The Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim

The Grand Canyon gets over four million visitors each year, but only ten per cent of visitors venture below the rim, and less than one percent make it to the bottom of the canyon. When I realised that hiking across the canyon was an option, it definitely seemed like the thing to do. Unfortunately October is the most popular month for hiking in the canyon and multiple attempts to get a permit for a rim to rim hike ended in failure. We did manage to get a permit that would allow us to hike from the North Rim down to the river, then back up the same trail. But when we got to the South Rim, I couldn't help but stop by the Backcountry Office and put our names on the waiting list for a last minute permit for a rim to rim hike.

Sunrise at Mather Point.

Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona

The same storm we miraculously survived in Utah dropped about 6" of snow in the high mountains of the Maroon Bells area which is a day's drive from Moab. It wasn't likely to stay, but it left us with two bad options. Head over right away and suffer through hiking and camping in wet snow for four days, or hang out in Moab and wait for the snow to melt. As much as we liked Moab, we had to be at the Grand Canyon by October 15th, and had lots of places to visit before we got there.

Nevada and Utah.

After finishing our JMT hike a few days early, we thought we were in good shape for the next hike on our itinerary. We were heading for the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop near Aspen, Colorado. It's a four day hike that is reputed to be one of the best hikes in Colorado, and that's saying a lot. There are four passes over 12,400', so given the elevation and our now anticipated start date of October 1st, we knew we'd be pushing the season a bit.