Location: South Rim
When: Late May, 2.5 days
Miles traveled: 432.7
Price of gas: 3.99
High point: Talking with fellow hikers
Low point: Ice is more expensive than fudge.
One thing learned: Wet clothing helps the body stay cool.
Note: I visited Colorado and Utah before visiting the Grand Canyon(GC). My visit to the GC was so distinct from other places in Arizona, that I'm writing about it separately.
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Park map of south rim
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Desert View Watchtower
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I visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon while the North Rim was still closed due to a late season snow fall. Arriving in the evening at the east entrance (I was driving from Page, AZ & Horseshoe Bend) was really convenient. There were no long lines at the entrance station and I got to explore the Desert View side of the park before arriving at the campground just south of Tusayan. The various lookout points over GC are nice, but I quickly lost interest. What I saw was not different enough from other places I have visited or driven through. "The landforms you see are not unique to Grand Canyon; they are trademarks of eroded arid lands" -Info board in Yavapai Geology Museum. GC allows visitors to view these landforms from a default top-down view, rather than default bottom-up like Zion NP and many other places. Driving around and through mountains and canyons usually provide a middle or bottom-up view with an occasional top-down view. Driving across land at 6,000 ft elevation can also provide the mind boggling question of, "is this flat land the top or bottom view?" Which can lead to wondering, if any elevation offers a top or bottom view, and if it's all relative anyway.?
The South Rim is a forest with frequent elk and/or mule deer sightings. The GC Village, is a literal village with many lodges, post office, library, grocery store, bank, restaurants, and camper services(laundry + showers). Grand Canyon National Park felt more like a tourist village than a national park and it was a little confusing to drive around. Like most tourist places, prices were higher than normal. A 1/4 lb piece of fudge was $5 and 7 lbs of ice was $5.99. 7 or 10 lbs of ice is usually $2.
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My favorite view
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I hiked into the canyon a short distance on two of the most popular hiking trails: South Kaibab and Bright Angel. On the South Kaibab trail, Ooh Aah Point is just under two miles round trip. That hike took me just over an hour. My favorite view is from this hike. I like the alternating layers of bare rock and dense trees on the canyon's side. A bighorn sheep was spotted near the trail. It grazed unfazed by the hikers watching it. One couple I saw at Ooh Aah Point and talked with as we were waiting for the shuttle bus, were visiting GC before moving to Colorado to start new jobs. More experienced or ambitious hikers than myself, they had hiked round trip 6 miles to Skeleton Point in five hours.
The next day I woke up early to hike on Bright Angel trail. I wanted to hike to the 1.5 mile Resthouse and back before all the shade was gone at 11am. On my way back, I met a couple on their honeymoon, who agreed that from a hiking perspective, Zion was more interesting than Grand Canyon, but they thought Bryce Canyon was the best of the three parks. (I did not visit Bryce Canyon) Hiking the last part of Bright Angel trail at their fast pace helped me to finish my 3 mile round trip at 10:24am! I celebrated with a piece of Raspberry Lemon fudge. It tasted like sherbet!
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Other people also at Ooh Aah Point
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| Bighorn sheep |
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Section of the Bright Angel trail that I hiked
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Somehow I took these two awesome photos:
