This review is dedicated to all the fellow travelers who saved our life at South Kaibab Trail.
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| The Grand Canyon from Yaki Point |
What is considered as one of the seven natural wonders of the world can hardly be described in a single review. I could write all day about what an amazing sight is ahead of you and what a spectacle it is. Yet, at the end of the day words do no justice to it. But I’ll try nonetheless.
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| Isis Temple |
There might be other “Grand Canyons” in other states of the US, and in other countries. But this is THE Grand Canyon. Universally famous for the combination of large size and depth, the exposed layering of colorful rocks dates back to the prehistoric times. The easiest way to remember the formation of Grand Canyon is the word DUDE, which stands for Deposition – Uplift – Down Cutting – Erosion.
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| Vishnu Temple |
Perhaps it's no surprise, but the lure of the canyon induces a lot of visitors to leave the rim and head downward towards the Colorado River. My personal recommendation is that one should always find a way to make that a part of the canyon experience, whether he/she is at the South Rim or the less-visited North Rim.
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| Sunrise from Yaki Point |
Day 1
In October 2010, we made it to the South Rim, where the off-season timing reduced the large numbers of people. We arrived there at late afternoon after a 240 miles drive from Phoenix Airport. We barely managed to catch the stunning views of sunset from the Yavapai Point. The camping experience at Mather Campground, as it must be in a national park, was fun. People might find hotels outside the park boundary or can also avail the log cabins available but spending the nights so close to nature cannot be enjoyed in any better way than to camp in the park.
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| The end of "Trail of Time" near the Grand Canyon Village |
Day 2
The next day started with sunrise at Yaki Point and ended with sunset at Lipan Point. We spent the whole day going from one vista point to the other along the Rim Trail and Desert View Road. I was somewhat in awe of the “Trail of Time” that extends along the rim for what feels like miles. This starts from the Yavapai Point and continues through the Grand Canyon Village. About 2 billion years of earth's geological history, supplemented by spectacular specimens of rocks from the bottom of the canyon, have been exhibited throughout the trail.
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| Vishnu Schist – the oldest exposed rock layer in the canyon |
One important thing I learnt from visiting the vista points is that a lot of the views look identical. The canyon is so vast that one can only get a slightly different perspective from adjacent viewing points. So it is worthwhile taking this into account when one plans to visit there. More so it also gives us a idea of its vastness and what seemed a long distance for us to get us enough tired, was actually small enough for the canyon to barely show any change in its view.
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| Colorado river from Navajo Point |
Inside the park, the important vista points include Hermit's Rest (and all the points on the Hermit Road which leads to Hermit's Rest), Yavapai Point, Mather Point, Yaki Point (ideal for sunrise), Grandview Point, Navajo Point, Lipan Point (ideal for sunset) and Desert View. The most popular point for sunset is Hopi Point in the Hermit's Rest Road. But for a quieter and serene atmosphere, I would recommend Lipan Point near the Desert View, where the experience was overwhelming. The changing color of sunset was better than anything I have ever seen. The sharp turns and rapids of the Colorado River can be best seen from the Navajo Point on the Desert View Road.
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| The Abyss at twilight, from Lipan Point |
Day 3
As it was said from time to time, one hasn’t really seen the Grand Canyon until it is observed from inside of the canyon. Leaving the crowds of Grand Canyon Village behind was always a part of our plan. And I found that heading down the canyon's steep slopes gives a much better feeling for the grandeur and scale of the place.
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| Sunrise at O'Neill Butte |
From the South Rim, the most popular trail is Bright Angel, which is one of the two well-maintained routes to the river. It is also heavily travelled, but this is the place for first-time hikers or those who are concerned about safety. The route is broad, and rangers patrol it frequently all throughout the day. However, according to our fellow travelers, the South Kaibab Trail is much better in terms of panoramic views all the way to the bottom, whereas the Bright Angel Trail is mostly in a canyon and therefore hides all the views.
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| The trail from Tip Off |
The biggest issue in the South Kaibab Trail is the safety of the adventurers. This is steeper than the Bright Angel, there is no supply of drinking water and the restrooms are not maintained during the off-season. The late summer squeezes every last drop of moisture out of the hiker whenever he/she goes deeper. It's easier going downhill, although our aging knees beg to differ. But normally people get themselves in trouble when they don't have enough resources for a trip down and back. It seems obvious to point out, but flip-flops are not recommended for canyon hiking. Along the major trails one can probably get away with tennis shoes, but anything else should be tackled with a good supportive pair of hiking boots. Most importantly, no one can come and get you out of there easily if you turn an ankle or stiffen a knee.
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| Colorado river from the trail |
The Descent
The South Kaibab Trail is a 14 mile hike round trip, and attains a depth of about 1 mile from rim to river bed. The Park Service discourages to hike down to the river and then climb up to the rim in a SINGLE day. However, we tried our luck and extracted the last bit of our strength to prove them wrong. And glad we are that we did so.
We left our car at the visitor center, took the shuttle bus to the trailhead, and started before sunrise. Just below Yaki Point, the trail begins with a series of switchbacks. From Ooh Aah Point, the trail follows the top of a ridgeline through Cedar Ridge (1.5 miles from rim). After that, the trail traverses below O'Neill Butte to Skeleton Point (3 miles from rim) without a single switchback. Thereafter, the trail descends rapidly towards Tip Off (4.4 miles from rim) via another series of switchbacks.
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| Kaibab Suspension Bridge |
The rangers recommend using this trail to descend, because it is very steep and shadeless, but offers stunningly dramatic views. By the time we reached the Kaibab Suspension Bridge, one of us managed to get a stiffened knee and another got back pain. Though we were overwhelmed by the breathtaking views, carrying DSLR cameras and big lenses felt like a big burden, forget about using them. After reaching the Bright Angel Campground (7 miles from rim) at the bottom end of the canyon, we became little tensed thinking about the upcoming ascent. The whole descent took nearly four hours, which was pretty awesome considering our rusted joints.
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| Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of the canyon |
The Ascent
Though the slightly longer Bright Angel Trail (9.5 miles) is much shadier and less steep, we again chose the South Kaibab Trail (7 miles) for the ascent; just to save the two and a half extra miles. When we started the epic ascent, we felt like lying down on the stones and prayed for some miracle to happen which will teleport us to the rim. We desperately wanted that in the whole ascent of eight hours with the increasing pain that one of us was suffering from the stiffened knee. Asking for help from park rangers went in vain. We would not have survived severe dehydration if not for some of our fellow travelers who helped us with ample water and some herbal treatment for the knee.
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| Giving way to the mules at a switchback |
Near the Ooh Aah Point a heavy storm started along with a drizzle. As the strong gusts of winds came, with it went flying was one of our sunglasses. Thanks to a piece of rock where it got stuck and we could recover it.
The last part of this hike was the most frustrating one. It looked as if we had almost made it to the top for the last two hours or so, but the tight switchbacks disheartened us every passing minute. But when we finally reached the top, it was a great feeling; that we finally made it.
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| The Tip Off |
The whole hike took nearly twelve and a half hours. We started just before sunrise and finished just after sunset. We barely managed to catch the last shuttle bus which dropped us at the visitor center. The driver who had a good sense of humor managed to make us laugh by cracking jokes about our hurting feet. As we entered the Yavapai Cafeteria at Market Plaza, most people were staring at us like they have seen two Orcs from the Middle Earth. The restroom mirror gave us the answer to all those looks. Both of us have absolutely black hair which had turned reddish brown from the canyon dust and our head looked somewhat like thorny bushes in the deserts.
Day 4
Since that was our last camping trip in US, we decided to donate our tent and other camping gears to the Grand Canyon. Then, amidst a persistent drizzle, started the 240 miles drive back to Phoenix Airport.
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