Winter had been especially harsh, even while living in the mild climate of Colorado’s Front Range. Multiple subzero nights had made me tired of the cold, longing for a warm retreat. As good as a tropical vacation with white sandy beaches sounded, I felt the need to get out and get dirty in the desert. I had backpacked into the Grand Canyon a year before in the spring of 2013, but it was an unplanned trip, and I had been very lucky, grabbing a walk-in permit for Bright Angel Campground.

I wanted to go back, but this time as a planned trip where I could do a little more research into routes and spend a little more time in the canyon. In fact all three of my previous trips to the Grand Canyon were unplanned. The first time was on a road trip where I walked around the south rim for about an hour before having to leave, the second time was after a Zion trip (see TrailGroove Issue 7) where again I was only able to visit the rim, this time on the north side. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was overdue for an extended Grand Canyon trip.

My goal was to start from Hermit’s Rest, a trailhead just west of the main visitor area on the south rim, and hike all the way down to the river then back up the South Kaibab Trail. Luckily there are plenty of free shuttles along the south rim that make access to both trailheads easy. After talking on the phone with the ranger, it sounded like there was a chance at acquiring the needed permits for a friend and myself. I sent in the permit application and received an email back a few days later with a temporary registration and requesting additional information due to the difficulty of the trip.

A Hiking Tour of the Grand Canyon Begins

After sorting out permits and waiting another month and a half, the trip finally came. I had decided to go a little earlier in the season for my birthday in mid-march, and the weather was spectacular. I was a bit concerned planning it so early in the spring because the Grand Canyon can still get a fair amount of snow during the month of March, but the forecast was perfect, dashing my fears of icy conditions ruining my warm retreat.

Desert hiking has a few unique challenges, and one is lack of water. The Grand Canyon deals with this by providing water along the main trail corridor, but outside of that, small springs and streams are the norm. While planning I figured that I would need to be able to carry at least 1.5 gallons of water for the second day and the morning of the third day, since there is a chance that there wouldn’t be any decent water between Hermit Creek and Indian Gardens although there was a chance of water at Monument Creek.

After arriving at the south rim, we boarded the Hermit’s Rest shuttle, enjoying the ride and looking down into the canyon from the bus windows. After about 45 minutes, the shuttle reached the end of the road, and we shouldered our packs and headed to the trailhead just west of the bus stop down a short dirt road. They had actually sent us a combination for the gate blocking the road from private vehicles with our permit, since they allow overnight campers to drive on the road, but we had decided that it would be better to take the shuttle. At the end of the dirt road we found the trailhead, and began the long descent down into the heart of the canyon.

The Grand Canyon is part of the Colorado Plateau, a huge layered formation of rock covering southern Utah and northern Arizona. As we descended into the steep walled canyon surrounding Hermit Creek, we passed through the cliff bands from the juniper and pinion pine forest that covers the rim. It looked like difficult terrain, but the trail passed smoothly on ledge systems down to the first stop at Santa Maria Springs. The spring was simply a pipe coming out of the side of the canyon, dripping into a trough with an open air hut next to it to sit in for a quick break. Even though it was the last spring we would see for two days, we didn’t need any water, so we continued the descent through the layers of limestone, sandstone, and shale. We started mid-day, which allowed us to enjoy full sun exposure on the west face of the canyon walls.

If it had been mid-summer, we would have roasted in the triple digit temperatures that are common at that time of year. After the spring, the next two landmarks were Lookout Point and Breezy Point, two overlooks encountered while traversing through more and more cliff bands. After Breezy point, a steep hike down the Cathedral Stairs brought us to the moderate plateau of the Tonto Formation and the desert scrub of the inner canyon. Our permits were for Hermit Rapid, not Hermit Creek, so we still had another 1000 feet of elevation loss to reach our final campsite. The hike took a bit longer than I had anticipated, so we ended up descending the last mile in the dark. While most would find this unpleasant, we were fortunate enough to have a full moon, and as the sun set, the moonlight lit up the towering canyon walls, helping our flashlights brighten the path to camp.

The next morning we woke to the wonderful sounds of the river rapids echoing off the canyon walls. Hermit’s Rapid is a fairly mild rapid from the looks of it from the river bank, and after taking a few photos, we had breakfast, packed up camp, and hiked back up the creek to the Tonto Platform. Just before reaching the top, we stopped to fill up at the last crossing of the creek. The water was crisp, clear, and cold, some of the best water you’ll find in the inner canyon. It made my pack heavy, but I knew that we would need every drop to keep us hydrated as we worked our way through the desert. Today was the easiest day for elevation gain and loss, but the longest mileage day as we needed to go nearly 14 miles to Horn Creek, crossing three major watershed canyons along the way. After backtracking to the Hermit’s Rest Trail, we continued along the wide shelf via the Tonto Trail.

The trail is named after the inner canyon benchland that stretches nearly a hundred miles below the south rim, allowing easy traversing through the middle of the canyon. The first creek we came to was Monument Creek, where the path forked, with one route leading down to the Colorado River again at Granite Rapids. We stayed on the main trail, and passed through the only populated camping area on the trail. The views in all directions were spectacular, especially when the trail lined up with a river view, showing the extreme relief between the river over 1000 feet below us, and the canyon rim nearly 4000 feet above. After ticking off the miles, we finally arrived at our campsite at Horn Creek, and I was glad I had packed the extra weight since the water in Horn Creek didn’t look too appetizing, and is reported to be naturally radioactive. Our campsite was under a few blossoming trees, and as the sun set, shadows crept slowly up the canyon walls until the sun’s color finally left, bringing the full moon out again.

The next morning was great, and we slept in much later than normal because we knew that our easiest day of the trip was ahead. Only a few miles away was Indian Gardens, where our next water stop would be, then the easy descent down the Bright Angel Trail to the Phantom Ranch area where a cold drink was waiting for us. The first few miles along our last section of the Tonto Trail were similar to the day before, endless desert scrub and cactus with the trail meandering east. However, as we turned at the Plateau Point Trail, the oasis of the Indian Garden came into view. Here the groves of blossoming trees and immense cottonwoods offered a stark contrast to the surrounding inner canyon.

After filling our water, we started down the lower section of the Bright Angel Trail. Here we encountered the crowds that we had missed on the first two days. After descending the switchbacks to the bottom of Pipe Creek, the trail leveled out and followed the creek down to its final destination, the Colorado River at Pipe Creek Beach. Here at the bottom of the canyon, the oldest layers of rock are exposed, and the only easy way across the river for almost a hundred miles in each direction lay ahead of us in the form of the two foot bridges, the silver bridge and the black bridge.

On the north side of the bridges laid our goal for the day, Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch. Another oasis in the desert, surrounded by large cottonwoods, we picked out a campsite and headed to the Canteen, which offers food, beverages, and various provisions a hiker might need while in the canyon. Everything at Phantom Ranch is packed in and out by mule, and keeping that in mind, the scale of what’s available is quite impressive. Snacks, souvenirs, drinks, even mail that is carried back to the rim by mule. After visiting with some other campers, I decided to have dinner next to the river, setting up underneath the silver bridge for a rehydrated meal as I watched colors of the cliffs high above change. Back at camp, the moonlight peered through the tree branches above us, casting spidery shadows over camp. We certainly made the most of our last night in the canyon, and fell into a deep sleep under the cottonwoods.

A Final Day in the Grand Canyon & the Hike Out

The next morning we awoke with the hardest leg of the trip ahead of us. Instead of backtracking up the Bright Angel Trail, the normal route back to the south rim, we decided to take the shorter and steeper route up the South Kaibab Trail, finishing off the tour. I had hiked it before and knew there was no water until the top, so we filled up at the campground and started across the black bridge to the tunnel on the far side. The first part was the steepest, switch-backing to the tipoff 1500 feet above the river. At the tipoff, we found the Tonto Formation and the continuation of the Tonto Trail that we had hiked on a day prior, but passed it to continue up. Another set of switchbacks brought us to the mid-point of the climb and the ridge the trail followed past O’Neill Butte. Here the canyon showed its splendor again, spilling out for miles on either side.

Down on the plateau we could see Indian Gardens off in the distance, but Phantom Ranch had disappeared into the depths past the benchland. As the ridge met the main rim walls, the trail followed the walls of the canyon on an easy trail through again what looked like very difficult terrain to navigate otherwise. As we neared the top, the day hiking crowds grew in number, and finally the last set of switchbacks showed themselves under the edge of the rim. Climbing the last 200 feet was very satisfying, and at the top, the bus stop greeted us with a water spigot and hordes of tourists peering into the depths we had just climbed out of. A few minutes later a shuttle came. We boarded, destined to return to where we had started our grand tour.

Need to Know

Information

See the National Park Service website for current regulations and information, and be sure to see the Grand Canyon Hiking and Backpacking Logistics article on the TrailGroove Blog.

Getting There

The south rim is open year round and is approximately 80 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. The north rim is only open during the warmer months, and is approximately 80 miles south of Kanab, Utah.

Best Time to Go

The spring and the fall are the prime seasons, with more water being available in the spring. Summer can be very hot, especially in the inner canyon, and in the winter months, snow storms can happen on the rim areas and sometimes even in the inner canyon.

Maps and Books

The National Geographic Trails Illustrated Grand Canyon Map Pack covers the area hiked in this article. if you're interested in day hikes in and around the canyon see the Grand Canyon National Park Day Hikes Topographic Map Guide. In regards to a guidebook see Hiking Grand Canyon National Park, a Falcon Guide.

Editor's Note: This article by Ted "tmountainnut" Ehrlich originally appeared in Issue 18 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.