Steerpike

Finally did it yesterday! I've been talking and fantasizing about this for a few years now, as many of my Scottsdale friends have done it (but they are all younger than me ). It's basically a 16 mile, 4,300 ft elevation hike, with the relatively unusual feature of being down first, then up - meaning, the last part is the hardest. There's also a 40-50 degree F difference between top and bottom, with the bottom being in the 90s at this time of year.

Decided to stop by the Grand Canyon (South Rim) on my way back from Scottsdale to Bay Area. Got 2 nights in a hotel just outside the park gates (Tusayan). Not cheap, but short notice ($200/night). Had a lousy night's sleep on a rock-hard bed, and had the beginnings of a cold also.

Got up at 6am, at the Bright Angel Trailhead at 7:30am (6,800 ft elevation). It was about 50 F. Got to 1.5 mile resthouse at 8am, 3 mile resthouse at 8:45am, and Indian Gardens at 9:30am (at 3,800 ft - 3,000 ft below rim). Rested there for 30 mins. Got to Colorado River by 11am. River is at 2,480 ft - 4,300 ft below rim. Was about 90F at the River.

The section from Indian Garden to the River is tough - full sun, and endless switchbacks. Felt quite shitty, took a long break there (1 hr). There are dire warnings as you leave Indian Garden - don't try to do Rim to River and back in a single day. There are also warnings not to hike between 10am and 4pm, due to the heat. And of course, warnings not to do it alone ...

Left the river at 12 noon. The slog back up to Indian Garden is hard - 90+F, full sun, endless switchbacks. Surprisingly, though, once you get through the switchbacks, the trail crosses the main river that runs alongside the trail, and I was able to soak my shirt, hat, and bandanas in cold water to cool me down. Got to Indian Garden by 1:30pm. Still didn't feel great, so doused my head in cold water, and rested for an hour. Head cleared, felt better, and left Indian Garden 2:20pm. After that, it was surprisingly easy. The hike back up is obviously way harder than the hike down, but I just plodded on and got back to the top by 5:15pm.

The trail is in great condition, and the toilets and rest areas at the various 'rest' points are clean and inviting. Indian Gardens is an amazing oasis - lush, green, running water, dense tree cover - totally surprising to me. Seeing the Canyon from all the different angles as you descend and then ascend is just unbelievable.

I do a lot of desert hiking now in Scottsdale, so I'm used to hard hiking in 90+F heat but this was still hard. Hiking at 6,800ft elevation makes breathing noticeably harder. Most people prefer to do it earlier in the year, but I hate the cold so starting out at the trailhead in freezing weather is not my cup of tea.

Pictures below attempt to capture the essence of the trail (everyone's seen pictures of the Canyon itself ).

scrubbedexpat091

Looks like a nice adventure if one is up for it... If I were in good shape, I'd do it. Looks like a nice hike in a nice region.

Owen778

Sounds like a lot of fun, though if I did it, I'd do it with patches of snow on the ground. We visited just after New Year 2012, and the weather was great for hiking. Having three young kids in tow meant there was no way we'd be going anywhere up or downhill, though.

GeoffM

Sounds great though I'm a little curious about this last part. When I did the Machu Picchu trail everybody agreed that going down was the worst part. Jelly legs on arrival at camp and then sore fronts of thighs the next day. I suppose gradient affects the outcome.

markonline1

Awesome!

Mrs Danvers

We were told the one time we went that going from rim to river and back up was not possible in one day. We went down to Indian garden and then back up. Congratulations! Nice pictures.

The temperature changes out there are amazing though and I think when we went it was about this time of year. So cool and then so hot.

SultanOfSwing

That's cool. I'd be up for that myself, but I think I'd do it when it's a bit colder, myself.

Nice set of pictures, though. One of these days we'll get there. We do plan to visit some National Parks in California this summer though all being well.

Bob

Very nicely done!

I managed to tick off a US bucket list item over the April holidays too. Not as impressive, but I mountain biked up Mount Cadillac in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Not all that high, but it is the highest peak on the US east coast, so a nice place for a sun rise.

Did it in 1hr 40, so a bit slow. 20 mins on the way down to get into town though and that was fun

There's a trail that's practically a vertical climb up a ladder that I really want to do, but it rained most of the week, so the trail was closed but at least I managed to tick one off the list.

username.exe

Fantastic.
Looks like I've got a new item for the bucket list. We've been hiking the trails around Phoenix but looking to branch out a bit.

Great write up.

Yorkieabroad

I'd love to do that - we were at the Grand Canyon a few years back, but with 5, 7 and 9 year olds in tow, there was no way this was on the cards. Eldest is now pushing 14, so maybe, maybe......

I'm with Geoff though - prefer the ups to the downs. Up is just a matter of muscles and fitness. Down (for me) is also a fight against the constant pounding on arthritic knees. I did Mt Kinabalu a few years back, and hiking sticks helped on the way down, but I was still ready for a wheelchair the next day...and had massively blistered hands to boot

Ps - You didn't happen to meet up with Sugarmooma and M by any chance - they are up that way now too.......oh, and are you from the UK? do you know Eric - he's from England.....

Yorkieabroad

Bob - here's one to add to your bucket list....or your "one slip and they'll be taking me home in a bucket" list......

Unless this is you, of course....

Bob

Yeah, that's a bit extreme for me...though I've got a friend that's a up for that kind of thing

Steerpike

There are two trails down - 'South Kaibab' and 'Bright Angel'. The South Kaibab is 2 miles shorter and much steeper; they say it kills your knees. The Bright Angel is 'relatively' flat - there's a lot of switchbacks, but each switchback section is fairly flat so you aren't 'falling down' each step (see picture below). I did some analysis on my hike today, looking at timestamps on my photos; While it took me 9hrs 45 mins to do the whole thing, I was resting for 3 hrs and 40 mins of that, so my 'moving time' was about 6 hours. My average speed going down was over 3mph, while my speed coming back up was about 2.2mph (not counting resting time).

Looks like Machu Pichu (inca trail) has much higher elevation - as high at 13,000 feet. That must be tough!

I think the problem is that there are so many tourists at the Canyon who don't have a clue and start hiking down, and it's quite effortless. I was at Indian Garden in just 2 hours, and that included more resting than I needed, because I was pacing myself for the long haul ahead. The part from Indian Garden to the River really starts to take it out of you, and now you are 8 miles from the top and 4,200 feet of climb ahead of you, and ... the sun is typically full on all of a sudden. Indian Garden is so lovely, shaded, and cool also; you don't realize how suddenly barren and hot it will be shortly after leaving it. They've obviously had a ton of issues so do everything they can to discourage it. It's only because I've been hiking in up to 106F heat in Scottsdale that I was willing to risk it. I had 100 fl oz of water, electrolytes, and enough food to feed an army in my backpack.

Have you done the trails in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, in Scottsdale? They are beautiful. I enjoy hiking there every bit as much as anything in CA. So much nicer than anything else I've found in the Phoenix Metro. The hardest I've done is going from the Gateway trailhead on Thompson Peak Rd, out east on the 'WindGate Pass', then branching off north onto the Tom's Thumb trail, all the way up a killer range of switchbacks to Tom's Thumb (the rock formation); then down the 'East Side' trail, joining up with the Windgate Pass again for the return. This is about 13 miles, and over 3,000 feet of combined elevation. I've done it the other way too; going up the 'East End' trail is as steep as anything I recall from the Canyon. The scenery range, from dense cactus at the start, to massive boulders at the Tom's Thumb area, to relatively sparse landscape on the east side, is fantastic (and again, so much better than anything else I've found in Phoenix area).

username.exe

Nope, mostly Phoenix metro (Estrella, Camelback etc.) which although beautiful, can be a bummer after walking for miles you turn a corner and see a trailer park in the distance .
'Tom's Thumb' sounds right up my alley though, will definitely take a look at your suggestions.

GeoffM

You're supposed to acclimatise for a day or two before starting but the pace is quite moderate. IIRC there's only 4-6 hours of walking per day with stops for lunch and sights. I think it was the afternoon of the second day where we just walked downhill all afternoon - all the other chunks were a bit of up, a bit of down. I'm not a hiker by any means and considered myself nuts after I booked it, but was glad afterwards and not knackered or blistered as I thought I'd be.