Loved the whole experience but I wish we would have planned for another night at the bottom! It was about the second weekend of april so the weather was perfect, some snow at the rim but the bottom was about mid-50s at night...beautiful! The knees did take a beating though and I agree with others how crazy it is to watch so many people with so little water do the multi-mile day hikes!
We did a three day trip and camped out at Bright Angel Campground the first night, then Indian Gardens campground the second night. Going down had great views the whole way down, the pot holes from all the mule trains definately took a toll on our legs. It is amazing how many people / tourists head into the canyon for a multi-mile hike down and out and don't even have any water with them. Real smart!
After a night of snow fall it was a kind of experience to find significantly warmer conditions down at the river. One day for down and up - a wunderfull area, breathtaking..........!
musicmountain - Aug 2, 2006 12:50 am Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2005
bright angel
spent two days at the bottom and hiked out at 3:00 am on the third day to watch the sunrise over devils corkscrew.
2nd trip to the canyon. Brought Shelby for her B-day present. Explored the area for 3 days. No major hikes, but lots of short ones and scenic viewpoints. Saw 3 condors at Cedar Ridge, amazing birds. Off to Havasu Canyon and then Humphreys. Nice week in Arizona.
IdaClimber - Jul 10, 2006 9:33 pm Date Climbed: May 30, 2006
Deer Creek - Thunder River
River to the rim in one day. Thunder river is amazing. The best water I have ever drunk. Camped on the Colorado with the wife and just watched the sun set.
Started hiking down at 4:30 AM and got to watch the sun rise up over the canyon was a incredible sight. Such a good feeling when we made it out to look down at how far we had come. Can't wait to do it again.
jaygeekray - Jun 26, 2006 3:55 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2005
Dawn Patrol
Took the early shuttle from Maswick Lodge to he South Kaibab trail with my 17 yr old son. We hiked down (1,550ft) to O'Neill Butte and enjoyed the awesome views below the rim. After weighing our options we decided not to proceed to Tonto and headed back up instead. (I was too heavily influenced by all the propaganda about the high number of middle aged men that need rescued from the GC.) We were back to Maswick before and on the road to Flagstaff before Noon.
Luciano136 - Jun 19, 2006 4:16 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2006
South Kaibab-Phantom Ranch-Bright Angel
Hiked the day before Memorial day. Camped right outside the south rim entrance. Woke up around 5am to a chilly 31F. After packing up the the tent, breakfast, etc., we left the South Kaibab trailhead at 7am. We really took our time going down to take pictures and save our energy for the hike out. Arrived at Phantom Ranch at about 11:30am. Laid out at Bright Angel Creek and cooked some food. Started the hike out around 3pm (Bright Angel). Temps were mild and we were out around 9pm; last mile started hurting a bit. Passed several people in trouble on their way out; hope they made it out ok. Some pics are here:
I (very) mistakenly thought that the Grand Canyon wouldn't hold much appeal to me. I thought it would be too touristy for my liking. But, on my first visit to the Phoenix area I decided that I should go see it anyways. I was completely awestruck at the scale of it. Pictures can ever do justice to it. The hike to the Colorado River was one of my most memorable days in the great outdoors!
Tracy - May 5, 2006 9:53 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2005
1st time- down and up south side; 2nd thru 4th time-rim2rim
The first time I hiked the "Big Ditch" was with Bristol Ellington, Michael Tassi, Scott Majewski, and Greg Toth (4 coworkers). We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail on 4/21/05, spent the night at Bright Angel Campground, and hiked up Bright Angel Trail on 4/22/05. On the way up Bristol and I took the old historic short cut from just above Devils Corkscrew to the East Tonto Trail just east of where it intersects with the Bright Angel Trail.
The second time was on 5/18/07 when I hiked South Rim to North Rim (6:00 am to 8:30 pm via Bright Angel and North Kaibab) with my son Lance, my brother Barton and his daughter Chelsea, my brother-in-law Michael and his 11-year old son Zachary, Steve Stembridge, and Scott Jarvis. We met up with 6 of my coworkers (the same 4 coworkers from my 2005 trip plus Steve Dush & Eddie Dichter) for a couple of hours at Cottonwood Campground who are doing a 3-day North Rim to South Rim backpacking trip. I told them where I had parked their vehicle and they told me where they had parked mine so we could swap vehicles.
The third time was another south to north R2R on 5/23/2008 with Scott Jarvis again but this time we were joined by Sally Ihmels, Mo Jadid and Rod Streets. We had much cooler temps than in '07 and we enjoyed rain and snow showers coming up the north side.
The fourth time was with a big group of 53 people (Ned Shamo chartered a bus from Boulder City). We went to the north rim on Thursday night the 19th and started hiking at 1:15 am on the 20th. I hiked with Steven Stembridge and when we got to within 2 miles of the south rim, I asked Steven if he wanted to do a side hike over to "The Battleship," a significant butte west of Indian Gardens. He declined, but offered to wait for me at the 1.5-mile resthouse. He even took my pack to the resthouse while I took a trekking pole, two nalgenes, and a walkie-talkie with me in "travel-light" mode. I ended up losing all of the above equipment when I set them down just past the saddle thinking I would easily find them on my way back.
My favorite hike in the canyon was with my Dad in the 1970's. We hiked up Spencer Canyon to Merriwhitica (sp?) Springs. The creek coming out of the canyon had good-sized fish in it and we ate some of the wild water cress growing along the creek bed.
Went with a group who many of which had done the Rim-Rim-Rim before and ended up getting to hike half the way with Gerry and Jennifer Roach! It took 17.5 hrs at a moderate pace with short breaks. I ran about 4-5 miles out of the 44 mile day. I have felt worse on mountains, but this is a different kind of pain. The final 4700' back to the South rim was killer. See my TR.
Quadaxial - Apr 16, 2006 7:09 pm Date Climbed: Jan 14, 2005
January is the perfect time for the Grand Canyon!
Left the South Rim via the Bright Angel Trail. Perfect weather the whole way. Very crowded and icy at the top, but not too bad below Skeleton Point. Saw the Grand Canyon Maverick on our way down.
Bill562 - Apr 5, 2006 3:43 am Date Climbed: Apr 3, 2006
Took the Tanner down to the Colorado, followed the Escalante Route over to Hance Rapids, then took the Tonto up to the Grandview and the Grandview out of the canyon. Took it slow... 5 days. Excellent hiking, narrow trails, excellent exposure, a slot canyon, 50ft vertical climb w/ 45lb pack, and compacted snow climbing w/ wicked exposure at the end. Gotta love it!
sbkelley - Mar 23, 2006 3:53 am Date Climbed: Mar 13, 2006
Route Climbed: New Hance to Grandview Point loop
One of many trips that I've done down the Canyon - this was done via the Red Canyon/Grandview Loop with camps at Hance Rapids and Horseshoe Mesa. A foot of snow on the rim slowed us down and made the New Hance Trail trickier to follow than usual. Great weather, though. I know I'll keep coming back again and again.
winterfae - Oct 24, 2006 1:37 am
One regret...Loved the whole experience but I wish we would have planned for another night at the bottom! It was about the second weekend of april so the weather was perfect, some snow at the rim but the bottom was about mid-50s at night...beautiful! The knees did take a beating though and I agree with others how crazy it is to watch so many people with so little water do the multi-mile day hikes!
kommish - Sep 12, 2006 6:54 pm Date Climbed: Sep 9, 2006
Rim to Rim via Kaibab TrailsWhat a great Hike, I loved the "Box" section its like a very deep slot canyon. Little over 8 hours, followed the mules for the last 2 miles.
kylerlott - Aug 27, 2006 9:48 pm
South Kaibab - Bright Angel TrailWe did a three day trip and camped out at Bright Angel Campground the first night, then Indian Gardens campground the second night. Going down had great views the whole way down, the pot holes from all the mule trains definately took a toll on our legs. It is amazing how many people / tourists head into the canyon for a multi-mile hike down and out and don't even have any water with them. Real smart!
gert - Aug 26, 2006 7:15 pm
down south Kaibab - up Bright AngelAfter a night of snow fall it was a kind of experience to find significantly warmer conditions down at the river. One day for down and up - a wunderfull area, breathtaking..........!
musicmountain - Aug 2, 2006 12:50 am Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2005
bright angelspent two days at the bottom and hiked out at 3:00 am on the third day to watch the sunrise over devils corkscrew.
Cornvallis - Jul 11, 2006 6:13 am
Kaibab and others2nd trip to the canyon. Brought Shelby for her B-day present. Explored the area for 3 days. No major hikes, but lots of short ones and scenic viewpoints. Saw 3 condors at Cedar Ridge, amazing birds. Off to Havasu Canyon and then Humphreys. Nice week in Arizona.
IdaClimber - Jul 10, 2006 9:33 pm Date Climbed: May 30, 2006
Deer Creek - Thunder RiverRiver to the rim in one day. Thunder river is amazing. The best water I have ever drunk. Camped on the Colorado with the wife and just watched the sun set.
Koonsy - Jul 9, 2006 3:55 pm
Route: S Kaibab/ Bright AngelStarted hiking down at 4:30 AM and got to watch the sun rise up over the canyon was a incredible sight. Such a good feeling when we made it out to look down at how far we had come. Can't wait to do it again.
jaygeekray - Jun 26, 2006 3:55 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2005
Dawn PatrolTook the early shuttle from Maswick Lodge to he South Kaibab trail with my 17 yr old son. We hiked down (1,550ft) to O'Neill Butte and enjoyed the awesome views below the rim. After weighing our options we decided not to proceed to Tonto and headed back up instead. (I was too heavily influenced by all the propaganda about the high number of middle aged men that need rescued from the GC.) We were back to Maswick before and on the road to Flagstaff before Noon.
Luciano136 - Jun 19, 2006 4:16 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2006
South Kaibab-Phantom Ranch-Bright AngelHiked the day before Memorial day. Camped right outside the south rim entrance. Woke up around 5am to a chilly 31F. After packing up the the tent, breakfast, etc., we left the South Kaibab trailhead at 7am. We really took our time going down to take pictures and save our energy for the hike out. Arrived at Phantom Ranch at about 11:30am. Laid out at Bright Angel Creek and cooked some food. Started the hike out around 3pm (Bright Angel). Temps were mild and we were out around 9pm; last mile started hurting a bit. Passed several people in trouble on their way out; hope they made it out ok. Some pics are here:
http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e378/luciano136/
Other%20-%20Hikes-Mountains/AZ%20-%20Grand%20Canyon%20rim%20to%20river%20-%20May28th%202006/
Stuart B - Jun 9, 2006 5:53 pm
Bright AngelHiked the bright angel trail twice. Once in 120 degrees in august, once at easter with snow on the canyon walls.
Joerg Marretsch - May 25, 2006 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Jun 8, 2003
South Kaibab - Phantom Ranch - Bright AngelAn awesome and hot adventure.
Wandering Sole Images - May 16, 2006 1:28 am Date Climbed: Dec 10, 2002
Route Climbed: South Kaibab in, South Kaibab outI (very) mistakenly thought that the Grand Canyon wouldn't hold much appeal to me. I thought it would be too touristy for my liking. But, on my first visit to the Phoenix area I decided that I should go see it anyways. I was completely awestruck at the scale of it. Pictures can ever do justice to it. The hike to the Colorado River was one of my most memorable days in the great outdoors!
Tracy - May 5, 2006 9:53 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2005
1st time- down and up south side; 2nd thru 4th time-rim2rimThe first time I hiked the "Big Ditch" was with Bristol Ellington, Michael Tassi, Scott Majewski, and Greg Toth (4 coworkers). We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail on 4/21/05, spent the night at Bright Angel Campground, and hiked up Bright Angel Trail on 4/22/05. On the way up Bristol and I took the old historic short cut from just above Devils Corkscrew to the East Tonto Trail just east of where it intersects with the Bright Angel Trail.
The second time was on 5/18/07 when I hiked South Rim to North Rim (6:00 am to 8:30 pm via Bright Angel and North Kaibab) with my son Lance, my brother Barton and his daughter Chelsea, my brother-in-law Michael and his 11-year old son Zachary, Steve Stembridge, and Scott Jarvis. We met up with 6 of my coworkers (the same 4 coworkers from my 2005 trip plus Steve Dush & Eddie Dichter) for a couple of hours at Cottonwood Campground who are doing a 3-day North Rim to South Rim backpacking trip. I told them where I had parked their vehicle and they told me where they had parked mine so we could swap vehicles.
The third time was another south to north R2R on 5/23/2008 with Scott Jarvis again but this time we were joined by Sally Ihmels, Mo Jadid and Rod Streets. We had much cooler temps than in '07 and we enjoyed rain and snow showers coming up the north side.
The fourth time was with a big group of 53 people (Ned Shamo chartered a bus from Boulder City). We went to the north rim on Thursday night the 19th and started hiking at 1:15 am on the 20th. I hiked with Steven Stembridge and when we got to within 2 miles of the south rim, I asked Steven if he wanted to do a side hike over to "The Battleship," a significant butte west of Indian Gardens. He declined, but offered to wait for me at the 1.5-mile resthouse. He even took my pack to the resthouse while I took a trekking pole, two nalgenes, and a walkie-talkie with me in "travel-light" mode. I ended up losing all of the above equipment when I set them down just past the saddle thinking I would easily find them on my way back.
My favorite hike in the canyon was with my Dad in the 1970's. We hiked up Spencer Canyon to Merriwhitica (sp?) Springs. The creek coming out of the canyon had good-sized fish in it and we ate some of the wild water cress growing along the creek bed.
shknbke - Apr 25, 2006 10:36 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2006
Rim-Rim-Rim via KaibabWent with a group who many of which had done the Rim-Rim-Rim before and ended up getting to hike half the way with Gerry and Jennifer Roach! It took 17.5 hrs at a moderate pace with short breaks. I ran about 4-5 miles out of the 44 mile day. I have felt worse on mountains, but this is a different kind of pain. The final 4700' back to the South rim was killer. See my TR.
Quadaxial - Apr 16, 2006 7:09 pm Date Climbed: Jan 14, 2005
January is the perfect time for the Grand Canyon!Left the South Rim via the Bright Angel Trail. Perfect weather the whole way. Very crowded and icy at the top, but not too bad below Skeleton Point. Saw the Grand Canyon Maverick on our way down.
Bill562 - Apr 5, 2006 3:43 am Date Climbed: Apr 3, 2006
Grand View hikeHiked with my 10 year old down Grand View trail
KevinEldon - Mar 26, 2006 3:05 am
Tanner to GrandviewTook the Tanner down to the Colorado, followed the Escalante Route over to Hance Rapids, then took the Tonto up to the Grandview and the Grandview out of the canyon. Took it slow... 5 days. Excellent hiking, narrow trails, excellent exposure, a slot canyon, 50ft vertical climb w/ 45lb pack, and compacted snow climbing w/ wicked exposure at the end. Gotta love it!
sbkelley - Mar 23, 2006 3:53 am Date Climbed: Mar 13, 2006
Route Climbed: New Hance to Grandview Point loopOne of many trips that I've done down the Canyon - this was done via the Red Canyon/Grandview Loop with camps at Hance Rapids and Horseshoe Mesa. A foot of snow on the rim slowed us down and made the New Hance Trail trickier to follow than usual. Great weather, though. I know I'll keep coming back again and again.
cp0915 - Feb 16, 2006 6:43 pm
Grand CanyonA number of things (including quite a few of the temples) ~
-Cheops Pyramid
-O'Neil Butte (2x)
-Coronado Butte
-Escalante Butte
-Cardenas Butte
-The Sinking Ship (2x)
-Whites Butte
-Unnamed Butte (6,633)
-Cedar Mountain
-Grandview Benchmark
-Desert View Point
-and The Battleship;
...a number of times, over a number of years. I've also done some canyoneering in Marble Canyon.
A beautiful place that everyone should see at least once (but preferably every year).