Into the Canyon. Plan: 1. Rim to River to Rim. 2. Don't die.

Day 8 - Stops: Grand Canyon National Park.

Hikes:
South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch (8 miles one way, Descent: 4780 feet) +
River trail (1.7 miles) to Bright Angel (7.8 miles, Ascent: 4460 feet).

After being sick the evening before with gastrointestinal distress and intense abdominal pain which I initially thought might be a partial bowel obstruction, I was exhausted even after 9 hours of sleep the next day, so our hike started a little later than we had hoped for, 6:45am. For breakfast we ate bananas with peanut butter. It was pretty cold outside, probably around 40 degrees. Now I don’t claim to have the best circulation but after washing my face my hands were painfully cold and for the moment I thought I was suffering from a bout of Raynaud’s. We managed to get ourselves dressed and head out to the shuttles. 

We wore: hiking pants with zip off legs, sock liners and thick hiking socks, hiking boots, underarmour long sleeve compression shirts and light weight running shirts (white T for Jeremy), a fleece, a handkerchief, a winter hat, gloves, and a hiking hat for protection from the hot sun in the canyon.

Awaiting the Shuttle to South Kaibab Trailhead

We headed out to the shuttle which was packed with mainly serious hikers- you could tell by their gear. Many of them were clearly planning to spend the night at Bright Angel Campground next to the Colorado River, 7 miles into the canyon and 4000 feet down. Of course we planned to do the same, but then come back up in the same day. We hit the South Kaibab trailhead and took a bathroom break. There is no water on this trail until you hit Bright Angel Campground. There were a few bathrooms at a few points on the trail: Cedar Ridge and Tipoff. Most suggest that you stop 3 miles down at Skeleton’s point and head back, but we wanted to make it at least to the South Kaibab Suspension bridge (7 miles down). They say that however long it takes you to get down to the bottom, it will take you 2-4x that to get back up. So you could see that we were on a tight time schedule. Sunset is at 6:54pm in the Canyon and we began our hike at 8:00am. The temperature was 40 degrees.

As we began our descent into the canyon we quickly began to comprehend the increased time in coming back up as it is very steep on the way down.  We encountered two girls that had started ahead of us and were turning back after only a 5 minute hike. There were 2 Indian men that were ahead of us and we quickly passed them. And there was a family of 5 that just were going as far as they could make it as a group.  

View of the canyon at initial descent

View looking up at the rim.

Looking down into the Canyon

As we hit Ooh Ahh point and Cedar Ridge we stripped down layers of clothing til we were down to just shorts and a t-shirt.

Ooh Aah Point

Still pretty cold

Stripping down

There were a bunch of runners carrying little to no gear making their way down passed us.  We enjoyed scenic switchbacks for miles. Then after Skeleton Point we stopped seeing the families with the exception of a few riding some mules up and down the trail. The switch backs got steeper after Tipoff point and we got our first up close view of the Colorado River.

Mules on the trail

Toes hurting from all the downhill hiking

Four Indian boys moved quickly down the canyon passed us at an impressive pace. And I started to become concerned about coming back out of the Canyon using South Kaibab’s trail due to the steepness and lack of shade. As we saw the suspension bridge some of the runners were making their way back out of the canyon, I was jealous of their lightness without a day pack and their comfortable running shoes as compared to my heavy boots. I can only assume they were Ultra marathon runners that apparently use this as a training run. They were exhausted running up South Kaibab which brought more doubt to my mind about the route we would take back.

Switchbacks down to the Suspension bridge. Colorado river visible in the distance.

At last the South Kaibab Suspension Bridge was reached at only 11:00am and we had moments of shade as we reached the Colorado and touched the river next to some white water rafters. It was mighty hot. We soaked our handkerchiefs in the Colorado and made our way to Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch where we ate PB&Js next to the river’s tributary. Jeremy and I had a spat about walking to the Ranch because it added 2 miles to our already extensive hike. But he insulted me saying “I thought you were such a completionist” and so I decided if we suffered heat exhaustion going back it would be his fault. In retrospect if I were truly dying it may have turned out to be poor reasoning.

We're almost at the river here!

We touched the Colorado River!

Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch lie at the bottom of the Canyon

We started our way back and I was concerned that it was already 1:00pm. We had wasted too much time at Bright Angel and it was getting hotter. We passed a man that suggested taking Bright Angel Trail back, noting that it has more shade and is a less steep grade though it would be up to 2 miles longer. We said we would take South Kaibab because we knew the trail and he shook his head saying we would probably be okay since we looked young and fit. This was not reassuring. As we started up South Kaibab the incline was ridiculous and at this point shade sounded amazing.  We checked the map, deciding to take the River trail that connected to Bright Angel instead. This brought more fantastic up close views of the Colorado River.

Turning up Bright Angel Trail.

As we turned into the Bright Angel rest stop we learned that the trail followed a stream which was reassuring since we had a water purifier. It was now getting extremely hot, probably 85 degrees after already 9-10 miles of hiking. Then we started the uphill switchbacks which were devastating. We passed a delirious hiker on the side of the trail, but since he was in a group and getting shade and rest we figured there wasn’t much more we had to offer the young man without cold water or ice. We later passed more cold streams of water and thought about returning to tell him to make his way to the stream and cool himself. But it was over a mile away. The Indian Campground was a long 3 miles from that first rest stop, but as we made it we caught up with a young Indian man who we would pass and be passed by many times along the trail. We refilled our bladders with water, ate jerky, took some gel packs along the way and headed back out on the trail. Some of those ultrarunners were discussing their training run which started at 5am. They seriously looked so light without a dayback and hiking boots, I wanted to swap clothes and packs.

River Trail view

Looking back on the switchbacks we just climbed

A change in scenery before Indian Campground

Nearly at Indian Campground

4 miles to go

At first it was an easy incline but it soon turned to endless uphill switchbacks for the last 4 miles of the trail. I don’t think I can explain how disheartening it is to look up to the ridge of the canyon after 13 miles of hiking and not even be able to see how many switchbacks remain to get to the top. If I had to estimate the number of switchbacks we did, it must have been well over 120 just going up.

As we reached the end some British travelers took our picture, “Wow you two look like you came from all the way down at the bottom”.  “Yes, we did! Except first we went down and then we came back up.”

We passed the Indian boy that walked the trail solo the entire way and finished with him. He took our picture and we high fived. We took his picture, but he asked for us to wait just a moment. With dirt all over his shirt, face, pants, and drool on his face, he combed his hair using his phone. Then he was ready for the photo. “But wait, one more “, he asked– and then he put up two fingers for the F.O.B pose. I’ll never forget that young man. We reached the top of the Canyon at 6:20pm and stayed until Sunset.

17.5 miles in just over 10 hours. Over 4500 feet of descent and ascent, carrying 1 daypack and 1 full pack and 7 liters of water.

You would think someone would give up their seat on the shuttle for us. You would be wrong. Then again we didn’t smell very clean.  

On the shuttle ride back to our car we passed by the mules again and I could not believe the excitement that this elicited from the Hispanics aboard the bus who screamed out “Los Caballos, los caballos!” It made me giggle. Almost too tired to cook, I ate a burger and some veggies and a beer. While Jeremy actually ate 1 burger, 1 bratwurst, 1 hot dog, veggies, and a beer. 

My conclusion: this hike should probably be done in two days, but can be done in one if you're crazy.

Suggestions for a hike into the Canyon:

1.       You must hike into the Canyon because it is completely different from the Rim.

2.       Go in April/May or September/October . In June/July temperatures reach 110 degrees in the Canyon. Also there is less risk of snowfall during these times.

3.       Start early. 8am or before. If you’re slow – earlier.

4.       Bring 2-3L of water per person.  Drink off. Refill at stations.

5.       Wear a  Hat.

6.       Wear good shoes (water proof is better).

7.       Bring blister pads- the Glacier Gel that I put on before the hike lasted me the entire 17 miles without any pain.

8.       Bring a first aid kit

9.       South Kaibab offers the best views on the way down. I would not suggest taking it back up.

10.   Bright Angel offers significant shade and many more water stops.

Must Do: Hike into the Canyon – South Kaibab down and take Bright Angel back up (1-2 day hike)