blazin wrote:So it looks like the SW is the place to go. I'm intrigued by the idea of hitting the GC, is that feasible in January?

Why not? The North Rim is closed, but the rest of it is open. Check the weather first. They do get winter storms.

So it looks like the SW is the place to go. I'm intrigued by the idea of hitting the GC, is that feasible in January?

My three year old girl hiked to the bottom and back at that time of year:

http://www.summitpost.org/album/371515/ ... -2007.html

I guess if you can hike as good as a three year old girl it might be feasable.

Anyway, most of my trips to the Grand Canyon were in winter. I can be cold and snowy in the rim, but it only takes a few hours to drop down to lower elevations. It never gets cold in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and winter is the best time to be there, epscially on routes where there is little water.

Scott wrote:It never gets cold in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and winter is the best time to be there, epscially on routes where there is little water.

I've seen snow flurries down near the bottom during a March storm, and the temperature was in the 30s (F). But still it wasn't COLD cold, I guess.

I've seen snow flurries down near the bottom during a March storm, and the temperature was in the 30s (F). But still it wasn't COLD cold, I guess.

On the trip when the photos were taken above, it was "unusually cold" by Grand Canyon standards and the coldest I've seen the bottom. As mentioned though, the rim was cool. When we started out hike it was 1F on the rim, but after a few hours and once you are in the bottom its much warmer. It was 23F at Indian Gardens the first night and 31F at Phantom Ranch the next. For the bottom of the Grand Canyon it would be considered "unusually cold". Usually it is warmer. Most nights in winter at the bottom don't even freeze and 35-40 is more normal.

It's often colder than that in the Rockies in mid-summer. I camped in 10F weather last August in the Beartooths.

Winter in the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon is almost always pleasant and to me probably the best time of year to go (once you are in the bottom). It sure beats the 120F that it can hit in the summer! Once we roasted on a hike through Surprise Canyon in November. Temps were in the mid 80's at that time of year! Usually November is really great though. Last mid-April we had temperatures around 100F and climbing out Eminence Break was a fiery inferno! I soaked myself in the river first, but my clothes dried fast and after 20 minutes or so and after that I was roasting and pouring sweat. In places where the roads are open, November through March is the idea time to go if you are hiking in the bottom, but sometimes crampons are needed on the rim and not all the access roads are open.

Scott wrote:On the trip when the photos were taken above, it was "unusually cold" by Grand Canyon standards and the coldest I've seen the bottom. As mentioned though, the rim was cool. When we started out hike it was 1F on the rim, but after a few hours and once you are in the bottom its much warmer. It was 23F at Indian Gardens the first night and 31F at Phantom Ranch the next. For the bottom of the Grand Canyon it would be considered "unusually cold". Usually it is warmer. Most nights in winter at the bottom don't even freeze and 35-40 is more normal.

It's often colder than that in the Rockies in mid-summer. I camped in 10F weather last August in the Beartooths.

Winter in the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon is almost always pleasant and to me probably the best time of year to go (once you are in the bottom). It sure beats the 120F that it can hit in the summer! Once we roasted on a hike through Surprise Canyon in November. Temps were in the mid 80's at that time of year! Usually November is really great though. Last mid-April we had temperatures around 100F and climbing out Eminence Break was a fiery inferno! I soaked myself in the river first, but my clothes dried fast and after 20 minutes or so and after that I was roasting and pouring sweat. In places where the roads are open, November through March is the idea time to go if you are hiking in the bottom, but sometimes crampons are needed on the rim and not all the access roads are open.

I remember wearing crampons quite a way down the South Kaibab once, 04 January 2004, to be precise. It was the day after a snowstorm, with maybe 0F or just above at the trailhead, but incredibly beautiful, clear air and blue sky.

South Kaibab trailhead, late morning:


[url=http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=37944]On the trail:
[/url]

Still 04 January 2004, but at the bottom. It wasn't WARM, but it was sunny and nice -- great for hiking:


In summer, the only hiking options are those that are near a lot of water, in my opinion. The Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails fit this description. Without having water access, a trans-canyon hike in summer would be insane.

Here is an example of what I do every 10 or 15 minutes when it is 110F in the lower canyon. This was on a particularly hot rim-to-rim hike. This is Bright Angel Creek adjacent to the North Kaibab trail (02 August 2009):


I'm not trying to hijack the thread; it's just too much fun to write about and remember Grand Canyon hikes!