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To keep with tradition, when one of our children turn 12 we take them on a trip to the Grand Canyon.
This year's trip was a little different than most in a number of ways. To start with, we normally hike the North rim. This time we had planned to hike from the North rim to the South rim. This "rim to rim" hike is tough, with 14 miles of downhill and then 9 miles up. However with only a month prior to the hike we read news that the bridge at the bottom of the canyon on this trail was closed due to structural concerns.
This bad news required a change of plans, so we changed from rim to rim and switched to down South Kiabab and up Bright Angel (Terra and I hiked this hike when we were dating in 1999). This switch seemed fortutious since as the date of the hike approached, the National Forest Service instituted fire restrictions due to the lack of rain this year so camping for a North rim hike would have been problematic.
This year's hikers included: Nathen, Terra, Ethen, Kyle, Rachel, Mia, Mylinda, Piper & Brie
We started this hike by staying with Ryan & Carol Sanders in Flagstaff. Actually we never actually saw Ryan, but did see Carol - twice. We left Flagstaff close to 5:00 in the morning and headed to the east gate (it was closer to Carol's house). As we approached the east gate, we found it closed. This information was never relayed to us when we called the park to inquire as to the status of the shuttles. We were told the shuttles were not running so we had to adjust the plans again and chose to go down and back the same trail...Bright Angel.
After finding the east gate closed we had to make some choices. We decided to head back to Flagstaff and then head around to the South gate. If I had a pair of bolt cutters or battery grinder in the car I very well might have cut the lock. I wasn't very happy about finding this when I arrived. The trip around to the other gate was close to a 3 hour detour. We also debated about doing a Mt. Humphreys hike, but when we were at the East gate the ambient temperature was 27 F and we didn't think we were prepared for the temperature at elevation on the mountian.
Instead we decided to make the drive to the other gate and only hike down to the esplanade and then back to the rim. After driving around the parking lot multiple times we finally found a parking spot and headed over to the trail head. We did infact make it to Indian Gardens. The South rim is very different from the North rim. The amount of people is staggering. The hike down the trail was similar to standing in line at Disneyland, only for miles. The trail was pulverized dirt and only left a powdery dust. I suspect this is from the mules beating it daily.
We did run into a mule train and had to halt hiking to let the mules pass. There was water filling stations every 1.5 miles along with bathrooms. I didn't try them out so, I cannot comment on them. It was nice however to hike up the path while completely in shade. The North rim doesn't have this - you are exposed to the sun the entire way.
When we arrived at the rest station at Indian Gardens, there was a temperature gauge. The gauge was exposed to partial sun and varried from 102 to 114 while we were resting there. I suspect is probably wasn't over 100F.
All in all the hike was nice. It was a learning experience including:
I doubt Brie will turn down some sort of electrolyte replenishment on her next hike.
It will be a long time before I bring a hiking party back to the south rim due to the multitudes of people.
I won't trust what the Park Service gives out for advice - when we topped out the shuttles were in fact running.
The scenary in the canyon is never dissapointing.
After getting back out, we also learned that the bridge at the bottom was only closed for a week or so (that is if you trust this information).
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To keep with tradition, when one of our children turn 12 we take them on a trip to the Grand Canyon.
This year's trip was a little different than most in a number of ways. To start with, we normally hike the North rim. This time we had planned to hike from the North rim to the South rim. This "rim to rim" hike is tough, with 14 miles of downhill and then 9 miles up. However with only a month prior to the hike we read news that the bridge at the bottom of the canyon on this trail was closed due to structural concerns. This bad news required a change of plans, so we changed from rim to rim and switched to down South Kiabab and up Bright Angel (Terra and I hiked this hike when we were dating in 1999). This switch seemed fortutious since as the date of the hike approached, the National Forest Service instituted fire restrictions due to the lack of rain this year so camping for a North rim hike would have been problematic. This year's hikers included: Nathen, Terra, Ethen, Kyle, Rachel, Mia, Mylinda, Piper & Brie |
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We started this hike by staying with Ryan & Carol Sanders in Flagstaff. Actually we never actually saw Ryan, but did see Carol - twice. We left Flagstaff close to 5:00 in the morning and headed to the east gate (it was closer to Carol's house). As we approached the east gate, we found it closed. This information was never relayed to us when we called the park to inquire as to the status of the shuttles. We were told the shuttles were not running so we had to adjust the plans again and chose to go down and back the same trail...Bright Angel.
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| After finding the east gate closed we had to make some choices. We decided to head back to Flagstaff and then head around to the South gate. If I had a pair of bolt cutters or battery grinder in the car I very well might have cut the lock. I wasn't very happy about finding this when I arrived. The trip around to the other gate was close to a 3 hour detour. We also debated about doing a Mt. Humphreys hike, but when we were at the East gate the ambient temperature was 27 F and we didn't think we were prepared for the temperature at elevation on the mountian. |
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|
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Instead we decided to make the drive to the other gate and only hike down to the esplanade and then back to the rim. After driving around the parking lot multiple times we finally found a parking spot and headed over to the trail head. We did infact make it to Indian Gardens. The South rim is very different from the North rim. The amount of people is staggering. The hike down the trail was similar to standing in line at Disneyland, only for miles. The trail was pulverized dirt and only left a powdery dust. I suspect this is from the mules beating it daily. | |
| We did run into a mule train and had to halt hiking to let the mules pass. There was water filling stations every 1.5 miles along with bathrooms. I didn't try them out so, I cannot comment on them. It was nice however to hike up the path while completely in shade. The North rim doesn't have this - you are exposed to the sun the entire way. |
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When we arrived at the rest station at Indian Gardens, there was a temperature gauge. The gauge was exposed to partial sun and varried from 102 to 114 while we were resting there. I suspect is probably wasn't over 100F. | |
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All in all the hike was nice. It was a learning experience including:
I doubt Brie will turn down some sort of electrolyte replenishment on her next hike. It will be a long time before I bring a hiking party back to the south rim due to the multitudes of people. I won't trust what the Park Service gives out for advice - when we topped out the shuttles were in fact running. The scenary in the canyon is never dissapointing. After getting back out, we also learned that the bridge at the bottom was only closed for a week or so (that is if you trust this information). |
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