Grand Canyon Hiking Trip Report---it's all about the shoes (and the permit)
Apr 25th, 2007, 12:08 PM
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Grand Canyon Hiking Trip Report---it's all about the shoes (and the permit)
The recent controversy over shoes and permits for hiking down into the Grand Canyon and camping overnight has prompted me to write a report of our wonderful Spring Break trip.
This was our second such trip in a row. We (DH and I) did the overnight hike, camping two nights at Bright Angel campground, in April 2006. We enjoyed it so much that we began planning for a repeat as soon as we returned. This time we would include our 14-year-old daughter, and hopefully some of our friends. So the first step was to reserve our rooms at the South Rim for 2 nights upon our arrival, and another night after the hike. Last time we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge, which we liked, but it was to be closed in early 2007 (through April) for renovations. So we booked our rooms at El Tovar. Even a full year ahead, many rooms were already reserved.
For the overnight camping permit (absolutely necessary), I had to wait until December 1 to apply. To obtain a permit, you apply in writing (fax or post, not e-mail), or in person at the backcountry office at the South Rim, not by telephone. The earliest you can apply is the first day of the month 4+ months ahead. In other words, for a permit to camp anytime in April, the first day you can apply is December 1. We sent our request by fax, asking for a camping spot for 6 people, either 2 nights at Bright Angel campground (at the bottom of the canyon), or one night at BA and one night at Indian Gardens (half-way up). Many people like to break up the hike out with a stop at Indian Gardens so they don’t have to do the whole 9-mile, 4400 foot climb in one day. We had no trouble with the hike the previous year, and prefer the feeling of the bottom of the canyon, so I listed 2 nights at BA as our first choice, and sent our fax off into cyberspace. There is a small charge for the permit.
We heard back within a week (they say it can take much longer, but it didn’t). We had our first choice, 2 nights at Bright Angel on our requested dates. So now it was time to invite some companions, and then try to get dinner reservations for our party at Phantom Ranch. As companions, we chose our friends Michael and Sharon, with whom we do dayhikes. We had also backpacked with Sharon, and only with Sharon, much to Michael’s relief. He had never carried a backpack or slept out in a tent before this trip, and only agreed to do so now out of love for his wife. We learned later just how much love it took, because Michael has a severe fear of heights, and was scared to death of the prospect of hiking down that trail.
Phantom Ranch serves dinner in 2 seatings, one for a steak dinner (5:00 pm) and one for “hiker’s stew (6:30 pm). The dining room can accommodate a few more people than are spending the night at the ranch, so there are few spots for campers. Of course, we could carry food down and cook, but for dinner we like to eat at Phantom, if possible. Since the dinner reservations are fully booked up a year in advance (apparently by some people who do not have their camping reservations yet), I had to call repeatedly to try and get cancellations. More on that later. The short story is, after 10 or 12 phone calls over a period of several months, we scored enough dinners for our party of 5.
We also made reservations to send part of our camping gear down on the mules, so “we” (meaning mainly Michael and DD) would not have to carry such heavy packs. It costs $60 for a 30-pound duffle bag. We filled it with our tent, sleeping pads, stove and cookware, extra food, and other things we would absolutely not need on the hike down. (Bonus on the duffle—it was big enough to hold our hiking poles for the flight, since they cannot be carried onto the plane and must go in checked baggage. Downside is that I ALMOST forgot to take them out of the duffle before handing it over to the muleskinners. Note to self—be more aware next time).
So here’s our group: two late 50's-early 60's couples, and our very cheerful (and athletic) teenage daughter. And our footwear: Michael, Sharon, and I all hiked in our usual hiking boots. I made one modification, based on how sore my feet were after the downhill hike last year. I put a metatarsal pad under the insoles of my boots, and dropped from 2 pairs of socks to one (Smartwool). It worked very well—not only were my feet a lot less sore, I did not get my usual blisters. (I often get them hiking in hot weather even tho’ these boots are very well broken in. Last year, I had to tape up my feet with duct tape before the hike back out—earning lots of funny looks in the campground. I was very happy to skip the humiliation, and the paiin, this year! So–to whomever it was who suggested on the “shoes for hiking GC” thread that one pair of socks is best—I thank you, and my feet thank you.
DH wore trail running shoes, and DD wore her cross-country running shoes. They were both quite happy.
We did see one woman hiking in sandals (Chacos) on the way down. She was very lightly laden, moving comfortably and fast, and quite far down into the canyon—too far for a dayhiker. We decided she must be an employee at Phantom, and very used to hiking in the canyon. No further comment on sandals. But I’m getting ahead of things.
We flew into Phoenix, picked up our car (had to upgrade to a mid-SUV size to accommodate 5 of us and all our camping gear. We drove straight to the South Rim, checked in to El Tovar, and walked over to look at the canyon. DD, Michael, and Sharon had never seen it before. That first view is, as everyone who has seen it knows, awesome, unbelievable. . . exhausting all superlatives. It was also, for Michael, terrifying. He didn’t even get close to the stone wall protecting the edge before he spun around and faced away from the view, muttering that we were all “F*#!#* nuts!” Sharon assured me privately that he would be fine. We cheered him up at dinner with good food and some nice wine. This was to become our modus operandi over the next few days.
To be continued. . .
This was our second such trip in a row. We (DH and I) did the overnight hike, camping two nights at Bright Angel campground, in April 2006. We enjoyed it so much that we began planning for a repeat as soon as we returned. This time we would include our 14-year-old daughter, and hopefully some of our friends. So the first step was to reserve our rooms at the South Rim for 2 nights upon our arrival, and another night after the hike. Last time we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge, which we liked, but it was to be closed in early 2007 (through April) for renovations. So we booked our rooms at El Tovar. Even a full year ahead, many rooms were already reserved.
For the overnight camping permit (absolutely necessary), I had to wait until December 1 to apply. To obtain a permit, you apply in writing (fax or post, not e-mail), or in person at the backcountry office at the South Rim, not by telephone. The earliest you can apply is the first day of the month 4+ months ahead. In other words, for a permit to camp anytime in April, the first day you can apply is December 1. We sent our request by fax, asking for a camping spot for 6 people, either 2 nights at Bright Angel campground (at the bottom of the canyon), or one night at BA and one night at Indian Gardens (half-way up). Many people like to break up the hike out with a stop at Indian Gardens so they don’t have to do the whole 9-mile, 4400 foot climb in one day. We had no trouble with the hike the previous year, and prefer the feeling of the bottom of the canyon, so I listed 2 nights at BA as our first choice, and sent our fax off into cyberspace. There is a small charge for the permit.
We heard back within a week (they say it can take much longer, but it didn’t). We had our first choice, 2 nights at Bright Angel on our requested dates. So now it was time to invite some companions, and then try to get dinner reservations for our party at Phantom Ranch. As companions, we chose our friends Michael and Sharon, with whom we do dayhikes. We had also backpacked with Sharon, and only with Sharon, much to Michael’s relief. He had never carried a backpack or slept out in a tent before this trip, and only agreed to do so now out of love for his wife. We learned later just how much love it took, because Michael has a severe fear of heights, and was scared to death of the prospect of hiking down that trail.
Phantom Ranch serves dinner in 2 seatings, one for a steak dinner (5:00 pm) and one for “hiker’s stew (6:30 pm). The dining room can accommodate a few more people than are spending the night at the ranch, so there are few spots for campers. Of course, we could carry food down and cook, but for dinner we like to eat at Phantom, if possible. Since the dinner reservations are fully booked up a year in advance (apparently by some people who do not have their camping reservations yet), I had to call repeatedly to try and get cancellations. More on that later. The short story is, after 10 or 12 phone calls over a period of several months, we scored enough dinners for our party of 5.
We also made reservations to send part of our camping gear down on the mules, so “we” (meaning mainly Michael and DD) would not have to carry such heavy packs. It costs $60 for a 30-pound duffle bag. We filled it with our tent, sleeping pads, stove and cookware, extra food, and other things we would absolutely not need on the hike down. (Bonus on the duffle—it was big enough to hold our hiking poles for the flight, since they cannot be carried onto the plane and must go in checked baggage. Downside is that I ALMOST forgot to take them out of the duffle before handing it over to the muleskinners. Note to self—be more aware next time).
So here’s our group: two late 50's-early 60's couples, and our very cheerful (and athletic) teenage daughter. And our footwear: Michael, Sharon, and I all hiked in our usual hiking boots. I made one modification, based on how sore my feet were after the downhill hike last year. I put a metatarsal pad under the insoles of my boots, and dropped from 2 pairs of socks to one (Smartwool). It worked very well—not only were my feet a lot less sore, I did not get my usual blisters. (I often get them hiking in hot weather even tho’ these boots are very well broken in. Last year, I had to tape up my feet with duct tape before the hike back out—earning lots of funny looks in the campground. I was very happy to skip the humiliation, and the paiin, this year! So–to whomever it was who suggested on the “shoes for hiking GC” thread that one pair of socks is best—I thank you, and my feet thank you.
DH wore trail running shoes, and DD wore her cross-country running shoes. They were both quite happy.
We did see one woman hiking in sandals (Chacos) on the way down. She was very lightly laden, moving comfortably and fast, and quite far down into the canyon—too far for a dayhiker. We decided she must be an employee at Phantom, and very used to hiking in the canyon. No further comment on sandals. But I’m getting ahead of things.
We flew into Phoenix, picked up our car (had to upgrade to a mid-SUV size to accommodate 5 of us and all our camping gear. We drove straight to the South Rim, checked in to El Tovar, and walked over to look at the canyon. DD, Michael, and Sharon had never seen it before. That first view is, as everyone who has seen it knows, awesome, unbelievable. . . exhausting all superlatives. It was also, for Michael, terrifying. He didn’t even get close to the stone wall protecting the edge before he spun around and faced away from the view, muttering that we were all “F*#!#* nuts!” Sharon assured me privately that he would be fine. We cheered him up at dinner with good food and some nice wine. This was to become our modus operandi over the next few days.
To be continued. . .
Apr 25th, 2007, 12:34 PM
#4
Ah....I love cliffhangers! LOL
Great post enzian, interesting "how to" on all the ressies needed, and I agree, clever title!
Hopefully it won't be met by deaf (eyes)! Looking forward to the next installment.
Great post enzian, interesting "how to" on all the ressies needed, and I agree, clever title!
Hopefully it won't be met by deaf (eyes)! Looking forward to the next installment.
Apr 25th, 2007, 12:45 PM
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Excellent start! =D>
"...the whole 9-mile, 4400 foot climb in one day. We had no trouble with the hike the previous year.."
Uh-oh. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Good job, sweetie! I'll stay posted for more.
"...the whole 9-mile, 4400 foot climb in one day. We had no trouble with the hike the previous year.."
Uh-oh. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Good job, sweetie! I'll stay posted for more.
Apr 25th, 2007, 12:59 PM
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Ill try to post more tonight.
AnnMarie_C, I hope you have as wonderful time as we did!
J62--Darn! I forgot the hunting part. Good memory on your part We did in fact see some desert bighorn sheep. . . We're not hunters, so we tried to phone them up on Verizon instead.
kopp---no worries, it was even easier this year. Even if it did snow on us.
AnnMarie_C, I hope you have as wonderful time as we did!
J62--Darn! I forgot the hunting part. Good memory on your part We did in fact see some desert bighorn sheep. . . We're not hunters, so we tried to phone them up on Verizon instead.
kopp---no worries, it was even easier this year. Even if it did snow on us.
Apr 25th, 2007, 02:05 PM
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enzian,
I'm really enjoying your report. I hope to be able to talk DH into this before we get too old to do it. We're 57 and 62.
Just a suggestion about blisters. Have you ever tried Bodyglide? We found out about it before we hiked the Panorama Trail in Yosemite a few years ago. Great stuff that runners use to avoid both blisters and chafing. Since we started using it we haven't had a blister.
Fran
I'm really enjoying your report. I hope to be able to talk DH into this before we get too old to do it. We're 57 and 62.
Just a suggestion about blisters. Have you ever tried Bodyglide? We found out about it before we hiked the Panorama Trail in Yosemite a few years ago. Great stuff that runners use to avoid both blisters and chafing. Since we started using it we haven't had a blister.
Fran
Apr 25th, 2007, 02:50 PM
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Enzian--Keep writing! I am laughing so hard about the duct tape. My DH has done that a few times with his climbing boots and it is always pretty funny looking. Sounds like a great trip, but I want to read the rest, hint hint
Apr 25th, 2007, 03:46 PM
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Day 1
DH and I rose early, but not early enough for the sunrise. We dressed quietly and slipped out of the room, leaving DD sleeping peacefully. We told her the night before we would do this, so she wouldn’t worry when she awoke and found us gone missing. El Tovar provides coffee and tea to pour for yourself in the mezzanine area, a big “plus” in my book. (There are also refrigerators in the rooms, but no coffee maker or microwave, incase you are curious). Cups in hand and gloves on, we went outside in the cold to enjoy the early morning light. It’s my favorite time of day at the Rim—the colors of the canyon are at their best, the condors may be flying above, and you have it almost to yourself. We walked east along the rim for a mile or so, and turned and walked back. On the way, we met our friends, with Michael carefully walking as far as he could from the wall and the edge. We agreed to meet at 9 for breakfast, but by 8 we were all starving, so we woke up DD and went in to the dining room.
If you are a breakfast-eater (and we are), breakfast at El Tovar is a treat. They have a number of imaginative offerings, some with a southwestern twist. But DD loved the lox and bagel plate—it came with so much nice smoked salmon (at least 4 ounces) she couldn’t finish it. I had eggs Benedict made with the same smoked salmon. Dh had some kind of quesadilla with scrambled eggs, roasted red pepper, some chorizo, you get the idea. He said it was great too.
After breakfast we lugged our two filled duffles over to the mule barn. Or, at least to the corral, since we didn’t find the barn until the wrangler pointed it out (it’s the large wooden building with the little barn-like cupola on top—duh!) He told us there was no one at the barn to check our bags in, so we waited at the corral and watched the action—mule riders getting matched to their mules, mounted up, and departing. I love horses, and love riding, but that ride is not for me. I’d rather walk! But everyone looked like they were having a good time.
Eventually we wandered over to the barn and eventually the wrangler showed up. WE were all revved up about weighing our duffles to see if we’d got it right—they are adamant about the 30-pound limit, but we wanted every ounce we could get. So we both had a spare bag of things we could add, or space to subtract, stuff. But first I had a bit of a dispute with the wrangler. Turns out we were supposed to “check-in” at the Bright Angel Transportation desk and get some kind of voucher to confirm that we had reserved and paid for the service. But Xanterra didn’t put that on the instructions they sent; just that we had to have the bags to the mule barn before 4:00 pm the day before. I had the written confirmation with me, and kept offering to show it to him, but he wanted the voucher. And I really didn’t want to waste any more time walking back over there to get it. Eventually he agreed to take the bags, and we put them on the hanging scale to check the weight. Each bags was just barely under 30 pounds. Cheers all around, with the wrangler looking at us like a bunch of crazy dudes. I guess we were. Whatever we could do to keep Michael distracted from the business at hand. . . We left hoping he wouldn’t “forget” to load the bags on the mules out of spite. He didn’t; they arrived at Phantom Ranch as scheduled.
Now it was time for our test hike. We stopped at the grocery and bought deli sandwiches (the deli counter has pretty good stuff), and made sure our water bottles were full. Then we drove out to Grandview Point to do a short hike. Big mistake. I had chosen the one (of four) below-the-rim hikes I didn’t know. The book described the trail as “steep and narrow”, but it said that of all of them. At least the “steep” part. I should have paid more attention to the “narrow”. A few hundred yards down the trail, there was a point where the trail not only narrowed significantly, but sloped off toward. . . not a 1,000 foot drop, but enough that it would hurt if you slipped and fell. There was a slight overhang from the cliff on the uphill side that further complicated things. Michael took one look at that and said “See you at the car”. He started back up, while the rest of us consulted. We decided the best thing would be to walk partway down the South Kaibab trail, our planned route for the descent, so he could see how wide and user-friendly it is.
So we drove back along the Rim, parked near the gated road to the South Kaibab trail, and walked in. That part, along the road, was fine, of course. When we got to the trail, Michael was somewhat reassured by the width (it really is wide and well-graded. It had also been repaired since last year, when there were big pits in each step). We started down, and I think he decided it wasn’t so bad, as long as he kept his eyes on the feet of the person in front of him, and didn’t look up, or out at the view. We went down past the warning sign with the picture of the person suffering from thirst and heat exhaustion, or whatever. Fortunately Michael didn’t see that because his eyes were on the ground. Actually, that part didn’t worry him, or us. We knew we are all fit hikers; we regularly do ascents and descents of 4,000 feet on our hikes, and we knew to carry and drink lots of water. If it hadn’t been for that edge, he would have been a happy hiker.
Back at the hotel, we cleaned up, and then wandered around and enjoyed the Kolb Studio (amazing story and photos of the Kolb brothers and their photography exploits). And then to dinner, to cheer Michael up again with more good food and wine, to distract him from the reality that. . . .
Tomorrow we hike down.
DH and I rose early, but not early enough for the sunrise. We dressed quietly and slipped out of the room, leaving DD sleeping peacefully. We told her the night before we would do this, so she wouldn’t worry when she awoke and found us gone missing. El Tovar provides coffee and tea to pour for yourself in the mezzanine area, a big “plus” in my book. (There are also refrigerators in the rooms, but no coffee maker or microwave, incase you are curious). Cups in hand and gloves on, we went outside in the cold to enjoy the early morning light. It’s my favorite time of day at the Rim—the colors of the canyon are at their best, the condors may be flying above, and you have it almost to yourself. We walked east along the rim for a mile or so, and turned and walked back. On the way, we met our friends, with Michael carefully walking as far as he could from the wall and the edge. We agreed to meet at 9 for breakfast, but by 8 we were all starving, so we woke up DD and went in to the dining room.
If you are a breakfast-eater (and we are), breakfast at El Tovar is a treat. They have a number of imaginative offerings, some with a southwestern twist. But DD loved the lox and bagel plate—it came with so much nice smoked salmon (at least 4 ounces) she couldn’t finish it. I had eggs Benedict made with the same smoked salmon. Dh had some kind of quesadilla with scrambled eggs, roasted red pepper, some chorizo, you get the idea. He said it was great too.
After breakfast we lugged our two filled duffles over to the mule barn. Or, at least to the corral, since we didn’t find the barn until the wrangler pointed it out (it’s the large wooden building with the little barn-like cupola on top—duh!) He told us there was no one at the barn to check our bags in, so we waited at the corral and watched the action—mule riders getting matched to their mules, mounted up, and departing. I love horses, and love riding, but that ride is not for me. I’d rather walk! But everyone looked like they were having a good time.
Eventually we wandered over to the barn and eventually the wrangler showed up. WE were all revved up about weighing our duffles to see if we’d got it right—they are adamant about the 30-pound limit, but we wanted every ounce we could get. So we both had a spare bag of things we could add, or space to subtract, stuff. But first I had a bit of a dispute with the wrangler. Turns out we were supposed to “check-in” at the Bright Angel Transportation desk and get some kind of voucher to confirm that we had reserved and paid for the service. But Xanterra didn’t put that on the instructions they sent; just that we had to have the bags to the mule barn before 4:00 pm the day before. I had the written confirmation with me, and kept offering to show it to him, but he wanted the voucher. And I really didn’t want to waste any more time walking back over there to get it. Eventually he agreed to take the bags, and we put them on the hanging scale to check the weight. Each bags was just barely under 30 pounds. Cheers all around, with the wrangler looking at us like a bunch of crazy dudes. I guess we were. Whatever we could do to keep Michael distracted from the business at hand. . . We left hoping he wouldn’t “forget” to load the bags on the mules out of spite. He didn’t; they arrived at Phantom Ranch as scheduled.
Now it was time for our test hike. We stopped at the grocery and bought deli sandwiches (the deli counter has pretty good stuff), and made sure our water bottles were full. Then we drove out to Grandview Point to do a short hike. Big mistake. I had chosen the one (of four) below-the-rim hikes I didn’t know. The book described the trail as “steep and narrow”, but it said that of all of them. At least the “steep” part. I should have paid more attention to the “narrow”. A few hundred yards down the trail, there was a point where the trail not only narrowed significantly, but sloped off toward. . . not a 1,000 foot drop, but enough that it would hurt if you slipped and fell. There was a slight overhang from the cliff on the uphill side that further complicated things. Michael took one look at that and said “See you at the car”. He started back up, while the rest of us consulted. We decided the best thing would be to walk partway down the South Kaibab trail, our planned route for the descent, so he could see how wide and user-friendly it is.
So we drove back along the Rim, parked near the gated road to the South Kaibab trail, and walked in. That part, along the road, was fine, of course. When we got to the trail, Michael was somewhat reassured by the width (it really is wide and well-graded. It had also been repaired since last year, when there were big pits in each step). We started down, and I think he decided it wasn’t so bad, as long as he kept his eyes on the feet of the person in front of him, and didn’t look up, or out at the view. We went down past the warning sign with the picture of the person suffering from thirst and heat exhaustion, or whatever. Fortunately Michael didn’t see that because his eyes were on the ground. Actually, that part didn’t worry him, or us. We knew we are all fit hikers; we regularly do ascents and descents of 4,000 feet on our hikes, and we knew to carry and drink lots of water. If it hadn’t been for that edge, he would have been a happy hiker.
Back at the hotel, we cleaned up, and then wandered around and enjoyed the Kolb Studio (amazing story and photos of the Kolb brothers and their photography exploits). And then to dinner, to cheer Michael up again with more good food and wine, to distract him from the reality that. . . .
Tomorrow we hike down.
Apr 25th, 2007, 04:05 PM
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Hey sundowner, happy to hear from you!
enzian, we're staying at Thunderbird. Is parking available for guests at the hotel / various lodges? I've tried contacting Xanterra about this but have not heard back.
Your hike along the South Kaibab Trail reminded me of of this excerpt from Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park, "Every year a handful of people fall to their death in the canyon." Grim and scary and something that never crossed my mind. So happy you did not become a statistic! Will I? DH tells me not to worry because I'm insured. ;-)
Lovin' this report!
enzian, we're staying at Thunderbird. Is parking available for guests at the hotel / various lodges? I've tried contacting Xanterra about this but have not heard back.
Your hike along the South Kaibab Trail reminded me of of this excerpt from Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park, "Every year a handful of people fall to their death in the canyon." Grim and scary and something that never crossed my mind. So happy you did not become a statistic! Will I? DH tells me not to worry because I'm insured. ;-)
Lovin' this report!
Apr 25th, 2007, 05:51 PM
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Floridafran---thank you for the tip about Bodyglide for preventing blisters. A friend used it when we were hiking in Yosemite last summer, and highly recommended it too. I will give it a try, because I'm definitely blister-prone. Does it make your feet hot?
AnnMarie_C---there is parking in several lots near the lodges. One is right near El Tovar, and people going to the shop right there (Hopi House?) also park there, so it can be crowded. There is another lot just behind the Thunderbird and Kachina lodges, which we used when we couldn't find space at the closer lot. This one seemed less crowded and would be closer for you. There are two more lots over by Bright Angel Lodge, one of them a dirt lot between Bright Angel and the mule corrals that seems to always have room. But I'll bet you'll find something at the one closest to Thunderbird Lodge.
AnnMarie_C---there is parking in several lots near the lodges. One is right near El Tovar, and people going to the shop right there (Hopi House?) also park there, so it can be crowded. There is another lot just behind the Thunderbird and Kachina lodges, which we used when we couldn't find space at the closer lot. This one seemed less crowded and would be closer for you. There are two more lots over by Bright Angel Lodge, one of them a dirt lot between Bright Angel and the mule corrals that seems to always have room. But I'll bet you'll find something at the one closest to Thunderbird Lodge.
Apr 25th, 2007, 06:21 PM
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enzian,
I waited for DH to get home from teaching tonight to get his opinion on the Bodyglide thing. Neither of us recall it making our feet feel hot.
It's almost like a gel deodorant stick, both in looks and consistency. So it feels a little strange at first and I worried that it was going to feel sticky. It doesn't, but it's really hard to describe exactly how it feels.
DH is also prone to blisters. That's how I found out about Bodyglide. I was asking on every hiking and other forum I could find to see if anyone knew what to do to help prevent them.
Give it a try. It's not very expensive so you won't be out much if you don't like it. If you do like it, you'll never be without it.
Loving this report. I'm saving it for future "ammo" in my battle to get us down to the bottom.
Fran
I waited for DH to get home from teaching tonight to get his opinion on the Bodyglide thing. Neither of us recall it making our feet feel hot.
It's almost like a gel deodorant stick, both in looks and consistency. So it feels a little strange at first and I worried that it was going to feel sticky. It doesn't, but it's really hard to describe exactly how it feels.
DH is also prone to blisters. That's how I found out about Bodyglide. I was asking on every hiking and other forum I could find to see if anyone knew what to do to help prevent them.
Give it a try. It's not very expensive so you won't be out much if you don't like it. If you do like it, you'll never be without it.
Loving this report. I'm saving it for future "ammo" in my battle to get us down to the bottom.
Fran
Apr 26th, 2007, 01:13 PM
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Day 2—Hiking Down the South Kaibab Trail
We chose to hike down the South Kaibab trail, like most people, because it is not recommended for hiking up. The trail is built along ridges and offers expansive views, but there is no water. Nada, nichts, rien. So a hiker going up the SK trail is supposed to leave the bottom loaded with 4 liters of water—an extra 10 pounds, by the time you count the weight of the bottles. This is not a problem on the other trail, the Bright Angel, where there is water available at several places. So the “traditional” route is down the SK, up the BA.
The SK trailhead is a bit removed from the lodges ta the South Rim, and cannot be reached by car. The road in is gated, and you must either walk that road, or ride the shuttle bus. Hikers’ shuttles go directly from the Bright Angel Lodge to the SK trailhead hourly in the very early morning, but the last one in April leaves at 8:00. We decided not to try to catch that; in April the need to start early and finish hiking before the mid-day heat is not as compelling. Besides, one member of our party (DD) needs her morning sleep, and another (guess) needed his last meal as a condemned man. So we opted for another nice breakfast at El Tovar, then checked out, loaded our luggage into the car to await our return, and headed for the regular shuttle bus. This one does not go directly to the trailhead; it loops around all over the place, and you have to change busses at one point. This process took almost an hour, in part because we just missed one by seconds, and had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the next. I think next time we’ll get up and catch the hiker’s shuttle.
I should mention my praise of El Tovar at this point. We had nothing but good to say about this place. I see them get bad reviews on TA, and I wonder why. It’s not a 5-star resort, but this is, after all, a national park, and El Tovar is a lovely old (100+ years) historic hotel. We ate three breakfasts and 3 dinners there, and the food was very good. Again, not 5-star, but everything we had was good quality, nicely-prepared, and just plain good. The salads wer especially nice; Sharon had two for her dinner each night. I mention this at this point because of my experience at check-out. I had made our various reservations—the rooms at El Tovar, the dinner reservations there, and the Phantom Ranch reservations, at different times and by different methods (telephone vs web). The Xanterra computer somehow put it all together, so that when we checked out on Tuesday morning, the desk clerk noted not only that we were returning on Thursday, but that we would be hiking up that day from Phantom. So he told me he would code our rooms for early arrival, so they would be ready for us when we staggered up the front steps and collapsed. Of course he didn’t put it in those words, exactly. . . Actually, I just thought it was very kind of him to notice and to do that. I knew we’d be ready to shower and relax, and wouldn’t enjoy waiting until 4 pm for rooms. So this was good.
Another good thing that happened during our check-out was that I noticed they posted the temperature at Phantom. Highs around 77 and lows around 45. This was a good 20 degrees colder on both ends than what we experienced exactly one year ago. It’s a very good thing I saw this, because otherwise DD and I would not have carried enough warm clothes (Sharon, who runs very cold, always carries extra fleece no matter what, and the men said they had plenty of warm gear). But I stuffed an extra warm shirt each into our daypacks for DD and for me.
When we got to the trailhead, I put that shirt (Patagonia mid-weight capilene; love it!) on. Actually, everyone pulled extra clothes out and dressed more warmly. It was a beautiful, blue-sky day, but it was cold (low 50's). And then there was the wind. We weren’t prepared for that. It was a pretty stiff breeze at the top, but we thought it would calm once we dropped down a bit. Wrong. The configuration of the canyon actually increased the force of the wind in some places, to 40 mph gusts. All you could do at that point is grab the side and hunker down until it was over. Fortunately it wasn’t picking up grit so we weren’t getting sandblasted. But it wasn’t pleasant, and many day-hikers turned back after several switchbacks, and headed up.
And Michael? Since he had expected the worst anyway, I couldn’t tell if he even minded. He said he was OK if he could follow me by about 10 feet, so he could watch my feet, and only my feet. And Sharon hiked another 10 feet behind him. We called it “the Michael sandwich”. We stopped only once on that first stretch, in a sheltered corner, to adjust clothing and packs, and for DD to remove her contacts. Unfortunately Sharon slipped on some gravel, and fell on the trail at our feet, scraping her knee badly. The whole rest of the way down the trail, we could tell which people we met were British, because they would offer her a plaster for her bloodied knee. Later on I took a similar fall, scraping the opposite knee, so we made a mirror-image pair.
After that, Michael ruled that the sandwich could not stop anywhere there was an edge, no matter how wide the trail. So we just kept walking, both to get out of the wind, and to reach one of the wide, level plateaus along the trail, outfitted with hitching posts and composting toilets (quite clean). The first is Cedar Ridge, where we took a break. DH, a doctor, made sure everyone had to pee, which meant we were all drinking enough water to stay hydrated. (TMI?) The next section drops down to Skeleton Point, where there was a line of ten or so saddled mules hitched up, and no one in sight. Hmmmmm. Should we have investigated? There must have been an explanation. But we were still trying to get out of that wind, and continued on, to . . . The Tipoff. Of course we didn’t tell Michael the names of any of these places.
Apart from the wind, and fortunately it wasn’t constant, it was a delightful hike. The trail was in much better shape than last year, when there were deep pits worn behind each of the wooden cross-bars that form “steps” and prevent erosion of the trail. Apparently they don’t prevent it completely, because last year those pits were almost a foot deep, worn by the passage of many feet, equine and human, as well as by rain. So for each step, I had to go from the bottom of one pit, 18 inches or so up to the wooden step, then down 24 inches to the bottom of the next pit, and so on. I am a small person with short legs, and it was tough. But the trail has been repaired, and this year it was smooth, well-graded even with the wooden steps, and easy to descend.
I walked along, full of gratitude to the people who build and maintain the trails, making it possible to walk amid all that beauty.
And it is truly, breathtakingly beautiful. You can’t really see all the colors from the top; they get washed out in the strong light of day. Standing at the rim, you look down on the Tonto plateau and it appears gray. But down there, it is really alive in many shades of green—the soft grey-green of the sage, the yellow-green of the cacti, the deeper green of the century plants (many just starting to send up spikes of bloom), and others. The contrast between the greens and the deep red of the rocks is stunning.
At some point, fortunately when it was calm and the trail had no drop-off, we met up with a ranger who was hiking up. I asked about Cheyava Falls, which I had read about in the Kolb Brother’s photo book. It is the highest waterfall at the Grand Canyon, but only flows, for a short time in the spring, when the snows on the North Rim are melting. It appears to flow from a hole in the rock a bit below the rim, and you have to both have binoculars, and to know where to look, to see it. There is a photo of it here:
http://tinyurl.com/2qstz5
I had looked for it the previous day without success, so I asked if it were flowing. He said no, the snow was all gone from the North Rim already. Then the woman hiking with him piped up, “But we’ll get more snow on Thursday–lots of it!” Really? It was still a beautiful blue-sky day, not warm but at least 55 or so. Hard to believe it could snow. Michael was starting to get an anxious look on his face, and I said after they left that she must just have been trying to kid us greenhorns—it couldn’t possibly change enough to snow, at least not on us.
At The Tipoff (shhh—don’t mention this name to Michael) it was still too windy to stop and eat lunch. We were all drinking plenty of water, and snacking on trail mix or energy bars, so no one really needed a stop anyway. At this point, the trial drops into the inner canyon, the last big drop (1000 feet or so) fore the Colorado River. You can’t see into this area from most of the rim. The trail followed a dry creekbed for a way, and we quickly found a sheltered, level spot acceptable to all as a lunch stop. We pulled out the lunches we had bought at the deli the night before, and stored in the room refrigerators overnight. Everything was planned for a minimum of leftovers, waste, and packaging, because everything not consumed has to be carried back out. There are no trashcans in the canyon! I learned my lesson last year, when I brought a turkey sandwich, wrapped in 2 layers of foil, for my first day’s lunch. I don’t eat bread or tomatoes, and I couldn’t convince anyone else to, so I had to carry that soggy bread and yucky sliced tomato around and then back up to the top two days later. This year I was smart and brought a “breadless” sandwich—actually just a few slices of Swiss cheese. And some good homemade tortilla chips, packed in a plastic container I would use as my bowl for breakfast in camp. I didn’t have to offer the tortilla chips around twice—the salt tastes great when you are hiking, and it’s important to take in enough when you are exercising and drinking a lot of water. DH approved.
The section of trail between the Tipoff and the river is by far my favorite. The wind abated, the trail becomes very benign, and you start to see the river and your goal, the Black Bridge that takes hikers and mules across to Bright Angel campground and Phantom Ranch. At one point I thought I heard a sheep bleat, but didn’t see anything. DD stopped here and there to take some photos—this part is incredibly scenic, with rocks of a deep red, and the green river below.
Michael’s mood was visably improving at the prospect of ending this part of his ordeal. And my feet didn’t hurt a bit!
We posed for group photos at Black Bridge, and then quickly made our way across and along the river to Bright Angel Creek and the campground. It was 3:00, four and a half hours after we left the rim.
We found a nice campsite—there were still some left on the creekside. In fact, not all the sites were claimed that night—I think many people gave up on the hike down because of the wind. We put our wine and yogurt (for DD’s breakfast) in the creek to chill, and headed over to Phantom Ranch for their great lemonade ($2.00, keep the cup and refills are only $1.00) and to claim our duffles. Walked back, set up tents, etc. And we all put on sandals—we carried them down to wear as welcome relief from the hiking boots/shoes.
So much for shoes. And now for the permit part:
The ranger comes around to each campsite to check on permits and give “the talk” about minimal-impact camping, safety, an so on. We explained that we had been there before, so she skipped to the important part—the snow. It was indeed expected to snow on Thursday, she said. She saw from our permits that we were staying 2 nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, and would be hiking out on Thursday. She wanted to be sure that we were prepared to face snow on the trail as we hiked up; otherwise we might consider leaving tomorrow. The recommended way to hike up in the snow, she said, is to keep “one hand on the wall” for stabilitiy, and stay as far from th edge as possible. We thanked her and said we would discuss it.
At the mention of this new hazard, Michael was starting to look a little green. As soon as the ranger left we retrieved the wine and poured him a glass. And then another.
And then we pulled out the travel Scrabble, and relaxed around the table with our wine until it was time to go to dinner at Phantom Ranch.
We chose to hike down the South Kaibab trail, like most people, because it is not recommended for hiking up. The trail is built along ridges and offers expansive views, but there is no water. Nada, nichts, rien. So a hiker going up the SK trail is supposed to leave the bottom loaded with 4 liters of water—an extra 10 pounds, by the time you count the weight of the bottles. This is not a problem on the other trail, the Bright Angel, where there is water available at several places. So the “traditional” route is down the SK, up the BA.
The SK trailhead is a bit removed from the lodges ta the South Rim, and cannot be reached by car. The road in is gated, and you must either walk that road, or ride the shuttle bus. Hikers’ shuttles go directly from the Bright Angel Lodge to the SK trailhead hourly in the very early morning, but the last one in April leaves at 8:00. We decided not to try to catch that; in April the need to start early and finish hiking before the mid-day heat is not as compelling. Besides, one member of our party (DD) needs her morning sleep, and another (guess) needed his last meal as a condemned man. So we opted for another nice breakfast at El Tovar, then checked out, loaded our luggage into the car to await our return, and headed for the regular shuttle bus. This one does not go directly to the trailhead; it loops around all over the place, and you have to change busses at one point. This process took almost an hour, in part because we just missed one by seconds, and had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the next. I think next time we’ll get up and catch the hiker’s shuttle.
I should mention my praise of El Tovar at this point. We had nothing but good to say about this place. I see them get bad reviews on TA, and I wonder why. It’s not a 5-star resort, but this is, after all, a national park, and El Tovar is a lovely old (100+ years) historic hotel. We ate three breakfasts and 3 dinners there, and the food was very good. Again, not 5-star, but everything we had was good quality, nicely-prepared, and just plain good. The salads wer especially nice; Sharon had two for her dinner each night. I mention this at this point because of my experience at check-out. I had made our various reservations—the rooms at El Tovar, the dinner reservations there, and the Phantom Ranch reservations, at different times and by different methods (telephone vs web). The Xanterra computer somehow put it all together, so that when we checked out on Tuesday morning, the desk clerk noted not only that we were returning on Thursday, but that we would be hiking up that day from Phantom. So he told me he would code our rooms for early arrival, so they would be ready for us when we staggered up the front steps and collapsed. Of course he didn’t put it in those words, exactly. . . Actually, I just thought it was very kind of him to notice and to do that. I knew we’d be ready to shower and relax, and wouldn’t enjoy waiting until 4 pm for rooms. So this was good.
Another good thing that happened during our check-out was that I noticed they posted the temperature at Phantom. Highs around 77 and lows around 45. This was a good 20 degrees colder on both ends than what we experienced exactly one year ago. It’s a very good thing I saw this, because otherwise DD and I would not have carried enough warm clothes (Sharon, who runs very cold, always carries extra fleece no matter what, and the men said they had plenty of warm gear). But I stuffed an extra warm shirt each into our daypacks for DD and for me.
When we got to the trailhead, I put that shirt (Patagonia mid-weight capilene; love it!) on. Actually, everyone pulled extra clothes out and dressed more warmly. It was a beautiful, blue-sky day, but it was cold (low 50's). And then there was the wind. We weren’t prepared for that. It was a pretty stiff breeze at the top, but we thought it would calm once we dropped down a bit. Wrong. The configuration of the canyon actually increased the force of the wind in some places, to 40 mph gusts. All you could do at that point is grab the side and hunker down until it was over. Fortunately it wasn’t picking up grit so we weren’t getting sandblasted. But it wasn’t pleasant, and many day-hikers turned back after several switchbacks, and headed up.
And Michael? Since he had expected the worst anyway, I couldn’t tell if he even minded. He said he was OK if he could follow me by about 10 feet, so he could watch my feet, and only my feet. And Sharon hiked another 10 feet behind him. We called it “the Michael sandwich”. We stopped only once on that first stretch, in a sheltered corner, to adjust clothing and packs, and for DD to remove her contacts. Unfortunately Sharon slipped on some gravel, and fell on the trail at our feet, scraping her knee badly. The whole rest of the way down the trail, we could tell which people we met were British, because they would offer her a plaster for her bloodied knee. Later on I took a similar fall, scraping the opposite knee, so we made a mirror-image pair.
After that, Michael ruled that the sandwich could not stop anywhere there was an edge, no matter how wide the trail. So we just kept walking, both to get out of the wind, and to reach one of the wide, level plateaus along the trail, outfitted with hitching posts and composting toilets (quite clean). The first is Cedar Ridge, where we took a break. DH, a doctor, made sure everyone had to pee, which meant we were all drinking enough water to stay hydrated. (TMI?) The next section drops down to Skeleton Point, where there was a line of ten or so saddled mules hitched up, and no one in sight. Hmmmmm. Should we have investigated? There must have been an explanation. But we were still trying to get out of that wind, and continued on, to . . . The Tipoff. Of course we didn’t tell Michael the names of any of these places.
Apart from the wind, and fortunately it wasn’t constant, it was a delightful hike. The trail was in much better shape than last year, when there were deep pits worn behind each of the wooden cross-bars that form “steps” and prevent erosion of the trail. Apparently they don’t prevent it completely, because last year those pits were almost a foot deep, worn by the passage of many feet, equine and human, as well as by rain. So for each step, I had to go from the bottom of one pit, 18 inches or so up to the wooden step, then down 24 inches to the bottom of the next pit, and so on. I am a small person with short legs, and it was tough. But the trail has been repaired, and this year it was smooth, well-graded even with the wooden steps, and easy to descend.
I walked along, full of gratitude to the people who build and maintain the trails, making it possible to walk amid all that beauty.
And it is truly, breathtakingly beautiful. You can’t really see all the colors from the top; they get washed out in the strong light of day. Standing at the rim, you look down on the Tonto plateau and it appears gray. But down there, it is really alive in many shades of green—the soft grey-green of the sage, the yellow-green of the cacti, the deeper green of the century plants (many just starting to send up spikes of bloom), and others. The contrast between the greens and the deep red of the rocks is stunning.
At some point, fortunately when it was calm and the trail had no drop-off, we met up with a ranger who was hiking up. I asked about Cheyava Falls, which I had read about in the Kolb Brother’s photo book. It is the highest waterfall at the Grand Canyon, but only flows, for a short time in the spring, when the snows on the North Rim are melting. It appears to flow from a hole in the rock a bit below the rim, and you have to both have binoculars, and to know where to look, to see it. There is a photo of it here:
http://tinyurl.com/2qstz5
I had looked for it the previous day without success, so I asked if it were flowing. He said no, the snow was all gone from the North Rim already. Then the woman hiking with him piped up, “But we’ll get more snow on Thursday–lots of it!” Really? It was still a beautiful blue-sky day, not warm but at least 55 or so. Hard to believe it could snow. Michael was starting to get an anxious look on his face, and I said after they left that she must just have been trying to kid us greenhorns—it couldn’t possibly change enough to snow, at least not on us.
At The Tipoff (shhh—don’t mention this name to Michael) it was still too windy to stop and eat lunch. We were all drinking plenty of water, and snacking on trail mix or energy bars, so no one really needed a stop anyway. At this point, the trial drops into the inner canyon, the last big drop (1000 feet or so) fore the Colorado River. You can’t see into this area from most of the rim. The trail followed a dry creekbed for a way, and we quickly found a sheltered, level spot acceptable to all as a lunch stop. We pulled out the lunches we had bought at the deli the night before, and stored in the room refrigerators overnight. Everything was planned for a minimum of leftovers, waste, and packaging, because everything not consumed has to be carried back out. There are no trashcans in the canyon! I learned my lesson last year, when I brought a turkey sandwich, wrapped in 2 layers of foil, for my first day’s lunch. I don’t eat bread or tomatoes, and I couldn’t convince anyone else to, so I had to carry that soggy bread and yucky sliced tomato around and then back up to the top two days later. This year I was smart and brought a “breadless” sandwich—actually just a few slices of Swiss cheese. And some good homemade tortilla chips, packed in a plastic container I would use as my bowl for breakfast in camp. I didn’t have to offer the tortilla chips around twice—the salt tastes great when you are hiking, and it’s important to take in enough when you are exercising and drinking a lot of water. DH approved.
The section of trail between the Tipoff and the river is by far my favorite. The wind abated, the trail becomes very benign, and you start to see the river and your goal, the Black Bridge that takes hikers and mules across to Bright Angel campground and Phantom Ranch. At one point I thought I heard a sheep bleat, but didn’t see anything. DD stopped here and there to take some photos—this part is incredibly scenic, with rocks of a deep red, and the green river below.
Michael’s mood was visably improving at the prospect of ending this part of his ordeal. And my feet didn’t hurt a bit!
We posed for group photos at Black Bridge, and then quickly made our way across and along the river to Bright Angel Creek and the campground. It was 3:00, four and a half hours after we left the rim.
We found a nice campsite—there were still some left on the creekside. In fact, not all the sites were claimed that night—I think many people gave up on the hike down because of the wind. We put our wine and yogurt (for DD’s breakfast) in the creek to chill, and headed over to Phantom Ranch for their great lemonade ($2.00, keep the cup and refills are only $1.00) and to claim our duffles. Walked back, set up tents, etc. And we all put on sandals—we carried them down to wear as welcome relief from the hiking boots/shoes.
So much for shoes. And now for the permit part:
The ranger comes around to each campsite to check on permits and give “the talk” about minimal-impact camping, safety, an so on. We explained that we had been there before, so she skipped to the important part—the snow. It was indeed expected to snow on Thursday, she said. She saw from our permits that we were staying 2 nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, and would be hiking out on Thursday. She wanted to be sure that we were prepared to face snow on the trail as we hiked up; otherwise we might consider leaving tomorrow. The recommended way to hike up in the snow, she said, is to keep “one hand on the wall” for stabilitiy, and stay as far from th edge as possible. We thanked her and said we would discuss it.
At the mention of this new hazard, Michael was starting to look a little green. As soon as the ranger left we retrieved the wine and poured him a glass. And then another.
And then we pulled out the travel Scrabble, and relaxed around the table with our wine until it was time to go to dinner at Phantom Ranch.
Apr 26th, 2007, 04:33 PM
#17
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"I walked along, full of gratitude to the people who build and maintain the trails, making it possible to walk amid all that beauty.
"
We met the crew who was doing the trail repair. We thought them to be young people hired by the park service to do maintenance, but they were volunteers from all over. The young lady I spoke with was from Sweden. They work for free, but the park service pays (a pittance I'm told) to the organization that supplies the young volunteers. Lets thank the volunteers for their good work.
"
We met the crew who was doing the trail repair. We thought them to be young people hired by the park service to do maintenance, but they were volunteers from all over. The young lady I spoke with was from Sweden. They work for free, but the park service pays (a pittance I'm told) to the organization that supplies the young volunteers. Lets thank the volunteers for their good work.
Apr 26th, 2007, 05:52 PM
#18
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Thank you for that information, rm_mn. Volunteers---now I am even more appreciative!
They really do a great job. The ranger said it's a constant battle to keep those trails in shape, especially when the summer rains come.
They really do a great job. The ranger said it's a constant battle to keep those trails in shape, especially when the summer rains come.
