Five days after leaving home and trekking West across the historic Route 66 we arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. This park was to be one of the highlights of our trip meaning we booked this campsite almost six months ago to ensure we could stay inside the park. I highly recommend this advanced booking for any high demand area as the prime locations are booking even faster now than in previous years.

After arriving at the park we got checked in to Trailer Village (the full service campground) and started getting everything set up for the week. It was during this set up that we learned just how popular this campground and park is to both people AND animals!

As we were completing our setup this elk started walking around our campsite and others looking for water from the connections. We were later told this is a common occurrence that we ended up experiencing every afternoon! This is also where I note that people should always remain 50 yards away from wildlife in the national parks and NEVER feed them. These animals need to remain wild! In our case the elk came to us. We simply stepped back and maintained a safe distance while admiring and grabbing pictures. The elk eventually moved on through the campground before bringing back friends on subsequent nights!

After the elk moved on we were able to finish setting up camp and enjoy some relaxing time. One of the bigger dilemmas I had at this stop was which way to place my survival blankets on my bunk ends. Generally this is an easy choice…..silver up reflects the sun to keep the camper cooler while the silver side down helps keep the heat inside the camper. During this time at the Grand Canyon it was in the 80s-90s during the day and 30s-40s at night! As you can see from the picture above I chose to set up for the hotter temperatures and use my heater at night!

THE VIEWS

The South Rim boasts some of the best views I’ve ever seen in my life! It didn’t take long for me to say “WOW” without even thinking as I was walked toward the overlooks. We parked at the visitor center complex and walked out to the overlook areas along the Rim Trail. This area has views all around and they are never the same because of the lighting and shadows. The rock squirrels are also prevalent around the overlooks. They’ll pose, beg and look cute but don’t fall for it! Remember to keep wild animals wild!

SHUTTLE BUSES AND OVERLOOKS

Unfortunately during our visit the majority of the shuttle system was shut down. The exceptions were the hiker shuttles in the mornings and the Hermit’s Rest route that is closed to vehicles. I do highly recommend taking this route as it stops at many overlooks along the way with the old hiker rest house at the end. The drivers also give you information along the way about each overlook. You can hop on and off as you wish.

HIKING

As with most parks the Grand Canyon has it’s share of hiking trails and adventures. However, hiking in the Grand Canyon is like nothing else you’ve ever done before. This is why they have developed the Hike Smart program to inform people about the experience of hiking in, and around, the canyon. The temperatures vary widely in the canyon and the humidity is extremely low so your body will react differently if you aren’t used to the area. The elevation is also completely different than most people are used to. The areas of the rims are in the 7,000 and 8,000 foot range while Phantom Ranch in the bottom is just over 2,000 feet. I highly recommend taking time to adjust to the elevation for a day or two before attempting any big hikes in the canyon. Remember the saying “Down is Optional, Up is Mandatory!”

Now that I have those warnings and notes out of the way I’ll move on to our hike into the canyon. We chose early on to hike down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch and back up the Bright Angel Trail (Rim to River). This hike is challenging based on the elevation change and trail conditions. The South Kaibab is over 7 miles down to Phantom Ranch and the Bright Angel side is just over 9 miles straight back up to the rim. Knowing the conditions we began training months ahead of time and knew what to expect and how to be prepared.

On the day of our hike we were up early to catch the hiker shuttle at 5:00am from the Back Country office to the trailhead so we could get a good start. We knew we needed to do this to beat the heat getting down as there are no water refill points on the South Kaibab Trail.

PHANTOM RANCH

At the bottom of the Grand Canyon is Phantom Ranch which consists of rustic cabin lodging, an amphitheater, diner and gift store. The Bright Angel campground is also at the bottom along with Boat Beach for the rafters. The ranch area is also the first point to refill water without treating. A couple other big draws of the ranch is the cool creek running through and the ICE COLD LEMONADE served at the store. (Keep your cup…refills are only $1.00)

Once we made it to Phantom Ranch we were super excited! Not only were we getting to partake in the lemonade but we knew that we had just become part of a super small group as only about 3% of the over 5 million people who visit each year ever hike to the bottom. We also got to experience the canyon from an entirely different perspective and see the Colorado River up close and personal!

Whether you choose to stay at the ranch or make the entire hike in a day you have to do two things! You must have the lemonade and you have to get a postcard to mail. These postcards are stamped at the ranch and taken out by mules to mail. We sent one to family and one to ourselves……which beat us home!

Overall we had a great experience at the Grand Canyon. There were ups and downs and I will highlight a couple other events in much greater detail in a future post as I compose the proper thoughts.

The main things to note for any time in the park is to always carry water and snacks. Even if you’re just walked around the overlooks or riding the shuttle you need water. As I noted earlier the weather is different in the park than most anywhere and you will often not realize you’re dehydrated until it’s too late.

The park has several lodges and campgrounds inside the gates along with restaurants and a full grocery store/market. There is also a bank, post office and clinic so you shouldn’t need to leave the park for much. Be sure you’re subscribed to the blog so you don’t miss the future posts about the canyon or out other parks. Until next time…….