Two Days In the Canyon

We left Flagstaff after breakfast and arrived at the south rim of the Grand Canyon around 9 AM.  Already the area was packed with people and parking was difficult around the Village area.  Since our hotel room wouldn’t be available until 3 PM, we decided to go on a hike.  

The Rim Trail is an easy stroll around the top of the Canyon’s cliffs.  The pathway is paved with minimal change in elevation.  There are spectacular views of the Grand Canyon down below.  Plus, there are plenty of designated spots where the shuttle buses pick up and drop off in case we would get tired.  This hike would be a good way for us to make sure we felt comfortable with our gear, especially the new hydration packs.  

We decided to focus on the western component of the Rim Trail.  We headed out from the parking lot near Bright Angel Lodge and passed the long queue of people waiting to board the bus at its starting point.

Most of the Rim Trail was well paved and easy to follow.

We walked along the "Trail of Time, " where 1 meter represents 1 million years of the Grand Canyon's
existence.  There were other educational displays along the way, but we were too hot to appreciate them. 

When we planned our trip, we knew that hiking around the Grand Canyon would be hot and sunny.  We just didn’t expect it to be so bad at 10 AM in the morning.  There was some intermittent shade from the trees that dotted the path.  We took our time taking multiple photos and enjoying the many scenic overlooks.  

Guardrails protect tourists from falling at several popular scenic vistas.

However, there are plenty of high ledges where careless people can fall to their deaths along the route.

After hiking for a few miles, we could got a scenic view of The Grand Canyon Village along the South Rim.

The Bright Angel Trail leads hikers all the
way down to the bottom of the canyon.

Most scientist believe that the Colorado River,
which flows through the Grand Canyon,
was the cause of its formation. 

In 1869, John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran, led an expedition
on the Colorado River that navigated the length of the Grand Canyon.

We finished about 1/3 of the hike to Hermit’s Rest before we started seeing ominous rain clouds forming.

A sightseeing helicopter flies over the Grand Canyon while rain showers fall in the distance.

A few minutes later we felt some sprinkling.  Although a light, cool drizzle would make hiking a lot more enjoyable experience, we were concerned more about being exposed on the rim if there were lightning.  We decided to jump on the shuttle bus as the rain came down harder.  As we boarded, the driver warned everybody that they would indeed evacuate the entire Rim Trail if lightning started up.  We rode the bus to the end at Hermit’s Rest and all the way back to the starting bus stop.  The entire journey hike and bus ride took about three hours.  The severe rain showers and lightning never materialized.  Fortunately, the weather still remained cool and overcast instead of intensely hot and sunny as we had expected.

We visited the various shops at the Grand Canyon village.  They were all geared towards selling knick-knacks and souvenirs to the throngs of tourists crammed together at the South Rim.  There were only a handful of historical things.

These types of skiffs were used by early explorers of the Colorado River.

This type of camera was used by the Kolb brothers to photograph tourists in the early 20th century.

This type of chamber pot was also used by early visitors to the Grand Canyon.  Fortunately, there are no stains.

Eventually our hotel room was ready at 3 PM.  When we had planned our trip about 7 months previously, most of the hotel rooms on the South Rim had already been booked up by then.  The only vacancies were at the Kachina Lodge.  A quick glance told us why.  The architecture was consistent with the hideous, Spartan apartments that you would find in 1970’s-era USSR.  

The Kachina Lodge looked like the hideous, spartan apartments that you would find in 1970's-era USSR.

Unlike the nearby elegant and historic El Tovar Hotel, Kachina Lodge was built for function alone—cramming visitors under a roof.  The Kachina Lodge was so bare bones, that they didn’t even have their own restaurant, gift shop, or even reception desk.  We had to check in at the El Tovar lobby.

In contrast to the Kachina Lodge, the El Tovar Hotel had a more historic and timeless charm.

They even have a bunch of rocking chairs so that guests can relax on the porch.

Our room in the Kachina Lodge was functional and convenient at least.  The Boy was frustrated with the slow Wi-Fi that dropped intermittently especially at night.  

Our window did give us a good view of the Grand Canyon.  However, it would
have been nice to have a balcony where we could sit out there and enjoy it.

According to Yelp, the vast majority of restaurants at the South Rim and the nearby town of Tasuyun are awful.  The Bright Angel Restaurant (Harvey House Cafe) was no different—it has received many negative reviews.  Nevertheless, it was convenient and didn’t seem very expensive.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the food wasn’t bad at all and our server was very attentive.  

Harvey House Salad

Beef and Barley Soup.

 

Santa Fe Spaghetti

Indian Garden Grilled Vegetable Pesto Fusilli

The River Runner (pan-sauteed trout filet)

New York Style Cheescake

House Made Bright Angel Brownie Sundae

House Made Bread Pudding

The pasta was all a tad overcooked and the food was a bit under-seasoned.  However, it was a pretty good bargain (relative to the location) for the price.

We had hoped to catch the sunset over the Grand Canyon, but the extensive cloud cover foiled our plans.  That would be a recurring theme during our trip.  We turned in early because we planned on waking up early, hoping that the clouds would disappear so that we could see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon.

*****

Monday July 24, 2017

My dream hike at the Grand Canyon would be a Rim-to-Rim hike.  However, in order to do that, it would take two days of hiking and reservations to stay at the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Canyon.  Those reservations are usually booked up 13 months in advance.  We didn’t have the advance planning nor the available time for a Rim-to-Rim hike.  Furthermore, I had safety concerns whether The Girl was old enough to manage this type of hike.  [Note: My concerns were valid as a Texas woman died a week later on this same trail when she went for help after she and the two kids that she was with ran out of water.]

Instead, we were planning on doing a day hike that would take us partially down into the canyon.  It would be more strenuous that the South Rim Hike, but it would be nowhere as tough as going all the way down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  The two available hiking options are the Bright Angel Trail and the South Kaibab Trail.  The Bright Angel Trail is the much more popular option because it has water available along the route, it is partially shaded because the trail follows the walls of the canyon, and it is convenient to reach as the trail head starts right next to the Grand Canyon Village.  

The South Kaibab Trail has no water available along the route and is only accessible via a shuttle bus that leaves from the park’s visitor center.  It would take us at least 30-45 minutes to reach the trail head.  Nevertheless, we chose the South Kaibab Trail mainly because the path leads away from the canyon walls.  More open, panoramic views could be seen along this route. 

I had planned on getting up as early as 5 AM so that we could catch a beautiful sunrise over the Grand Canyon and wouldn’t be hiking in the extreme heat.  However, the sky was still overcast so no beautiful sunrise would be seen.  We slept in a little longer.  By the time we made it to the trail head it was still only 7 AM.

The trail head of the South Kaibab trail is the last place to fill your hydration packs.

The journey down into the canyon was not difficult, as expected.  The temperatures were in the low 70’s when we began our hike.  

The start of the trail was a steep set of switchbacks...

...that took us down the wall of the canyon.

There were no pets allowed along the route...

...yet we still had to avoid the land mines left behind by the mules.

Once we were past the switchbacks, the slope became more gentle.

The sheer drops off the side of the trail were daunting. 

But it allowed for open views of the canyon in front.

The path way very wide.  Passing people heading in the opposite direction was not a problem.  Despite it being a lesser popular and farther hiking option, there were still a fair number of people along the route.

We stopped periodically to enjoy the scenery...

...to take breaks...

...and to just goof around.

When we reached the first scenic vantage point called Ooh Aah Point, we had to wait a good 15 minutes just to have a turn taking a picture there.  There were some German girls who kept taking the same ridiculous photograph of themselves over and over just so they could get the perfect Facebook or Instagram shot.

Sadly, a visitor died at this spot a year ago when she slipped and fell while trying to take a picture. 

Although we had hiked a decent distance already, we could see that
 the distance to the bottom of the canyon was still much farther.

Right behind us was a ledge with a long drop below.

The Girl took only a couple of seconds to create her "Instagram" photo.

We continued to hike down the canyon.  The trail drifted away from the canyon walls giving us 270 degree unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape.  

We continued to hike down the canyon.

The trail drifted away from the canyon walls giving us an unobstructed view of the surrounding landscape.

The Wife stops to take in the majesty of mother nature.

Eventually we made it down to the next marked stopping point, Cedar Ridge Point.  Looking down the path from there, it was still a very long way to go.  The Wife and I didn't see any compelling reason to push The Kids to go any farther.

Cedar Ridge Point has some rudimentary bathrooms that were a lifesaver for a small bladder.

Rangers guided visitors as far as this landmark before turning back around.

The Girl reenacts her favorite characters from Disney movies.  The Little Mermaid...

...and The Lion King.

We took a 45 minute break to relax and rehydrate.

We still had a long way to go to get back up
to the top of the canyon (in the background).

Because we had stopped to take several pictures along the route, it had taken us a little over an hour to make the 1.5 mile trek.  We enjoyed the vistas at Cedar Ridge for the next 45 minutes.  Since it was already starting to heat up by then, we decided to head back up to the top of the Canyon. 

It had been quite a while since we had last done any hiking, so the first 15 minutes going upwards was awful.  The sun started to break through the clouds and the temperatures were now in the mid 80’s.  During this segment, I questioned whether I could make it all the way up.  Heading in the opposite direction from us were a group of people laden down with gear clearly meant for camping at the bottom of the canyon.  They already looked uncomfortable a mile into the hike, and they still had six more to go.  The Ranger had recommended that those going all the way down start their hike by 7 AM as the temperatures can be 20 degrees higher than at the rim.  Those campers were a good 2 hours past that time, so they were probably going to be miserable in a few hours.

Once my leg muscles started getting used to the climb, it was much smoother sailing.  We did take our time and took a few occasional breaks.  The final segment of steep switchbacks up the canyon wall was a bit more difficult.  However, we made it back to the trail head in a little less than an hour since we were no longer taking any more photographs.

We were hot, tired, and sweaty after finishing the morning hike.  However, our short dip into 
the Grand Canyon was much more interesting than just seeing it from the top of the Rim.

After our hike, we stopped off at the General Store for souvenirs and lunch. The concession area was manned by foreign hospitality students.  Somehow, I have a feeling that travelling half way around the world to serve overpriced deli food to sweaty tourists wasn't going to further their careers.

Tuna salad sandwich

Canyon club sandwich

French Dip

Buffalo chicken flat bread

After our lunch we encountered some mule deer near the parking lot having their lunch.

That afternoon, we just lounged around the Grand Canyon Village and our hotel room, enjoying the nice weather. 

The cloud cover ruined any last chance at a beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon.

We had made advanced reservations for dinner at El Tovar Dining Room.  As the original dining experience at the Park since 1905, it is the most elegant and expensive restaurant.  

You know a restaurant is fancy if it has it's own signature China instead of Corningware.

Bison Filet

Chicken El Tovar

Roasted Half Duck With Plum Chili Sauce

Eggplant Napoleon

While the food, ambiance, and service were good, it was definitely overpriced and over twice as expensive as the Bright Angel Restaurant.  It may have been worth it to try once for its historical value, but I wouldn’t recommend a second visit.