esterroid
Member
Well, I made it to and across the Grand Canyon and survived! Had a really great time!
A fair number of forum members posted their canyon experiences or offered equipment/route suggestions.
My son and I originally thought we would simply start at the North Rim and take two or three days to walk the approximately 25 miles to the South Rim. As we planned our trek it stretched into six days and covered over 50 miles.
Since I'm about to have my 59th birthday I counted ounces in assembling my equipment. I blew the cobwebs out of wallet and sprang for a new pack – Osprey Atmos 65, a new sleeping bag – a REI #800 goose down wonder that weighs a little over a pound, and lightweight just about everything else. It wasn't cheap, but I got my total pack weight with two gallons of water down to 40 pounds! I had intended to lose ten pounds before starting but I only shaved seven pounds off my bulk. The heavy Nikon SLRs stayed at home and I used my wife's Nikon point and shoot. There were a couple of times I longed for a longer or wider lens, but every time I started to complain I remembered I didn't have to lug the stuff out of the canyon!
I also invested in a new pair of boots, New Balance Rainers. A couple of pounds lighter than my old Danners and they have a lug pattern that kept my feet on the trail. I bought a pair of carbon fiber walking sticks. I never used two sticks before and they proved to be worth their weight in gold!
With a little practice I could climb down without killing my knees! They were also great at climbing over obstructions. After 50 miles my back didn't hurt, the knees were fine, and I wasn't particularly sore. In fact, I felt ten years younger…
James and I started at the North Rim campground, walked the 15 miles to the Bright Angel Campground near the river. Temperatures were in the low 30s when we started and hit about 100 when we went through the Box. The next day we left about seven in the morning and hiked nine miles to Clear Creek. We probably should have left earlier as the temps on the Tonto Platform got a little toasty. On several occasions we sought the shade of a large rock and ate and rested. The last three miles to Clear Creek were particularly hot and we were lucky to find a shallow cave to rest in for an hour or so before we made the descent to the creek.
Clear Creek is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the canyon. We were the only people there and the solitude was wonderful.
When we left we climbed back up to the Tonto Platform in the evening and camped there. An absolutely incredible view at sunset. Walked back to Phantom Ranch and spent two days walking out of the canyon. It could easily be done in one, but we wanted to take a couple of day hikes out of Indian Garden.
All in all we really lucked out on the weather for early June. Only rarely broke 100 and we didn't have to resort to hiking at night. After getting caught in the heat on the hike over to Clear Creek we always started walking by 5:00 to avoid the real heat.
Had a wonderful time and told my son it was a great early birthday/father's day gift.
Thought you might enjoy a few photos.
At the north rim, still smelling fresh....
My son on the Transept Trail
Sunset from the North Rim
North Kaibab Trail above Roaring Springs
My son James didn't drink enough water on the way down and we had to stop for a bit after entering the Box
made it to the Colorado
bridge to the South Kaibab Trail
Inner Canyon from the Clear Creek Trail
In a cave getting ready to take a siesta prior to descending into clear creek
view from the cave
Clear Creek
Hiking up the wide part of the trail out of clear creek. Around the corner it narrows to a 12" path carved into a 45 degree slope of kermit shale. On the walk down I thought if one slipped and really tumbled he would only get a bunch of bruises from the shale. what we didn't see from the top was the 100' vertical drop where the shale ended. needless to say the camera was put away on for the rest of the trip to the platform.
On the Tonto Platform
talk about a room with a view!
panorama before sunset
nothing like a rattler to catch your attention
a ton of lizards too
almost back to Phantom Ranch. we ran into a couple of fellows heading out to clear creek and we took photos of each other. They were leaving rather late in the day and I wonder how they coped with the heat..
mule train on the Bright Angel Trail
son sitting on the edge of Plateau Point. It's a long way down to the river from here..
all cleaned up on the South Rim
A fair number of forum members posted their canyon experiences or offered equipment/route suggestions.
My son and I originally thought we would simply start at the North Rim and take two or three days to walk the approximately 25 miles to the South Rim. As we planned our trek it stretched into six days and covered over 50 miles.
Since I'm about to have my 59th birthday I counted ounces in assembling my equipment. I blew the cobwebs out of wallet and sprang for a new pack – Osprey Atmos 65, a new sleeping bag – a REI #800 goose down wonder that weighs a little over a pound, and lightweight just about everything else. It wasn't cheap, but I got my total pack weight with two gallons of water down to 40 pounds! I had intended to lose ten pounds before starting but I only shaved seven pounds off my bulk. The heavy Nikon SLRs stayed at home and I used my wife's Nikon point and shoot. There were a couple of times I longed for a longer or wider lens, but every time I started to complain I remembered I didn't have to lug the stuff out of the canyon!
I also invested in a new pair of boots, New Balance Rainers. A couple of pounds lighter than my old Danners and they have a lug pattern that kept my feet on the trail. I bought a pair of carbon fiber walking sticks. I never used two sticks before and they proved to be worth their weight in gold!
With a little practice I could climb down without killing my knees! They were also great at climbing over obstructions. After 50 miles my back didn't hurt, the knees were fine, and I wasn't particularly sore. In fact, I felt ten years younger…
James and I started at the North Rim campground, walked the 15 miles to the Bright Angel Campground near the river. Temperatures were in the low 30s when we started and hit about 100 when we went through the Box. The next day we left about seven in the morning and hiked nine miles to Clear Creek. We probably should have left earlier as the temps on the Tonto Platform got a little toasty. On several occasions we sought the shade of a large rock and ate and rested. The last three miles to Clear Creek were particularly hot and we were lucky to find a shallow cave to rest in for an hour or so before we made the descent to the creek.
Clear Creek is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the canyon. We were the only people there and the solitude was wonderful.
When we left we climbed back up to the Tonto Platform in the evening and camped there. An absolutely incredible view at sunset. Walked back to Phantom Ranch and spent two days walking out of the canyon. It could easily be done in one, but we wanted to take a couple of day hikes out of Indian Garden.
All in all we really lucked out on the weather for early June. Only rarely broke 100 and we didn't have to resort to hiking at night. After getting caught in the heat on the hike over to Clear Creek we always started walking by 5:00 to avoid the real heat.
Had a wonderful time and told my son it was a great early birthday/father's day gift.
Thought you might enjoy a few photos.
At the north rim, still smelling fresh....
My son on the Transept Trail
Sunset from the North Rim
North Kaibab Trail above Roaring Springs
My son James didn't drink enough water on the way down and we had to stop for a bit after entering the Box
made it to the Colorado
bridge to the South Kaibab Trail
Inner Canyon from the Clear Creek Trail
In a cave getting ready to take a siesta prior to descending into clear creek
view from the cave
Clear Creek
Hiking up the wide part of the trail out of clear creek. Around the corner it narrows to a 12" path carved into a 45 degree slope of kermit shale. On the walk down I thought if one slipped and really tumbled he would only get a bunch of bruises from the shale. what we didn't see from the top was the 100' vertical drop where the shale ended. needless to say the camera was put away on for the rest of the trip to the platform.
On the Tonto Platform
talk about a room with a view!
panorama before sunset
nothing like a rattler to catch your attention
a ton of lizards too
almost back to Phantom Ranch. we ran into a couple of fellows heading out to clear creek and we took photos of each other. They were leaving rather late in the day and I wonder how they coped with the heat..
mule train on the Bright Angel Trail
son sitting on the edge of Plateau Point. It's a long way down to the river from here..
all cleaned up on the South Rim
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Are you Ron Kirby? Just asking.
