I was fortunate enough to take a break from work and hike the Grand Canyon with my Dad this May. My dad has become quite the "canyoneer" over the past couple of years. He has hiked the Canyon rim to rim twice before this trip. I was finally able to join him for a rim to rim trip. We would be starting out at the North Kiabab Trail. We would descend into the canyon to Cottonwood campsite, continue to Phantom Ranch, then Indian Gardens, and ascend via Bright Angel Trail. The trip would be about 24 miles with a lot of the trip being comprised of steep switchbacks. We planned to do the trip in under 12 hours. My sister, Erin, and my nephew, Liam, would drop us off early in the morning at the North Kiabab trail head and pick us up that evening at the Bright Angel trail head. We stayed the night at Jacob Lake Lodge and woke and geared up at 4:30am to start our adventure. When we walked out of the room, we were surprised to see an inch of snow on the ground! I was concerned about the heat in the bottom of the canyon, so I had only packed light clothing for the hike. This made for a chilly morning. Dad had explained that I would be surprised how quickly it would warm up once we were hiking and started dropping in elevation to the floor of the canyon. We started down the North Kiabab trail at a brisk pace. I was immediately struck by the early morning beauty of the canyon. All the shadows were shifting and changing with the rising sun which seemed to change the landscape by the minute. We were making good time and enjoying the crisp dawn air. I was surprised as my dad started to jog! We continued on past Cottonwood campground and on to Phantom Ranch. We reached Phantom Ranch at about 11:30 and stopped to take a break. We recharged our batteries with Powerbars and some electrolytes and enjoyed the scenery by Bright Angel Creek for a while. It is overwhelming to senses when you're in the canyon. Around every bend the canyon seems to beg to have its picture taken. This can become frustrating as it would take about a week to get out if I stopped to take pictures of everything I wanted to. You hear the wind race through the canyons, the creeks and waterfalls encouraging you, and the chatter of song birds. After a short rest, we continued on the second half of our hike. We crossed the Colorado River and headed up "The Devil's Corkscrew". "The Devil's Corkscrew" is a fitting name for this stretch, as it's all severely angled switchbacks going up for a few miles. We hiked for a time next to the river, then climbed up the Corkscrew. As we crest the Corkscrew we were rewarded with a great view back down into the canyon where we came from. We reached Indian Gardens and were very ready for another break. While taking our break a bold ground squirrel tried to commandeer Dad's sandwich. Fortunately I was able to chase him down and retrieve the stolen goods. The squirrel was undeterred, and returned to swipe one of my Powerbars. Once again a chase ensued. After resting for a bit, it was time to tackle Bright Angel Trail for our final ascent. We started up the switchbacks, ignoring blisters and ready to finish the day. The miles had started to take their toll on me at this point. It was a struggle, but the scene around me kept me distracted from the exhaustion. As we neared the top, I looked up and saw Erin and Liam. Erin said Liam, who is 2 yrs old, would shout from each lookout "Poppa!!!!!" into the canyon as he waited for us to climb out. He loves his "Poppa" for sure:) We felt victorious ( and half dead ) as we reached Erin and Liam at Bright Angel trail head. It was a great and memorable experience hiking with my dad. I hope that I will still be hunting and hiking like him when I'm his age. This was a truly impressive hike and I'm grateful to have spent a day in the Grand Canyon with my dad. Next time we're packing fly rods!
"Caught Red Handed"
Authors Note: Special thanks to my sister Erin for dropping and picking us up. I knew she would drop me off at the trail head, but I was concerned about whether or not she'd be there to pick me up ( older brothers can be a pain to grow up with! ). I'm glad she found it in her heart to bring me back home:)
I was fortunate enough to take a break from work and hike the Grand Canyon with my Dad this May. My dad has become quite the "canyoneer" over the past couple of years. He has hiked the Canyon rim to rim twice before this trip. I was finally able to join him for a rim to rim trip. We would be starting out at the North Kiabab Trail. We would descend into the canyon to Cottonwood campsite, continue to Phantom Ranch, then Indian Gardens, and ascend via Bright Angel Trail. The trip would be about 24 miles with a lot of the trip being comprised of steep switchbacks. We planned to do the trip in under 12 hours. My sister, Erin, and my nephew, Liam, would drop us off early in the morning at the North Kiabab trail head and pick us up that evening at the Bright Angel trail head. We stayed the night at Jacob Lake Lodge and woke and geared up at 4:30am to start our adventure. When we walked out of the room, we were surprised to see an inch of snow on the ground! I was concerned about the heat in the bottom of the canyon, so I had only packed light clothing for the hike. This made for a chilly morning. Dad had explained that I would be surprised how quickly it would warm up once we were hiking and started dropping in elevation to the floor of the canyon. We started down the North Kiabab trail at a brisk pace. I was immediately struck by the early morning beauty of the canyon. All the shadows were shifting and changing with the rising sun which seemed to change the landscape by the minute. We were making good time and enjoying the crisp dawn air. I was surprised as my dad started to jog! We continued on past Cottonwood campground and on to Phantom Ranch. We reached Phantom Ranch at about 11:30 and stopped to take a break. We recharged our batteries with Powerbars and some electrolytes and enjoyed the scenery by Bright Angel Creek for a while. It is overwhelming to senses when you're in the canyon. Around every bend the canyon seems to beg to have its picture taken. This can become frustrating as it would take about a week to get out if I stopped to take pictures of everything I wanted to. You hear the wind race through the canyons, the creeks and waterfalls encouraging you, and the chatter of song birds. After a short rest, we continued on the second half of our hike. We crossed the Colorado River and headed up "The Devil's Corkscrew". "The Devil's Corkscrew" is a fitting name for this stretch, as it's all severely angled switchbacks going up for a few miles. We hiked for a time next to the river, then climbed up the Corkscrew. As we crest the Corkscrew we were rewarded with a great view back down into the canyon where we came from. We reached Indian Gardens and were very ready for another break. While taking our break a bold ground squirrel tried to commandeer Dad's sandwich. Fortunately I was able to chase him down and retrieve the stolen goods. The squirrel was undeterred, and returned to swipe one of my Powerbars. Once again a chase ensued. After resting for a bit, it was time to tackle Bright Angel Trail for our final ascent. We started up the switchbacks, ignoring blisters and ready to finish the day. The miles had started to take their toll on me at this point. It was a struggle, but the scene around me kept me distracted from the exhaustion. As we neared the top, I looked up and saw Erin and Liam. Erin said Liam, who is 2 yrs old, would shout from each lookout "Poppa!!!!!" into the canyon as he waited for us to climb out. He loves his "Poppa" for sure:) We felt victorious ( and half dead ) as we reached Erin and Liam at Bright Angel trail head. It was a great and memorable experience hiking with my dad. I hope that I will still be hunting and hiking like him when I'm his age. This was a truly impressive hike and I'm grateful to have spent a day in the Grand Canyon with my dad. Next time we're packing fly rods!
