We all need to have a bucket list for our life .
So as a family we pledged each other not to visit Grand Canyon until we get to hike it till bottom and hence a bucket list got added .
Since it is difficult to find a spot to stay @ Phantom Ranch we were trying to prebook the slots in lotteries but never had any luck . It was first week of Aug when while randomly opening the sites we could see one open slot and we just booked it and then arranged our travel accordingly .
So there are multiple trails from rims which lead to Canyon bottom . The most famous of all is Rim 2 Rim trail where you descend from North Rim while ascend from South Rim . We had limitations with attempting this route so we decided to do Rim 2 Rim at the South Rim itself .
We started from LA on day 1 little early to get adjusted with the climate and surroundings of Grand Canyon . We reached South Rim by 3:00 PM and hence had sufficient time to get accustomed with the surroundings and plan ahead about the trail .
Change of Plan
While planning this hike we planned to stick to Bright Angel Trail on both sides which has sufficient shade, water , rest houses and call stations for evacuations but after discussing with rangers we decided to use South Kaibab Trail to go down which has NO WATER , 1 Rest House , NO SHADE and NO RESCUE phone booths and believe me it was a terrible but rewarding decision.
Packing the sacks
We had to be extra careful while packing our sacks as even 500 gm of extra weight irritates in long run . We carried protein rich energy bars , nuts and electrolytes and some fruits . For any medical emergency we carried lots of essential meds which we thought would be essential . Mid August being one of the hottest canyon month we carried UV protected Hats, clothes, sunscreens and 4-5 Lt of water per person .
South Kaibab Trail
We started early at 5:30 AM and the sun was already on the horizon .We were enjoying our trail till 10:00 AM and but then the canyon was harshly hot . Till 11:00 AM the canyon was unbearable and we had no other option to just keep continuing even though the ranch was half a mile away but we could see that we were already in a confused and lost state of mind due to heat stroke .
Somehow we could barely reach the dormitory beds and then crashed for next few hours with hydration pipes in our mouth gulping water .
Somehow we could barely reach the dormitory beds and then crashed for next few hours with hydration pipes in our mouth gulping water .
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| Graffiti beneath one of the bunk bed :-) |
Phantom Ranch
The super glorified Phantom Ranch relived to its utmost expectation. So as a matter of fact only 1 % of people who visit Grand Canyon get chance to visit this place which is at the bottom of the canyon approximately 7000-8000 feet below the rim . This is one of the very few places till date which gave us an absolute thrill of isolation and least chances of being rescued and help hours away in case of any emergency .
It was pleasure to meet people (with their grand children) who had this ranch in their bucket list from past 30 years and were trying to get that one spot from past many months/years .
Bright Angel Trail
We opted safest of all trails "Bright Angel Trail" to get out of the Canyon bottom but it was a race against sun and its heat to get out of canyon . We skipped the pre booked breakfast at the ranch and fled out in the dark with headlamps @ 4:00 AM . This being a totally new route to us we were dependent upon offline maps in the dark .
Sticking with the earlier hiking experience (travel fast , least breaks , sticking together and be little noisy to avoid unexpected encounters with animals because even a wild horny buck can be dangerous ) we covered 5 miles till Indian Gardens in just 2-3 hours and now we had a precise plan to just ascend 1/2 mile in 1 hour with a normal pace as from now it was steep canyon walls. The best part of this trail is it has break points with basic amenities every few miles .
We somehow finished this part of trail in total 8-9 hours , loosing around 20-25 lbs of combined body weight (2 people) within 27 hours spent in Canyon and immediately drove back to LA :-)
Bright Angel Trail
We opted safest of all trails "Bright Angel Trail" to get out of the Canyon bottom but it was a race against sun and its heat to get out of canyon . We skipped the pre booked breakfast at the ranch and fled out in the dark with headlamps @ 4:00 AM . This being a totally new route to us we were dependent upon offline maps in the dark .
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| 4:00 AM @ Phantom Ranch |
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| Early morning view from the Indian Gardens |
Sticking with the earlier hiking experience (travel fast , least breaks , sticking together and be little noisy to avoid unexpected encounters with animals because even a wild horny buck can be dangerous ) we covered 5 miles till Indian Gardens in just 2-3 hours and now we had a precise plan to just ascend 1/2 mile in 1 hour with a normal pace as from now it was steep canyon walls. The best part of this trail is it has break points with basic amenities every few miles .
We somehow finished this part of trail in total 8-9 hours , loosing around 20-25 lbs of combined body weight (2 people) within 27 hours spent in Canyon and immediately drove back to LA :-)
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