Grand Canyon South Rim

As we were heading north on the last leg to the canyon, we saw one of the best sunsets to date.  It totally rivaled the sunset we saw heading west from Salt Lake City just a week or so earlier.  We arrived at the Best Western at the South Entrance, and were pretty happy with the location and the place itself.  We had dinner at Saguaro Bar in the hotel and then rested up for our first big day in GCNP – SR!

We hit the Visitor Center first (got the stamp!) and reviewed the info to come up with a plan for day 1 on the South Rim.  We decided to walk the South Rim trail – a nice level trail, with tons of vistas overlooking the Grand Canyon.  We took the shuttle to Monument Creek and then walked it all the way back to the Visitor Center, probably about 7-8 miles.  We took tons of pictures of the unbelievable views.  About three quarters of the way, a storm was approaching and all the literature and signs clearly warn you to move away from the rim during thunder and lightning, so we picked up the pace significantly (flashbacks of running off the mountain and trails in the Tetons!).

View of Bright Angel Trail

We came to one of the more unique lookout points which offered a 360 degree view.  At this spot there were some large birds flying around.  We quick took some pics and got off this outcropping.  Other hikers thought the birds were condors.



View of Canyon Village

We continued and got off the trail and stopped in at El Tovar in the Grand Canyon Village for some lunch.   The storm moved away so we got back out to finish the hike back to the car. 

  

 

We noticed some people climbing out to a lookout point and decided to join them.  This took some effort but offered a lookout from a rock jutting out into the canyon.  Aileen made her way first and then I joined her. 

 For some odd reason people have decided to post their old gum on this one tree.  Have you have ever seen bras hanging from a tree next to a ski lift.  I guess it’s the same thing.  When we got to the furthest point there was a couple with a small dog sitting in the edge.  The man was playing music with some type of recorder.  If you have ever heard of Zanfir, that’s what he sounded like – in a good way!  We sat there and tried to enjoy the moment and the music but this was a little difficult with the one couple who needed to have pictures from every angle; and these pictures were very orchestrated and required loud direction for some reason.  Oh well.

We continued on once again up to the last stop of the day.  This was a small visitor center which had several exhibits including a large relief of the canyon.  The literature said many years ago different geologists and naturalists got together and picked this one spot to represent the grandeur of the canyon.  Can’t argue here as the view was spectacular.

That evening we went to the Grand Lodge across the street for some happy hour, followed by a decent steak dinner for me, and awesome jambalaya for Bill.  We made it an early night, in preparation for the big hike we planned for the next day.

We ventured out very early the next morning for the Bright Angel Trail.  We took the shuttle out to the “Train Depot” stop that leads to the trailhead.  Bright Angel goes down into the canyon, and ultimately across and up to the north rim, if you’re so inclined to do so - we were not.  We chose to walk three miles down, and three miles back up, and that was enough!   Personally, I prefer to hike UP first, and then DOWN, like the Tetons and lots of other mountains and canyons, but that was not the case here. 

On the way down we were passed by a group of mules.  We had heard you could ride a mule down into the canyon but we felt more comfortable n our own two legs.  The hike down had its own issues as you constantly need to restrain yourself from going too fast.  Your toes end up jammed into the top of your shoe.  We hit two rest stops on the way down at 1.5 miles and 3 miles.  At the 3 mile stop we sat for awhile.  There was a great sign there stating that going down is option but going back up is mandatory.  It was clear in this park and others that individuals are responsible for their own safety.

The hike back up took a little longer – not twice as long as some of the literature suggests.  We actually made it back up in probably 10% longer time.  The first 2 miels up we made in record pace and almost thought coming down was easier.  Of course, the last mile up proved to be difficult and very tiring; thus erasing any thought that going up was easier.



It was an exhausting trip and we felt the effects for days to come, but it was well worth it and it gave us a sense of accomplishment.  We finished the hike in early afternoon, and as we were sitting outside eating our PB&J lunch, another storm came in and it started to rain. 

We went into the Bright Angel Lodge and had a beer in the lounge to wait out the rain.  After it passed we took the shuttle back to the car, and decided to hit Canyon Pizza for an early, simple dinner on the way back to the hotel.   We decided to relax in the hot tub at the hotel, while we ran a quick load of laundry, which worked out great.  We spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics and had another early night.

The next morning we checked out and started to make our way to the North Rim.  Interestingly enough, the two rims are 10 miles apart, and it’s 22 miles to walk and 215 miles to drive!  So we had a 5+ hour trip ahead of us.