"The Best From BOTH Rims..The Grand Canyon" mikehanneman's Profile

Prior to sharing my experiences on both rims of The Grand Canyon, I wanted to pass along some important information. Every year visitors die at The Grand Canyon. I just read in an Arizona paper that two people died this week, making 2007's total grow to eight. It is now two weeks later and two more people fell to their deaths at the North Rim. Be careful when you visit this great National Park. Nature can be as dangerous as it is beautiful!

One other thought. Please take the time to go below the rim. 90% of the people never get to experience what a difference it makes! I see old people, people with disabilities, over weight folks enjoying a great life experience "below the rim". Even if you only go down a few hundred feet, you will see what a difference it makes!

My son and I left Waterloo, Iowa and flew to Phoenix in anticipation of hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I was armed with a digital camera and a 8mm camcorder in order to capture this event the best I could.

My son was right, NOTHING can touch the Canyon!

After a late start (left at 9:45) we hopped on a shuttle to theSouth Kaibab trailhead where we were set for the descent. I took a lot of pictures and we wern't in any hurry intially. It was June of 2004 and the summer weather was getting hotter by the minute. What beauty the Grand Canyon has! We reached Cedar Ridge where people on mules were coming up from below. Boy did they look hot and uncomfortable! The scenery, mules and their riders made for a nice picture. Now we could see the great vistas of the Grand Canyon, including a Condor flying overhead. I asked a Ranger how far we were from the Phantom Ranch where we had planned to spend the night. He replied "you are only about 10 to 15% of the way down." It was supposed to be 113 degrees at the bottom that day and the Ranger was concerned we might have problems with the extreme heat. I told him we had a lot of food and Powerade to drink.

As we proceeded past Cedar Ridge it became hotter yet and the wind picked up. I might have seen 2 or 3 people during the next 6 hours at most. We stopped at Skeleton Point to get out of the sun. The only place that provided any shade was an outdoor restroom facility. It was one of the worst smells ever and the sign said not to light anything because you would blow up. Now I know where the name "Skeleton Point" came from. Not the smell but it was an area that was like a plateau - hot and windy and no signs of life.

I will continue on down into the Canyon in my next chapter.

Mules at Cedar Ridge

Scott and I were drinking Gatorade like it was going out of style. Now I was starting to get hot and tired. I wondered if I was going to get into trouble because it had become so late in the day - the temperature had to be 100 degrees at least. I felt responsible for my son's safety. I knew we had to push on. Only a Raven kept us company circling overhead. Sometimes the trail had become very rough. The mules tear up the kaibab trail and make it almost sandy in nature. As a result, I was slipping a lot and had to be careful I didn't hurt my knee.

We met a couple on the way down who were from the eastern part of the country. I don't know if they made or not. I am sure they did, but they were really hot and tired. They were in the shade when we left them after a 10 minute visit.

Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

Scott and I made our way to the Colorado River and across the suspension bridge leading to a dark tunnel. When we headed out of the tunnel we noticed some Indian ruins by the river that were neat.
We were hot and exhausted. Our Powerade had to be least 95 degrees, so it wasn't much fun to drink. There was a beautiful stream along the trail. Scott was using a stick to look at tadpoles that were trapped in the water. A few hundred yards away I noticed kids and adults in the stream cooling off. The temperature at 3:45 was 115 degrees at the bottom of the Canyon now.

We limped into the Phantom Ranch area a half a mile away to be greeted by nice looking cottonwood trees blowing in the afternoon wind.

I was a bit disappointed by the reception we received. In the cantina people were drinking Mexican Budweiser and pop hauled down from the rim above via pack mules. After 10 minutes a grumpy overweight 35 year old woman told everyone to leave so they could start to prepare the stew for the evening's meal. I tried to ask her where the dorm style building was. She acted impatient and I said, "hey, we just got here and we are hot and tired. I would appreciate you pointing me in the direction of where our quarters would be." Then she settled down and told me to go to a building and pick out a bed. When Scott and I located the building with dorm style accomodations there were like nine guys in there. Our only choice was two bunk beds on top. I could barely get to the top because my legs were so sore from the eight mile journey to the bottom of the Canyon.

After taking an hour nap (everyone else who got to the bottom sooner were sleeping too) it was time to eat supper back at the cantina. The stew was great and we had an opportunity to visit with people from the east coast, California and China. Chew Young was an engineer from China who brought his wife with him for the trip to the great American SW. He seemed a bit offended when my son inquired about how China treated their people and why they let him come to the United States. He was a nice guy and we visited more the next morning about his world in China and ours back in Iowa.

We went to the Ranger discussion after dark. It was neat looking up at the rim of the Canyon as the tiny female Ranger spoke about the wildlife in the Canyon. The neat part was when she took some black lights and went along the trail revealing all the scorpions! They were like every 5 feet or less. The Ranger indicated about one person a month camping out is bitten by scorpions. That scared a couple of little kids who were going to camp out with their parents that night.

The next morning we got up around 4:45 in time to eat some cold pancakes, bacon and fruit for $18. Then it was off to the Bright Angel Trail headed for the top! We crossed the suspension bridge and I noticed a bunch of rocks along the side of the Colorado River that had been shaped by the abrasiveness of the water over time to resemble mushrooms. Chew from China and his wife passed us as I took a few more pictures of the river as the sun's rays were starting to penetrate the Canyon floor. Another ten miles and then we would be back to the top!

Waterfall on the Bright Angel Trail in the Canyon

On the way up to Indian Gardens, which is about half way to the rim, we saw a good looking Mule Deer with a multiple point rack. I thought about taking a picture of the buck, as he was only a few feet from the Bright Angel Trail, but I was too tired at that point.

I was a bit disappointed in the Bright Angel trail on the way back up. It was beautiful, but you are boxed in a bit because of the canyon walls. I guess I got spoiled by the South Kaibab trail vistas on the way down. The recommended way to hike to the Phantom Ranch and back would be to decend down the South kaibab trail and up the Bright Angel trail.

Scott and I reached the Indian Gardens around 10 o'clock or so. The trail was accompanied by a nice stream that sounded refreshing as we walked along it. Indian Gardens can be seen from the South Rim as a group of Cottonwood trees. I had to go to the outdoor restroom and boy did it stink! Again, the sign said no smoking because it would blow up! There were like 4 rest areas on Bright Angel trail and we used all of them to replenish our water jugs and rest a bit. I was told the Park Rangers started to cut off visitors at the Indian Gardens due to the extreme heat.

I took my time going back up to the top and Scott carried all the backpacks for me. He was patient with my slow progress hiking and I appreciated HIS patience.

Scott at the Grand Canyon

We made it back up to the South Rim of The Grand Canyon around 2 o'clock. I was tired and sore, especially my legs. A couple of nights before we went down the Bright Angel Trail and ran into a couple of female Big Horn Sheep. Scott and I enjoyed watching them for about a 10 minute period. Two of the older sheep started to bunt heads. It was cute seeing their little offspring make a run at going up the steep sides off the trail so they could graze on the dry shrubs.

Scott and I enjoyed our trip down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Canyon is an experience everyone shoud take in before they leave this planet.

View From The North Rim

I wanted to experience the North Rim so I went for it!

My opinion of the North Rim is quite different than the South Rim. If you want some solitute and don't want the crowds, then the North Rim is a good choice. The elevation is 1,000 feet more and there are lots of trees in the Kaibab National Forest.

Things are a bit limited. The views are not as good as the South Rim. You are looking over the Canyon instead of into the Canyon.

There is only one trial to hike. The North Kaibab trail vs. the South Rim has a lot of trails. Yeah, of all the visitors to the Grand Canyon, only 10 to 15% go to the North Rim. Some suggest the location is the reason. I think it is because the views are not as spectacular as the South Rim.

The North Rim is a good place to take your loved ones if you just want to sit on the porch or sunroom in the lodge or the front of your cabin. I found it limited and boring.

It rained at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I had nothing to do since this site isn't very developed and doesn't offer many options other than to relax and watch a limited view of the Canyon.

Kaibab Forest around the North Rim

I asked a Ranger if I could succesfully get to Point Sublime with my rental Jeep and he said I needed a high clearance vehicle. Of course I questioned him on whether the Jeep would be OK and he hesitated. I said that was enough of an answer. I didn't want to have a problem in a remote area with a rental vehicle.

I took the Point Sublime road about 4 miles until I came to an area that looked like I might not get through. At that point I turned the Jeep around and went to plan B.

I stopped by the one lane rough road and walked about 2 miles into the forest. That was probably the best time I had at the North Rim. Just Nature and myself. Don't get lost! I had a compass with me.

It started to thunder so I headed back to the Jeep and then the rain came. It was August 2006 and Monsoon season.

I felt sorry for the people that had hiked down into the Canyon via the North Kaibab trail. I told them it was going to rain but they just kept going anyway. It's easy to keep decending into the Canyon because with every turn you make the Canyon invites you to see a new view or a different vantage point that is irresistable.

I went to the Saloon and had a couple of beers. Wow did it rain!

The next day I found out the Point Sublime Trail (18 miles one way) had been washed out. The road already had boulders in it and big holes. Thank God I didn't try to go to the 18 miles!

Imperial Point - just north of the North Rim

A couple of miles prior to getting to the North Rim Lodge, there is a turnoff to go to Cape Royal or Imperial Point.

It was only like 5 miles or so to go to Imperial Point so I decided to head that way. The road to Cape Royal is longer and more difficult.

It was a nice drive and provided a lookout down into the Canyon prior to the North Rim area. A Ranger told me that a road a few miles north will take you east to a lookout where you can see the Colorado River and Marble Canyon. It was too rainy for me to go.

Please look at my Kanab, Utah page. It's a great story about the problems I had in North Coyote Buttes. I am sure you'll find the reading interesting!