Monday October 08, 2007

3-day Backpack in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
We all have heard a lot about Grand Canyon National Park and this was our chance to see as close as possible. So we decided to do South to North Rim backpack there. Permits are hard to get there; as a result one would want to apply at least six months in advance. We applied for back-country permit in first week of May for last week of September hike. The route was chosen such that we don't exhaust ourself. We took TransCanyon shuttle to travel from South rim to North rim and the backpack was started from North Kaibab trail at North Rim. The backpack is 21-mile (33 kms) with camping for two days. The first camp was established at Cottonwood campground which is 7 miles from North Kaibab and the next camp was established at Bright Angel Campground which is also 7 miles. This is where Bright Angel Creek meets Colorado River in the Inner Rim. Inner rim is the hottest place and the temperatures there is always high (even in winters). The final stage of our climb was a big confusion because we had to drive from South Rim to Las Vegas and then catch flight. We had two options -- (a) Take Bright Angel trail which is 9 miles or (b) Climb on South Kaibab trail which is 7 miles but far tougher to climb than Bright Angel trail and there is no water on the way. After much discussion with Ranger and group members, we decided to climb on South Kaibab trail which turned out to be a good decision because it was cloudy and we started at 4.00 am in the morning to arrive early. And guess what we finished in five and half hours. During this hike, we got to experience the canyon most. We also got chance to attend ranger's program at Bright Angel campground and very nice sunset/sunrise. So overall a beautiful place and a hike.


(2007-10-08 16:28:49.0) Permalink