As mentioned in my previous blog post, Greg’s gift to me for Christmas 2016 was an amazing trip to see Celine Dion in Las Vegas and then hike the Grand Canyon for 5 days.
Before this trip, I had no idea there were trails that non-mules (aka people) could take into the canyon. I used to have a few books from the series “Amelia’s Notebook” (which are awesome books, by the way) and I remember her family taking a trip into the canyon on muleback. I’d been to the rim before and seen how steep the edge is, so I pictured all of the trails being too difficult for us lowly, hoofless humans to traverse. Turns out there are actually tons of trails!
Our 5 day itinerary: start at the South Kaibab Trailhead (south rim of the canyon) and take South Kaibab through Bright Angel and Cottonwood campgrounds to North Kaibab (north rim of the canyon). Then turn around and take the North Kaibab through Cottonwood and Indian Garden campgrounds along the Bright Angel trail and end at the Bright Angel Trailhead. This is one of the paths you can take to achieve “Rim to Rim to Rim.”
January 30th, 2017
We woke up at Yavapai lodge, showered, packed up our gear, and drove to the Backcountry Information Center around 8:15am (to be first in line when it opened). We talked to a super helpful ranger who answered all of our questions and gave us great information about what to expect at the camp sites and the conditions of the trails. The most important thing we needed to know was where the water sources were. There are lots of spigots along the trail, but not all of them are turned on in the winter. We also were curious about the amount of snow on the north rim. Apparently, they had received something like 10 feet of snow the week before, and, while it had melted some, there was still a lot up there near the top. Our plan was to stay at Cottonwood campground the night before our ascent to the north rim and stay at Cottonwood the next night anyway, so there was no pressure to make it to the very top. But I’m getting ahead of myself – that’s a story for day 3!
The ranger suggested that we leave our car at the Backcountry Information Center parking lot because it’s really close to the Bright Angel Trailhead where we would be ending our hike. She told us to take the express shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead, but it didn’t leave for 45 minutes. We decided to wait for the shuttle so we could use the bathrooms, fill up our water bladders, and eat some fruit leathers for breakfast. While we were waiting, we met two guys who were doing pretty much the same thing as us, rim to rim to rim, and they were waiting for the shuttle as well. Sometimes it’s nice to meet people with the same plans as you because it gives you confidence that you aren’t doing something completely off base. Someone else had the same idea! Plus, it gives you more people to discuss things with – and these guys were experienced backpackers.
We took the shuttle to the trailhead and put our traction on our boots because it was snowy and icy. I think it was about 30 degrees, but it was sunny and the canyon was indeed grand.
Before we started down the trail, Greg gave me an envelope with “The Descent” written on the front. Inside was a sweet letter about the excitement of starting this adventure together. It made me tear up!
We headed down the trail, which was very gradual and nice despite the ice! As you would imagine, to get down the cliff walls of the canyon, there are a whole lot of switchbacks. As we zigzagged down the south rim, we took our time admiring and documenting the view. (By the way, we vlogged our hike as well! Click here to watch the video for day 1!)
I was so happy and fulfilled to witness Greg’s amazement! It was a dream of mine to be there when he saw it for the first time. I was confident about it, but still worried that I had built up the Grand Canyon too much and that he would be disappointed. Rest assured, it’s impossible! It speaks for itself.
After 1.5 miles and about 1,000 feet of descent, we came upon Cedar Ridge and took a short break. There were composting privies which were amazing! I guess it makes sense that such a high traffic place like the Grand Canyon would have such nice (clean) bathrooms. I’ve been on other backpacking hikes where there were no bathrooms at all in most areas (which is to be expected) or if there were, they were very old-looking and dingy. I wouldn’t think it would be easy to maintain cleanliness of the privies in a place like the Grand Canyon, but I give them two thumbs up!
We kept going and passed a group of workers shoveling the trail. The mules normally take South Kaibab trail down to Phantom Ranch, but they hadn’t been able to recently due to the snow. The trail eventually turned from ice and snow to mushy red mud. It was still very hikeable, but our traction was collecting heavy mud so we took them off when we stopped at Skeleton Point for lunch (pop-tarts). From the edge of the cliff, we got our first glimpse of the Colorado River!
We took another quick break when we got to the “Tipping Point” and had to use a temporary privy since the stairs leading up the toilets were under construction. The temporary ones essentially looked like one of those big, wooden lifeguard chairs, but cut short and facing out into the desert instead of a lake. No one could see you due to the high back of the chair, but you were still pretty much out there in the open!
The deeper into the canyon we got, the warmer it became! Every few miles, we were stripping layers and applying sunscreen. It felt like early spring when just that morning it was the middle of winter!
We continued down many more switchbacks, admiring the view all the way. It was a very different experience than most of our previous hikes which involve hiking up through trees for hours and then coming out on top of a mountain and enjoying the view. That is great and I love trees. But here, it was view all day, every day. Take a step, enjoy the view, take a step, enjoy the view. We made a “rule” that every time you noticed you were admiring the view, you should take a sip of your water. It helped keep us pretty hydrated! The switchbacks make the path less steep, and the actual trail was mostly red dirt and very few rocks. A stark contrast from the boulder trails we experienced in New Hampshire!
Eventually, we went through a tunnel and crossed the Kaibab “Black” Bridge over the Colorado River to Bright Angel Campground.
We picked out a spot by the Bright Angel Creek. It was so picturesque! Yet pictures cannot do it justice. We set up our tent to the sound of the creek, surrounded by inner canyon walls, with the sun fading and mule deer walking along the water. So amazing.
Our campsite was right by the drinking water faucet and working bathrooms! I apologize for talking about bathrooms so much, but I was not prepared for the luxury that was flushing toilets, overhead bathroom lights, working sinks, and a mirror while camping at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
We checked in with the ranger who looked like a mix between the guy who played Hopper in “Stranger Things” and Mark Wahlberg with a beard. Needless to say, we felt pretty safe with him around.
We made Pad Thai for dinner from “Backpacker’s Pantry.” After we poured the boiling water into the food pouch and closed it to let it cook, I realized Greg hadn’t taken out the little “oxygen absorber packet.” We opened it back up and scooped around to try and find it to no avail. We even emptied it out into the pot and still couldn’t find it! We decided there probably was never one in there and that it would be fine to eat. We read later that even if we had cooked it with the packet in there, it would have been safe to eat. Good to know.
The guys we met at the Backcountry Information Center in the morning had hiked with us periodically throughout the day and we hung out with them at our campsite over dinner. Each site had a picnic table (luxury!) and an ammo box for us to store food and scented items (luxury!). It was so convenient to be able to prepare and eat food at a table and then store everything in a container right at your site. The ranger had said the reason for food storage in the ammo boxes isn’t due to large animals like bears, but to keep out little squirrels and mice.
There is actually a restaurant called Phantom Ranch next to the Bright Angel Campground, so some people reserve a meal and eat there instead of cooking. There are even dorm-like cabins you can stay in if you prefer not to tent. After they finish serving dinner at 8pm, you can visit the Canteen at Phantom Ranch and get a drink. We were already in bed by 7pm!
Day 1 mile count: 6.4 miles (~4,860′ elevation loss). Departed South Kaibab Trailhead (~7,310′) at 9:45am, arrived at Bright Angel Campground (2,450′) at 4:30pm.
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
P.S. We vlogged our hike as well! Click here to watch the video of day 1!
If you want to read about day 2 of our backpacking trip, click here.
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