Grand Canyon December 2012
 

Hello all!

My family will be out in California this December for my cousin's bat mitzvah (in case you are wondering: this is the younger sister of the bat mitzvah which preceded my solo, carless trip to San Diego two years ago), and I have convinced my parents that, as long as we're on the West Coast already, I want to see the Grand Canyon and that we should make one final American family vacation out of it...

1. Dates/Lodging: We are planning on leaving LA to drive to the GC on Christmas Eve or Christmas (though I haven't yet had time to research the details of that trip thoroughly, so that will be it's own post )
Point is: we'll arrive at the GC shortly after lunch either on December 25 or 26.
We'll be staying at the GC until mid-morning 12/28, when we'll drive to Phoenix (with a very short stop in Sedona to see the rocks??) for the weekend; we will all fly out of Pheonix....

Although we haven't yet booked room(s) (GET ON THAT. I know.), both Yavapai and Maswik Lodge are still showing vacancies, so we aren't too worried -- and we haven't booked because we're trying to decide about that extra night.

I think that the extra day at the GC is worth it, but the family (ranging in age from almost 18-54) is split 2-3 between those of us who want to get down into the canyon and hike the heck out of it and those of us who simply aren't capable of doing that (My mom, for example, who has asthma)....

2. I know that only the South Rim will be open, but I am trying to compile a list and create an itinerary that allows for both some awesome into-the-canyon hiking, and some not-so-strenuous hiking that will not overburden us and will also delight us for 2-3 days.

Any thoughts that you may have about beautiful December hikes or suggestions for enhancing and timing a short pre-New Year's trip would be very much appreciated! :)

Hannah

You can hike the rim or ride horses/mules. How far down do you intend to hike? If winter conditions are present(snow/ice), you could need crampons and have the correct gear for winter hiking.

Hiking the Inner Canyon isn't for everyone. I wouldn't press the 3 that don't want to hike down. It is also not something to take lightly. People are rescued there often(although far more in the summer, I would think).

If there is snow, then consider it all the more beautiful.

You can go ahead and book lodging for the nights you want or think you might want and then cancel just one or two days of it later.

You plan to hike the Canyon in winter? You are one brave woman :)

I would use that extra night for Sedona.

Dayenu-- either brave or stupid. Not clear to me which. ;)
But either way, spirobulldog is right that it's NOT a good idea to press the non-hikers into hiking more than they feel comfortable doing.

I'm not going to hike all the way down, as incredible as that would be, because time simply doesn't allow it, and I don't own crampons anyways. (If general consensus is that they are needed even for a 1.5 mile walk down S Kaibab to Cedar Ridge and back, though, then maybe we'll have to do some renegotiating...)

It seems like people most often need to be rescued because of dehydration-- something that's less of a concern during the winter but still a critical fact to remember.

And I am definitely hoping it will snow! :) I think it'd be just gorgeous.

MichelleY, Sedona for a night might be a lot of fun for all of us, so that's definitely an idea I'll be floating around.

Keep 'em coming! :)

You really won't know the conditions until a few days before hand. More than likely no ice, but certainly is a possibility.

You would likely need crampons for the top section. They used to rent them in Grand Canyon Village, so check on that.

The walk along the rim is nice, and you have more freedom in winter as the road to Hermits Point is open to private vehicles.

We have been to the GC in late January and it was beautiful, light jacket weather with dry trails. Then once in April it snowed, but melted very soon. So as folks have mentioned, you can get any kind of weather.

On the plus side, the rim trail is an easy walk and if you have folks who can't do that, I'm pretty sure the shuttle does not run in December but you can take your car out to Hermit's rest on the road that parallels the rim trail and those who don't hike can stop at the shuttle stops and meet up with the hikers at the scenic spots. If you have a handicap sticker you can use that road in any case and if the shuttle is running the non hikers can take it out and get off at the scenic stops.

People with breathing issues should be aware that the south rim is over 5000 feet and if they are used to sea level conditions they might have more trouble there.

Have a wonderful trip.

For those who are more walkers than real hikers - you can go down the main trial below the rim - for a little ways - which my sister and niece did - and gain some additional appreciation of the GRAND.

Personally - I would spend a bit more and try to get a rim view room at Bright Angel Lodge - where you can also walk right along the Canyon Rim.

If you spent two nights at the GC and then a night at also beautiful Sedona on the way to/back from Phoenix - I think that would be a very good trip. :)

You might also consider flying from LA to Phoenix and renting a car there. It's about a three and a half/4 hour drive from Phoenix to the GC (about two hours to Sedona - which could be a nice "intro" ) - v. the much longer - 9 or so - hour drive from LA. http://usparks.about.com/library/dis...ce-phoenix.htm

Mazeltov!!

The winter is the BEST time to hike the canyon. It isn't HOT!!! That is when people get in trouble and have to be rescued. I can't even imagine hiking it any other time of year.

I was worried about the snow and ice but we bought $12 Yak Trax and our footing was very secure. It gets warmer the further down you go so the trail starts turning to mud then to find soil. I found it to be much easier to walk in the snow/ice. All the uneven places and the jillion steps were leveled out.

Bright Angel is much less steep than South Kaibab but it doesn't give you as good of views of the canyon. For those who are able, I highly advise S. Kaibab. Pretty quickly you are on a point out in the canyon with awesome views. For those who need something easier Bright Angel would still be fun. Go as far down as you like and come back up. Just remember it will take you twice as long to come up. It is actually easier on your body going up though.

A great website that really helped me (I've hiked to the bottom) was:
www.hitthetrail.com
It has just about anything you could possibly want to know about hiking the canyon.

Don't assume that just because it isn't hot you don't need water. You still need to carry plenty. Consider taking a backpack with a reservoir like a Camelbak.

I would stay as close to the rim as you can. People make reservations way in advance and cancel all the time. Keep trying.

Thanks for the reminder about the water, and for your confidence. And for the enthusiasm, Connie! :)
There are a couple of little side trips we want to see en route to the GC, so we're still planning to drive and break the trip there up into two days.

It's good to know that we'll probably be able to rent crampons if we need to.

No one's so physically impaired enough to make walking along the rim impossible by any means, and when I sent info about the hike to Cedar Ridge, everyone was confident that it was doable, though not easy, so that's good.

And it's interesting that you say that it's easier in the winter, Connie. That was my intuitive sense, but I wasn't sure. But knowing that everyone feels comfortable with the idea of S Kaibab, we'll probably just bring as much extra water as we can and start hiking until we think that we need to turn around, and do that. No expectations of how far or not how far.

And we're more and more thinking that a night in Sedona would be a good idea for us, so thanks again for the suggestion!

I didn't see anywhere to rent crampons but that doesn't mean they don't. You just might check before leaving home.

The Yak Trax are fairly cheap and we used them for more than on the trails. The area all around GC Village was icy--sidewalks, steps, parking lots. They hadn't done any clearing and it looked like it had been there for a while. You will want to take them off when you go inside and they will be wet/muddy. I found having a plastic shopping bag to put them in helpful.

I'm not sure that renting crampons and starting down a snowy trail into the Grand Canyon without any training is a good idea.

For example if you should slip and start to slide (it can happen, even with crampons) then the instinctive reaction is to jam your feet into the snow, thinking that will stop you. However, this can flip you into an out of control tumble. Trust me on this, I did it when I first rented crampons without having any knowledge or experience!

Yak Trax are worth having though.

I just returned from a 6-day backpack trip in the Canyon, on the Escalante Route, my first time down there and it was utterly superb. Good luck and have a great trip.

Thanks very much for the warning.
I'm about to move to Israel, so I don't need to be buying any snow gear, but I do hear the point. We'll have to see what the weather is like...

Don't write off the snow gear as not needed. You will ski on Mount Hermon. My friend does.

I've hiked the S. Kaibab trail in winter and it's beautiful! I bought semi-crampons at the park store near the ranger station. They weren't perfect, but helped on the icy spots. If there's snow around you'll likely find ice on all the shady parts of the trail. Pictures here http://jmpalmer.zenfolio.com/p876907088.
By the time I'd walked about a mile and a half down I was ready to come back. The ice started to spook me a bit. I admit to staying pretty close to the wall on the way back up! Worth the trip to see the snow on the canyon walls.

Dayenu-- I don't actually know how to ski! Plus, I'm moving to the Negev anyways.

That said, I do definitely want to see the snow on the walls, as per roundthebend's comment, and if that takes a small purchase, then it takes a small purchase.
This is a big life to-do for me.

Just for reference, the average high/low is around 40/20 at that time of year. According to your profile, you're from Annapolis, MD where the average high/low is about 45/30 at the same time.

So you already have a pretty good idea of how you will cope with the temps at the Grand Canyon. I doubt you'll need to buy any additional clothes, just maybe add another layer. And keep in mind the temps go up as you hike down, so you'll definitely want several layers so you can adjust, the last thing you want is to start sweating and be cold/damp.

When I mentioned crampons, I meant the yaktrax that they sell (or rent) at the general store in Grand Canyon Village. It is pretty likely you will run into snow/ice on the top sections of the trail, but possibly not if it's been a dry year. The one time I've hiked in winter they hadn't received significant snow until February (the night we arrived) and even then it wasn't real treacherous on the trail because it was fresh snow. Of course you can wait til you get there and actually look at the trails, then get your Yaktrax if you think you'll need them. A hiking pole would help too.