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Mon 5 - Wed 7 May
So our trip to the Grand Canyon was easily one of the highlights of the trip. We seriously lucked in by obtaining ‘backcountry permits’ from the National Parks office, which meant we were allowed to camp inside the canyon. It is too far to hike to the canyon floor and back in one day, so you have to do it over a couple of days. The backcountry permits are apparently fairly hard to come by though, as there are only two authorised campsites and one lodge available inside the canyon. The lodge and Bright Angel Creek Campground were booked up, but we managed to get a permit for two nights at the Indian Gardens Campground, which was about halfway between the canyon rim and the Colorado river.
We left what gear we could in the car to make room for lots of food and water (double the food, double the fun the ranger told us), and left the top of the South rim of the Canyon at about 5pm. The 7.4km journey to Indian Gardens took us just under 2 hours and was a 1000m descent. We saw lots of chipmunks and squirrels
on the trail and couple of deer were blocking our way at one point as well. We kept up the pace as we were not keen to be setting up camp in the dark again and arrived with about an hour of daylight to spare.
The campground was an oasis, set in Cottonwood trees that had been planted by the early explorers. There were about 20 sites in the campground and each site had an area for the tent and a shaded wooden table and chairs. There were two taps with drinking water and compostable toilets. We also had to keep all of our food in big metal containers on the table, because the wildlife (and chipmunks in particular) would chew through our packs and tents if they could smell anything inside. We also had to hang out backpacks high up on poles to make it harder for the animals to reach. I was a little concerned, and lay awake on the first night listening out for chipmunks and imagining trying to climb back up the Grand Canyon with a hole in the bottom of my backpack.
On Tuesday morning we were up at 6am and set out
for the Colorado River. Because we were staying 2 nights at Indian Gardens we were able to leave our backpacks and tent behind and just carry food and water for the day. It was another 7.5km to the Colorado River and took us another couple of hours. We had a break when we reached the river and then did another 5km loop along the river to check out the other campsite and lodge. The sun came out and really heated things up at about 11am, just as we were starting to head back to our campsite. Fortunately, we crossed quite a few creeks on the way up, so I was able to wet my cap and head.
The afternoon at Indian Gardens was spent reading and snoozing in the tent. However, before sunset we walked out to Plateau Point (a 5km round trip). The sky was overcast, so there wasn’t much of a pink canyon, but the view was spectacular. It was like sitting at the centre of a sphere. From Plateau Point you could look behind and up to the South Rim, ahead and up to the North rim, East and West along the canyon and down to
the Colorado River. Although, we were tired, it was definitely worth the extra miles to see.
On our final morning we packed, ate breakfast and hit the road before 6am as we were very keen to beat the sun. The ascent back to the rim was the steepest part of the hike, but our packs were considerably lighter, with most of the food eaten. It took us 2.5 hours to climb to the top, although again we were going at a pretty steady pace. I had originally estimated that it would take us 4 hours. At the top, we headed straight for the showers to clean up as we were covered in dirt, from so much dust being blown around. Before leaving the Grand Canyon, we stopped at one of the viewpoints with all the tour buses and crowds to take some last photos, before hitting the road for Las Vegas.
So we both agree that our hike into the Grand Canyon was definitely one of the most rewarding and memorable things we’ve ever done. Again, I think our timing was perfect. The queues for Backcountry Permits aren’t quite as long in May, we missed the severe Summer
heat and were able to enjoy the area in Spring, particularly the flowering cacti.
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Amazing photos and views and news.
Reading this was just like a trip down into the Grand Canyon, from the comfort of our recliners...what a climb, up and down and sideways, but what an achievement.