davison

How hard is the 9 mile hike down to Phantom Ranch? How long does it take? We are in our 50's and can walk several miles on flat ground, but don't know about down into the canyon. Is there an altitude problem?
Thanks.

cherylforeurope

My son did this in high school as part of
a hiking trip with a teacher. These were
healthy young teenagers and some had problems on the hike out. Because of the heat it's recommended you start extremely early in the day and it takes several hours to hike the switchbacks out. What time of year are you going? If you haven't done so I recommend you check out the offical Grand Canyon website for more detailed information on hiking. They recommend you do not attempt the hike in and out in one day.

davison

Only hiking in (in late May or early June) for a raft trip.

youngtom2910

I went to the GC this summer and hiked out from phantom ranch. I did talk to a number of people who hiked down. It is surprisingly difficult, in that there is a lot of pressure on your knees and the walking down can drive your toenails into your shoes, which can be very painful.

I don't think there is an altitude problem.

PaulRabe

At the spry young age of 38, I hiked down the South Kaibab one day and back out the Bright Angel the next. Other than making certain to carry enough water and food on both legs of this trip; the main thing I can recommend is to walk up and down stairs continuously until you can do so for no less than an hour without any pain. If your knees hurt after one hour of going up or down flights of stairs, imagine how they'll feel after doing so for five to eight hours! It's never too early to start this form of exercise; I began about six months before my actual hike.

Also be certain that you have reservations for the bottom; because hiking down and back up on the same day is about as stupid a stunt you can try.

azrat

Starting a raft trip from Phantom would require you to be at Bright Angel Beach I believe before noon. Considering that a person in moderate health could do this hike in about 5-6
hours your options are A; start very early as the days in May and June are hot and at the canyon you start down from the South Rim at about 7200 ft hiking down to river level at around 2000 ft. ie; it gets hotter as you go down. B; the add-on option of a night at Phantom Ranch offered by river outfitters would allow you to spend a whole leisurely day getting down, dinner and a shower and bunk for the night before rafting the next day. Phantom Ranch is a great destination in itself as is the fabulously scenic hike in. I think the package with Phantom Ranch add-on includes mule duffle service of your gear down to the river. Hiking in to the canyon is like paulrabe mentioned decending a very long staircase. At Phantom you see alot of hikers doing the "kaibab shuffle" because they hurried down, not realizing the stress put on the knees and quad muscles. As`far as age goes you have plenty of time to start practice hiking as noted it's good execise anyway. On my last cross canyon hike I met a couple in their 70's doing a rim-to-rim hike in one day. Even though I'm in decent shape that's not my cup of tea as I take 4 days to enjoy the journey!! Take plenty of water, a collapsable walking stick (to store on the raft) and take your time going down is not as bad as it sounds. The South Kaibab is probalbly the most expedient of the two trails to go down. Hiking up is another matter but you don't have that worry as you catch a boat. Hope this helps!!

rst

Hi Davison,
I am interested in this raft trip as well. Can you share what company you are going with?

Connie

I just did the S. Kaibab down and BA up.

Spring and Fall are the best times to go. I can't even imagine trying to do those hikes in the heat of the summer.

Yes, the altitude can be a problem. We really noticed it the closer we got to the rim and had to make a point of breathing deep.

Good boots with lots of toe room, good socks, and hiking poles with rubber bottoms are a must. Take plenty of snacks, as well as water. Your body needs the fuel.

If you go when there is snow/ice on the trail, you will need Yak Trax, crampons or something similar. I was so worried about the snow but ended up loving it. It evens out the trail. The muddy parts where the snow had melted were the absolute worst.

Going down is actually harder than going back up so don't lay in bed worrying how you are ever going to get out of the canyon. Just take it slow.

Dress in layers if you are going during a cool time of year. It was 15 degrees on the rim but we were hot and sweating coming back up most of the way. Around the 1.5 mile rest house, it suddenly got cold again.

You'll need res. for Phantom Ranch over a year in advance. Their website tells you when it is possible to make reservations. We did it 1.5 years before the trip.

It's one of the hardest things I've ever done but I am so proud of the accomplishment. I thought I would never want to do it again but it keeps calling me back!

Malesherbes

Congratulations, Connie! That's a dream of mine too...one day when our time is our own and we have scads of it, we'll do it. With less time we've done Indian Gardens and Plateau Point on various trips...I agree, harder going down than coming out! Were you shooting for these dates or were they the first available when you booked?

DD and SIL have done it and camped...easier to get ressies for the camping area, but still necessary. Their next goal is a rim to rim.

enzian

Davison,

There is a huge difference between walking a few miles on the flat and hiking downhill, dropping 4780 feet in nine miles. Going downhill is much harder on your legs, particularly your knees. We are fit, experience hikers and backpackers in our 50's, and happily hike UP 4000 feet or so, but coming down we are not so happy. We are doing this hike ourselves in April, and are training for it with hikes twice a week, stairclimbing, etc. And I know we will still be sore when we get to the bottom.

Also, I don't know what time you have to be there for your raft trip, but if you are thinking of going the day before, be aware that you absolutely cannot spend the night in the canyon without reservations. We made our reservations to camp overnight in December. They do save a few for walk-ins the day of the hike, however. As for Phantom Ranch---if you can do that as an "add-on" to your raft trip that is wonderful, but otherwise people reserve a year or more in advance to stay there.

Connie

We chose our dates for spring break and figured out exactly what day to call for reservations. That was over 1.5 years ago. Luckily they have a 48 hour cancellation policy. Who knows where you'll be in a year and a half!

mlgb

Anyone in their 50's or above should be especially concerned about their knees on the downhill. Downhill is much harder than uphill

In addition to the training advice, learn about protective wraps and braces. And do strengthen your quads. Try out hiking poles to take pressure off your legs on the downhill.

I use dancer's lambs wool around my toes and don't have any problems with that area. I use Bandaid blister block pads over the usual hot spots (putting them on before I go or as soon as I feel any irritation).

Connie

I'd say hiking poles with rubber feet are a must. I saw almost no one without them.

I had read about gel toe pads that ballet dancers use and they were great.

Really good boots with lots of toe room are a must.

www.hitthetrails has a good way of tying your boots so your feet don't scoot down in your boot, among other really good tips.

I didn't get one blister but did end up with one bruised toe that was already injured before I started.

The manager at Bright Angel Lodge (who appeared to be in his upper 50's said he doesn't do it without really good knee braces--not just knee wraps.

enzian

Connie---when you say "poles with rubber feet are a must"---do you mean poles are a must (I certainly agree), or specifically poles with the rubber feet? If so, why are the rubber tips so important? I've never used the rubber safety tips for my poles, and never felt I needed them, even on rocky trails. Shold I try to find them for this hike?

Connie

I felt like I really needed the stability of the rubber feet because the large rocks and logs were slick. I didn't want to put my weight on the poles and have them slip out from under me.

A friend used her ski poles with pointy, metal ends and they didn't help much. Also, they could get caught in between large rocks.

budget4me

I agree that going downhill is harder than going uphill. I'm surprised so many people mentioned the poles--just one person had a walking stick out of the many I saw on my hike down and up, using the Bright Angel Trail. I never made it all the way down since I didn't have reservations, but I did Plateau Point in one day. 4 hours going down, 4 hours going back up, late May. 12.2 miles total. I spent the night before at the BA Lodge and after the hike drove to Flagstaff for the evening. I recommend wearing two pairs of socks, to protect your feet, and to bring water purification tablets if you need to drink the water on the trail. I became ill when I had to fill my canteen with water from the BA Trail on my way back.

pat

We hiked down and caught a raft trip. It was a long hike down, but not that hard. It does get hot, the closer to the bottom you get. One thing we did to make it easier was that we had mules take down our day packs, so we didn`t have to carry anything except water. Our 2 packs together weighed under the limit, so we only had to pay for one. Just a thought