Grand Canyon Hike – October 2014

Having visited the Grand Canyon several times with family, I have been wanting to hike to the bottom for a while. And after getting rejected on my first attempt at pulling a permit, you could say I was very excited when I was asked to join a group on a 3 day hike down and out. Finally! The Grand Canyon! And at a time of the year when many say the canyon is at its best. The end of October!

We started out pretty early with breakfast at El Tovar and then caught the hiker express east to the South Kaibab trailhead. Our start was a little later than we wanted, just before 9, but we had no rush, knowing that we would be snapping pictures every mile. It took us about 5 hours to go the 7.3 miles to Phantom Ranch. What an awe inspiring descent with picturesque views at every turn. And we got to see the Mule train come by on the trail. I will take my own two legs at any time over those as it looked a little sketchy to me. We found a pretty nice campsite and setup before dipping our feet into Bright Angel Creek. To be honest, at this point, the only thing on our minds was the dinner and stew at the chow hall.

Cool things to do at Bright Angel Campground are:

1. Hang out on Boat Beach
2. Catch the Ranger talk at night
3. Hike up to Ribbon Falls
4. Eat at the chow hall (Reservations required)

Having only a short hike up to Indian Gardens, we were in no hurry the next morning. We broke camp around 8 after some breakfast. The Bright Angel trail is by far the more beautiful of our 2 trails to hike in my opinion. But it all depends on what you like. We crossed back over the Colorado River and winded around beside it for a good mile, taking pictures along the way. Once you reach Pipe Creek Beach it is up from there through beautiful canyon walls. Indian Garden campground is just over 5 miles and we made it there right around noon. After picking our spot we were greeted by a family of deer. This is a cool area to camp and is so relaxing since the mileage is short and you get here early in the day. Plenty of time to relax, talk to the Rangers or read. Adam and I made our way out to Plateau Point for the views and then back just before dark. Back at camp, we attended a great Ranger talk on soundscape, something I rarely thought about in the past.

 

Cool things to do at Indian Gardens are:

1. Hike the 3 mile RT to Plateau Point for the sunset
2. Catch the Ranger talk
3. Hang out at the Ranger station to watch the sunset
4. Relax

Our day started out about the same time as the other 2 days. We only had a short hike, just under 5 miles to the top, and we would be in the shade most of that. We figured it to be just under 5 hours out of the Canyon. Thinking about it that morning, I sucked that it was going to be over that day. I could have spent another 5 nights down there walking and exploring. Next time it will be longer! As we started up, we began to run into the familiar ranger houses and restrooms. I believe they were at 3 miles and 1.5 miles from the top and were great places to stop and relax for a bit. As we got towards the top, many people started asking if we had been all the way down to the bottom and how it was. It was cool to stop and talk to people and answer some of their questions as we made our way out. One thing that was on all of our minds were the showers at Mather’s Campground. We couldn’t wait to get there, get cleaned up and change into some clean close. This is a great resource and is quarter operated. Plus they have laundry machines there if you need to do any of that on the way out.

We made it out and I am looking forward to another Grand Canyon hike in 2015. This time I am planning on making it at least 4 nights and we will be going down the North Rim and back out that way. I am very excited about this hike and will share my plans as I get closer to October! If you are planning a Grand Canyon hike or have any questions about the preparation, just let me know and I would be happy to help you out!