More often than not it is to Arizona. (There is not a lot of place warm and sunny during the winter.) During March of 2001 after spending a few days with my parents at there place in the Phoenix area we decided that we should see the Grand Canyon. We were living in Colorado Springs at the time and having driven to Phoenix the Grand Canyon was not far out of our way on the return drive home.
If you have ever looked into a trek into the Canyon there is a long waiting list if you want to visit the Canyon floor. At the bottom there is a place to stay called the Phantom Ranch, but unless you are willing to shell out upward of $1000 to take a mule train down the waiting list for reservations at the Ranch is years long. Additionally there is only so many permits issued for an over night stay on the Canyon floor and that too is booked months in advance. So it is even difficult to stay overnight camping.
Without months of preparation a trip into the Canyon will be a day trip only and we will have to be out before it gets dark. At this time of year that is about 5:00PM. Research and the Park authorities will tell you that you shouldn't attempt to walk to the Canyon bottom and back in one day that you won't make it. It is about 7 miles from the top of the canyon rim at the trail head for South Kaibab trail to the river. Then of course you have to climb back out the 7 miles. (That's the hard thing about canyons versus mountains the hard part comes last after your already tired)
We stayed the night before our trip into the Canyon at a nice hotel just off the rim outside the National Park. We purposely selected a hotel with a hot tub we were going to need it when we were done on the trail.
The next morning we drove into the park to the Yaki point overlook where the South Kaibab Trailhead starts from. The South Kaibab is one of two trails leading into the canyon from the south rim. Bright Angel is the other. If you have enough time and can stay over night on the canyon floor or you are really tough you can go down one trail follow the river for a couple of miles then come out the other trail. We were going to settle for down and back on the same trail as far as we could go.
Since conventional wisdom says its dangerous to try to make the river and back in a day we set a turn around time of 1:00PM. Wherever we were on the trail down at 1:00PM we would have lunch then turn around and head back. (Remember the hard part is last on canyons)
Sign says you can't make the river and back in one day
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
We had to be out by dark according to the park rules and since it was March there was still snow at the top levels of the canyon and the trail was icy for the 1st thousand meters or so. The 1st part of the trail is rather steep and when covered with snow not so nice to walk on
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
It was cool and required jackets at the top, but as you got farther into the canyon the temperature got into the middle 70's and it was beautiful hiking weather.
Generally the trial is wide and easy to walk. Near the top there are plenty of people and the trail can be crowded. As you can see in the snowy trial picture above, but as you move deeper into the canyon the most of the people turn around and head back. So by later in the morning we had the trail mostly to ourselves.
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
Occasionally you would meet someone coming out of the canyon and we had to stop and hug the wall as a mule train came by us heading out
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
The Grand Canyon is really a smaller canyon in the bottom of a very large canyon. So when get to the bottom of the first canyon you have to walk quite a ways across the canyon floor to get to the second deeper canyon. Most pictures only show you what the top canyon looks like. The deepest part of the canyon changes color dramatacly and is quite narrow.
Start of the second canyon
 |
As we got closer to the canyon floor and our 1:00PM turn around time approached we knew we had a chance to make the river so were almost running at times to cover ground. We were going to make it!
At 12:45 we reached the last turn and were at the bridge crossing the river. We made it!
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
We had 15 minutes for lunch on the bridge overlook and we had to hoof it back out of here 7 miles, up 5 thousand feet altitude change in 4 hours. The running is not done yet!
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
As we approached the last few thousand feet to the rim Margaret stopped for a pose by the sign that says "You can't get to the river and back in one day"
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
Back in the hotel lobby "A toast one of the most spectacular hikes we have ever done".(After an hour or two in the hot tub of course!)(She looks a little tired doesn't she)
 |
| From Grand Canyon Trail |
