uncharted trail for us."  We're plannnig a 3-4 day hike along it for a future GC vacation.

One thing that blows my mind about the canyon is the age of the rock, and history of where it's been and what caused it all.  The ranger led us out onto a tan rock area and said, "This used to be the bottom of an ocean.  Look down and you'll see sponge fossils and if you look more, you'll find sea shell fossils and ocean plant fossils.  Sure enough, they were everywhere....at 7,000' of elevation!

We spent the final afternoon/evening horseback ridng with the nice folks at Apache Trails.  I'm not into horses in the least, but it was really a fun time and our DD is finally old enough to get her own horse.  She loved the 1hr long ride and being at the helm.

Finally, on the way out of the park we took time to stop for the token shot in front of the Grand Canyon sign.


And as the sun set on our vacation, we wobbled into Pacific Tire Auto Care in Arvin, CA at 7:30pm on Friday!

[perterra]

Those are great photos and a very nice mini travelog you put together. The scenery is a beaut on the GC and I kinda like the quite of the North Rim much better than the south. The lodge on the north rim has one of the best navajo tacos I have ever had.

Thanks for posting.

[austinado16]

During the last 3 days we were there we rode the red bus line out to see all the stops on Hermit's Rest Route.  Incredible!  We actually came back the next morning for a ranger led hike down the Hermit's Trail.  It only went about 1/2mi down, but it was interesting to learn more about the canyon, and this "uncharted trail for us."  We're plannnig a 3-4 day hike along it for a future GC vacation.

One thing that blows my mind about the canyon is the age of the rock, and history of where it's been and what caused it all.  The ranger led us out onto a tan rock area and said, "This used to be the bottom of an ocean.  Look down and you'll see sponge fossils and if you look more, you'll find sea shell fossils and ocean plant fossils.  Sure enough, they were everywhere....at 7,000' of elevation!

We spent the final afternoon/evening horseback ridng with the nice folks at Apache Trails.  I'm not into horses in the least, but it was really a fun time and our DD is finally old enough to get her own horse.  She loved the 1hr long ride and being at the helm.

Finally, on the way out of the park we took time to stop for the token shot in front of the Grand Canyon sign.


And as the sun set on our vacation, we wobbled into Pacific Tire Auto Care in Arvin, CA at 7:30pm on Friday!

[Chez Way]

Thanks for sharing your amazing photos and adventure...almost makes me want to try it.   We enjoyed a spring break trip to the Grand Canyon ( and Bryce and Zion) a couple years ago.  The temps were much more comfortable and we went to a ranger talk about the history of Phantom Ranch instead of seeing it in person.  Really interesting.

[wavery]

Thanks for sharing.........We did that trip back in the '70's......brings back lots of memories.

[maromeo]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Be glad you are not there this weekend. The President and family are there this weekend and so many things are shut down. Lots of air space restictions and travel times. It is a little crazy around here.

Mary Romeo