WHAT WERE WE THINKING? 1 Hour to get down 1.5 miles to the first rest stop. Excited? Scared? Both, but we’re doing it!
Some info and stats about the trail.
Trail Description (From the Official Guide to Hiking the Grand Canyon)
“Most trails in the Grand Canyon stay within the confines of a side canyon. But the South Kaibab Trail (SKT) is one of the few trails to follow open ridge lines that provide panoramic views of the main gorge.” “Because the SKT is steep and without water, park rangers do not recommend ascending it during summer months.”
Trail statistics (From the Official Guide to Hiking the Grand Canyon)
Length: 6.8 miles (10.9K) from the trail head to Bright Angel Campground
Elevations:
7,260 ft (2,213 m) at the trail head
2,480 ft ( 756 m) at the Colorado River (near the campground)
Total Elevation change from top to bottom – 4,780 ft (1,457 m) or an average decline of 703 ft/mile or 133 m/k.
Water sources
None on the trail until you get to the Bright Angel Campground at the bottom but there are two different rest stops with toilets.
Our hike down the SKT
Well we got up at 4:30 am as planned. Slept OK despite waking up a few times, excited but scared about what we're about to do. Said good bye to our nice comfy trailer at about 6 am and caught the free shuttle (so convenient!) to the trail head. Cool out, temp around 50F, perfect for hiking. Got started on our way down at about 6:30 am.
Thankfully the trail was much wider than it looked when saw it from a distance yesterday. Good thing because the first 1.5 miles down was exposed and along the ridge. Sure there's a great view of the main canyon but who sees it? Not us, we were too busy hugging the ridge wall and watching where our feet were going as we went down the switch backs. The words “we're crazy” and “don't look, don't look” were repeated numerous times during that first hour. Too scary to stop and take many pictures but I got a few good ones. Surprised they're as clear as they are since I'm sure my hands weren't all that steady.
Happy to make to the first rest stop. Good excuse to loose the back pack and stretch. We weren't the only ones on the trail but it was far from crowded. Breaks were also a good time to talk to fellow hikers, most of who were feeling like we were...yes, we're all insane!
Moving on...lots more switch backs to go! Packs getting heavier with every step down, my self mutilated toes are sore but tolerable due to good old moleskin. Love that stuff! Dave's crampy toe is no longer complaining but all the “down” takes it's toll no matter how good your hiking boots are.
Despite the fear, believe me, we were in awe of where we were and what we were doing. After all, we are both over 50 and we're hiking down the Grand Canyon. The views and scenery were spectacular, pictures really don't do it justice but I hope you enjoy them!
For the most part, we felt pretty good on the hike down. But we both had our moments of physical distress. Me first, about ¾ of the way down I thought my shoulders were going to give out. Had to drop my pack fast and stretch. Really, really, REALLY didn't want to put it back on but had to. No choice. The rest helped though, I managed to suck it up and continue hiking. The site of the suspension bridge over the Colorado River helped motivate me, the end was finally in site.
Dave's moment came at the Suspension bridge. He felt like his legs were about to give out. Even though we were only about half a mile to the campsite, he just had to stop and rest. The tunnel to the bridge was the perfect spot eat lunch in the shade and recover a bit. But that stop only lasted about 30 minutes, had to move out of the way for a mule train...mules always have the right of way on the trails.
The Colorado river at the bottom was a gorgeous green and there’s a beautiful white sand beach, known as Boat beach where all the river rafting trips stop. A VERY tempting spot especially after a hot hike but the water was freezing cold.
Made it to the Bright Angel campground at about 12:15 pm. It’s quite a lush spot, with quite a few trees and vegetation, positioned alongside Bright Angel Creek. Spots are first come first serve so we tried to find one that would have some afternoon shade. Finally settled on one right beside a huge cliff wall with the creek on the other side.
Once we got set up, washed off as much of that red dust that coated our clothes and every bit of exposed skin in the creek. Shower would have been heaven but there isn’t one. Crashed in the tent for a couple of hours and it actually clouded over and spit a bit of rain. That was perfect, cooled things off to maybe mid 80s vs. mid 90s, comfortable for a nap. I think every group that hiked down same trail as us was doing exactly the same thing ....man that was hard on the body, especially the toes. Never been so happy to get out of hiking boots in my life!