luckyculver

I will be visiting the Grand Canyon at the end of April '09 and have researched hiking the Bright Angel Trail and the South Kaibab Trail. We are fit 25 year olds, I have done some extensive hiking trips in the Australian scrub. Picking through the forums has given me some good advice of how to have a healthy and successful trip. I am looking to reach Skeleton Point or even Tipoff Point on the South Kaibib and the Indian Gardens, maybe Plateau Point on the Bright Angel. Anyone have an estimation of the roundtrip time it would take to do each of these hikes? Ideally I would like to leave very early in the morning.

Also, in the Village cafeterias do they offer salad bars to make your own salads? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to supplement the camp food (booked at Mathers) with items like prepped chicken. The Grand Canyon is our big destination in the midst of an extensive trip so we can't eat junk food the whole time!

WhereAreWe

I'm pretty sure the cafeterias have salad bars. I'm not a salad eater so I can't say for sure, but there's a pretty wide variety at Maswik.

Hiking time is virtually impossible to guess at as it varies so much between individuals. In general it will take twice as long to hike up as it does to hike down.

I'm assuming you're planning these hikes on 2 separate days? South Kaibab to the Tip-off is about the same distance as Bright Angel to Indian Gardens, however there is little shade and no water on South Kaibab. If you're truly in good shape and can handle a long day, you could hike S. Kaibab to the Tip-off, then take the Tonto Trail west to Indian Gardens and go back up Bright Angel. That part of the Tonto is about 4 miles so you'd have a longer hike - but instead of hiking down and back twice you'd only have to do it once.

Check out this website:
http://hikearizona.com/index.php

You can search for trails alphabetically - look at the top of the page in the center. There are a lot of reports from people who have hiked South Kaibab, Bright Angel and Tonto. You'll be able to get an estimate of hiking times from the various reports. Read carefully though, as many of the reports are one-way hikes (S. Kaibab to the river, or river to Bright Angel trailhead). There should be sufficient reports on there for people who have done just the sections you're looking at to get a reasonable estimate.

enzian

I keep seeing this mantra "In general it will take twice as long to hike up as it does to hike down" but it totally depends on the individual hiker. We hike uphill as fast as down, or possibly faster. I think many fit hikers do the same.

Our usual time for hiking down the South Kaibab is 4.5 hours (to Bright Angel camp). That is for the whole trail---I've never timed it to the Tipoff. But I would estimate about 3 hours.

What you might do is just plan on hiking down the South Kaibab for 3 hours. Add an hour for rest stops and photo stops, and an extra hour for the ascent in case you slow down on account of the altitude, and you'll have a nice 8-hour hike. Remember that on the South Kaibab there is NO water, so you will each need to carry about 3 liters for your hike.

Indian Gardens---it takes us 3 hours to hike up to the Rim from there, carrying an overnight pack. Again, you could hike down for 3 hours, and (assuming you have reached Indian Gardens) then decide if you want to do the extension out to Plateau Point. And remember that you'll have 3000 feet of ascent on the return. If you are not accustomed to the altitude (nearly 7000 feet at the Rim), you will feel fatigued even if you are a fit hiker in the Australian bush.

Indian Gardens is a lush and beautiful place, especially if you follow down past the day use area along the creek. The best part is below that rest area and the junction to Plateau Point. In April, we have on one occasion found the canyon redbud and wild grape in full bloom, and it was lovely. Another year we were too early. Perhaps you will be lucky.

Watch out for the ground squirrels if you stop there to eat. They are cheeky little critters, and will run right up your arm to try to steal food.

As for salads and prepped chicken, try the deli in the General Store at the Market Plaza (close to Mather campground). The deli offers a selection of salads and prepared foods, like cooked chicken. The produce section in the grocery store is also very complete, and offers some things in prepped, individual portions for take-away. You should have no worries about eating healthy while you are there.

Bill_H

The ranger guidelines says 'average' hikers have a speed roughly 2 mph going down and 1 mph coming out. The hikes you mention are 4.5 - 5 miles each way so using those guidelines figure 2+ hours down and 4-5 hours up.

Fit 25 year olds should be able to hike faster than this though. I'm usually at the Tipoff in about 90 minutes and can hike out from that point in less than 2 hours, for example (coming from the river).

You'll be there in April when the inner canyon temperatures are relatively mild so if you want to go to the river and back you should have no problem with heat. This is roughly 7 miles down and 9 miles up if you do the Kaibab - BA loop, or about 12 hours using the ranger estimates. I've done this hike many times and it usually takes 2 hours down Kaibab and less than 3 hours back up Kaibab or 4 hours up Bright Angel.

luckyculver

Thank you everyone for your experienced answers. It is easy to find times for the entire trail, but a little trickier finding times for destinations on the trail. We will be visiting Canyon De Chelly and Monument Valley on the way to GC, so hopefully we can acclimate a bit before taking on this challenge.