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.

The next morning we got up early to watch the sunrise from Mather Point, then headed to the Backcountry Office where we miraculously scored a coveted South Rim to North Rim permit for the next day! Now we had to scramble. We cancelled our dog boarding reservation near the North Rim and managed to find a good kennel close to the South Rim. We cancelled our North Rim campsite reservation, and secured one for the South Rim. We booked a van shuttle that would bring us back to the South Rim after our hike. Then we drove the dogs an hour to the kennel in Williams Arizona and returned to pack our gear, clothes and food. Shortly after 6:00 am the next day, we boarded the free shuttle bus at the Backcountry Office and headed to the trailhead.

Standing on the rim looking down into the canyon and across to the other side can be overwhelming. The width and depth of it are hard to wrap your head around. When you divide the numbers into a three day hike though, it all becomes surprisingly manageable.

The start of the South Kaibab Trail.

There are two options to hike down to the river from the South Rim, the Bright Angel Trail and the South Kaibab Trail.  Although it's steeper and has no water, we chose the South Kaibab as its route down the edge of a ridge means the wide canyon view is in front of you as you hike. The trail drops about 4600' to the Colorado River over seven miles. The North Kaibab Trail is the only option to climb up to the North Rim. It's fourteen miles in total, but the Cottonwood Campground allows you to divide your ascent into two days of nearly equal length. The first day of climbing is quite easy with only 1600' elevation gain, leaving you 4000' on the final day (The North Rim is about 1000' higher than the South Rim).

Cyd in the foreground looking down at O'Neill Butte.

A little lower down.

So we only hiked about seven miles each day. The big descent was 4600' and the big climbing day was only 4000'. The afternoons got quite warm, especially down lower in the canyon, so we hiked early each morning - starting as early as 6:30 am, and never hiking later than 11:15 am. In the afternoons, we read, napped, and just relaxed and enjoyed the views. On the first afternoon we enjoyed a rare treat for a couple of parched hikers at Phantom Ranch.

The historic Phantom Ranch is on the north side of the river and just a couple of minutes walk from the Bright Angel Campground. Built in the 1920's as a tourist facility, it still rents cabins and dorm rooms to hikers, rafters and visitors arriving by mule. It also operates a canteen that serves breakfast, dinner, makes box lunches and most importantly to us, offers ice cold lemonade and beer.

The Bright Angel Campground at the bottom
of the canyon was an oasis in the desert heat.

The cabins at Phantom Ranch.

As nice as the cold beer was, the rim to rim hike offers much more. Instead of staring across the vast canyon trying to fathom just how big it is, you appreciate every little detail step by step. There are almost 40 sedimentary layers exposed by the river that range in age from 200 million years to almost 2 billion years. The changes in colour are obvious from the rim, but hiking the canyon reveals the subtle differences in shade and texture.

Ribbon Falls are just off the
North Kaibab Trail.

The climate and vegetation also vary significantly at different levels of the canyon. The bottom is a desert with cactus, scorpions and snakes. When we were there it was 30 Celsius at the bottom and temperatures average close to 40 Celsius in June, July and August. At the top of the higher north rim, the temperature was only about 12 Celsius when we arrived and the aspen, birch and maple trees were all turning colour.

Cyd is in the bottom left corner.

On the North Kaibab Trail.

If you had told me that hiking across the Grand Canyon was a relatively easy task before we started, I would have laughed. Lots of people chose to work harder than we did. We saw hikers that were heading down the South Kaibab Trail to the river and back up Bright Angel Trail in one long day. We also admired the folks who chose to run down the Bright Angel Trail and up the North Kaibab Trail straight in a twenty three mile Grand Canyon rim to rim marathon. The runners who were doing rim to rim to rim? Forty six miles, over 10,000' downhill, and 10,000' uphill over uneven, rocky trails? They're just plain nuts.

But it's also possible to make hiking to the bottom of the canyon much easier. You can rent a cabin and eat at the Phantom Lodge and with no tent, sleeping bag or much food you can hike down with just a light daypack. You can even let the mules do all the work and just appreciate the scenery.

Cyd visited the canyon about 23 years ago as part of her Outdoor Recreation program at Lakehead University, so our visit wasn't a big deal for her when we were planning our trip. But after hiking from rim to rim, she has a much greater appreciation for the Grand Canyon. It also makes us part of the 1% for the first and only time.