Expectations

I have a confession to make. When the other half of Outdoor Wanderlust said we would add the Grand Canyon to our itinerary,  I envisioned every cliché road trip from the comedy movies of my childhood. I lacked the wisdom at that time to understand why clichés are developed. Our stop along Hoover Dam on the way did not disabuse me of the idea the canyon would be underwhelming. I found Hoover Dam to be an impressive feat of human engineering. But, that much concrete just did not impress my outdoor loving soul. I was a fool to underestimate the Grand Canyon, however, and I’m not too proud to admit it.

Preparations

We planned to arrive mid day on our first day in the park. First, would explore the South Rim at highest elevation, accessing the visitor center and paved side walks leading to crowded overlooks. Then, we planned to eat dinner, visit the store for last minute supplies, and hammock camp overnight in the Mather Campground. The next morning, we had plans to take Bright Angel trail to the 3 mile rest house and hike back out. Then, take the park trolley to Hermit’s Rest, Hopi House, and the visitor’s center. We would camp again that night before moving on to our next destination.

We were prepared with all of our hammock gear, fire starting kit, cooking supplies, layered hiking clothes, sun blocking hat, trekking poles, trail map, snacks, water, and salt stick fast chews.

From the Rim

I immediately had to revise my initial attitude. After a five minute walk from our dessert animal themed parking lot, I realized why the Grand Canyon was the center stone of so many corny road trip tales. It is overwhelming and amazing. It is the star of so many cliches, but they are all true. The massive rocks were cut by water over a span of time I could not comprehend. I felt tiny in the scale of both time and space. I felt the complex duality of intense connection to my planet, and the sense that myself and my minute problems were meaningless in the vastness of nature. It was the experience I seek every time I wander into the outdoors, only magnified. All this, while I was dodging selfie sticks and tourists. I could not wait to be on the other side of the protective metal railing, on a trail working my way only fraction of the way down into the canyon.

We pulled ourselves away from the lookout, visited the visitor’s center for some information and a quick film. We wandered to one of the lodges for a quick dinner, stopped by the well stocked store and purchased snacks and a t-shirt for our trusty dog sitter, and found our campsite for the night.

Camping in Awe

We setup our hammocks at Mather Campground and got the rest of our camp squared away. This would be my first night hammock camping. I had enjoyed afternoons and lengthy naps in my favorite local parks–and even my own back yard– in a hammock, but never the entire night. Anytime my backpacking companions chose to hammock camp, I kept my tent accommodations to stay warm and safe with the furry members of Outdoor Wanderlust. I set up my own Kammock hammock, and used a Yukon Outfitters Kindle Underquilt, and a Kammock Dragonfly Bug Net. We built a fire, set up our trusty luminoodle on the picnic table, and enjoyed the quiet of the campground.

We extinguished our fire early, as Nick had heard that on a clear night you can see the Milky Way in the sky over the Grand Canyon. After waiting and waiting, the sky finally cleared enough. A milky blue streak illuminated by soft light cut its way across the sky. I was breathless. Apparently, an imperfectly clear sky obstructed our view. I can not imagine what perfect conditions would have allowed me to behold. Awesome is a truly overused word, but it is the only one apt for the situation in this case. I was truly in awe of the sky, and my view of our solar system with my bare eyes.

Eventually, I pried myself away and tucked into my hammock for a warm, comfy night’s sleep. I awoke in the morning happy to find an Elk had not entangled my hammock in his antlers. After a quick breakfast, we were ready to hit the trail.

Bright Angel Trail to 3 mile Rest House

The most compelling thing about our hike into the canyon was the way that it changed every few feet. As we made our way through steep switchbacks, one might have assumed the views would be repetitive. However, the morning light was constantly in flux, interacting with the canyon walls and chasing their colors, creating new shadows and highlights every few feet of descended elevation. The path was dusty, with some loose rock. We met a large group of friendly hikers going in the same general direction. It was early morning, and overall the trail was still quiet and peaceful. The trip to the 1.5 mile rest house was pleasant (others would joke of course this was the easiest part, as we were obviously going down hill).

We stopped at the rest house, ate a snack not out of hunger, but to be safe on the trail, and took in the views. A little squirrel had picked up on the habit of hikers snacking in the rest house, and kept scurrying through looking for any crumbs. We packed out our trash and made our way toward the 3 mile rest house.

This section became more populated. We began to meet groups hiking out of the canyon, likely having backpacked and camped the night before, and even met a few teams of mules packing supplies and possibly trash out of the canyon. To my surprise, I found fresh legs and no blisters when we settled into the 3 mile rest house. It was a very happy 3 mile hike.

Hiking Out of the Canyon

This section of our hike became very much populated. More and more teams of mules passed.  I gave each complete right of way, being careful to step to the inside of the rock wall, avoiding the edge and any potential lethal falls. The pauses were welcome at times, as the ascent was steep, and the day was warming up. We met several friendly groups who were in high spirits and joked about how far we had left, or the difference in effort required to venture down verses climb out. The hike was not strenuous.  Yet, there was a steady incline, and none of the rolling hills or scrambles I had come accustomed to in my hikes through the Eastern United States.

Exploring with the Shuttle

One of the highlights of our exploration of the park via shuttle was Hermit’s Rest, the end of the shuttle route. Not only were there excellent views from just past the shuttle stop,  Mary E.J. Coulter’s famous stone structure portrayed in the style of shelter for a 19th century miner. Now the structure features a large hearth and fireplace, a gift shop and a snack bar. We stopped at several look out points along the way back to the village. From there we drove over to the Hopi House, next to the impressive looking El Tovar lodge. We browsed through native goods and crafts, and enjoyed the replica of a pueblo crafted in 1905. We were also sure to visit both the Lookout and Kolb art studios. After we enjoyed a meal in the Bright Angel Lodge, we  topped it all off with a couple of scoops of ice cream before heading back to camp.

Summary

As is usual, our only regrets were that we did not have more time to explore everything the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Canyon itself had to offer. Given more time and a leisurely itinerary, we would have liked to have hiked further into the Grand Canyon, perhaps even backpacking our way to hammock camp in the true wilderness.

References & Links

• South Rim Visitor Information – Website Link
• Mather Campground Information – Website Link
• South Rim Map & Services Guide – PDF Download

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