DeleeR

Has anybody hiked down and back up the Grand Canyon in one day? We are going in October so the weather should be cool enough, but everything I have read advises against this.

elberko

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...in-one-day.cfm

MidwestHiker

Have you trained for it? Weather in October should be decent.

The above thread is from early August, not as applicable to your situation. Do your research, learn from those mistakes and judge for yourself if you are ready.

I will say, you are probably not prepared for the pounding your legs and joints take on the way down. Most people focus on the uphill portion but ignore the downhill part when it comes to training.

MidwestHiker

http://www.hitthetrail.com/


Look at that website for trip reports and advice from those who have done the hike.

DeleeR

The "I hiked the grand canyon..." link is all I needed. This will be a 2-day hike! Thanks for the info!

MidwestHiker

If you don't already have permits to camp at Bright Angel campground, or reservations for a dorm at Phantom Ranch, you are probably out of luck. You need one or the other to stay overnight at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Permits are able to be reserved starting 4 months in advance, so they are probably all taken for your dates. I believe dorm rooms are reservable starting a year or 13 months in advance, so again they are probably all taken for your dates.

You can check on that with the park (campground permits) and Xanterra (dorm reservations) to verify, but if they are all booked up you are either doing the hike in one day or not at all.

logandog

I have not done the up and down hike in one day. We slept two days near Phantom Ranch and made our accent in fresh January powder snow.
Here are my recommendations:
As stated above the decent is taxing on the knees and feet, I suffered blisters on my feet from poorly fitted shoes and it made the accent more difficult.
When you arrive at the river you don't really have a view of the Grand Canyon, you can only see the walls of the channel formed by the river.
I was expecting an encompassing view of the entire Grand Canyon from the bottom, but that was not to be.
If you camp on the plateau (Indian Gardens ?) the view is much better.

db6040

Have you been to the Grand Canyon before? Do you hike a lot? In desert environments?

There is a reason you read so many warnings online. People get into trouble doing this. Last year we were at the Grand Canyon the second week of October and it was quite hot during the day.

DeleeR

We do hike, but we live in Ohio, so naturally not desert environments. I have read enough on the GC to now realize that we will not attempt the one-day down and back. It is at the very beginning of our Zion/Bryce/Arches/Canyonlands trip and the last thing I need is to be exhausted or injured! Thanks!

sandragoodlife

Years ago we did a day hike in the Grand Canyon. Got an early shuttle bus (called the hikers bus) to the Kanib trailhead. We hiked down for a couple of hours ( taking lots of breaks for the breathtaking scenery) then after a lunch break started back up. We planned on taking twice as long for the ascent but it was only 1 1/2 times. It was a great hike and one of the highlights of our tour of 30 states in 10 months.

db6040

I think you made the right decision DeleeR. We are from Pennsylvania so used to pretty similar environments. We did a very similar trip last October to yours but included Capital Reef and Monument Valley. We loved every minute of it.

Nelson

> we will not attempt the one-day down and back

Good decision. However as sandragoodlife has noted, there is no reason why you shouldn't go part way down and back. Stroll down a bit and turn around at some reasonable time. Remember that the uphill return is at higher elevation than you are used to, so you'll have to take it slow.

Budget in a few hours for that and you'll find it very rewarding! Have a great trip.

MidwestHiker

>>This will be a 2-day hike!

DeleeR

Oh no, trust me, we will do Kaibab and Bright Angels hikes and will spend a good 6-7 hours in GC. We will see as much as we can in the time we have allowed. Just because we won't get all the way down to the canyon floor, doesn't mean we will give up! I could not be more excited, and thanks so much for all of the very good advice and tips!!

mlgb

Re hydration..start upping you water intake a few days before you even arrive.