By Michael Lanza
Hiking down the snow- and ice-covered Grandview Trail into the world’s most famous canyon, I’m thinking about time. It’s not such an odd thing to think about when you’re walking on rock that’s 270 million years old, while looking out at geologic layers that make the stone under your feet seem adolescent. But I’m thinking about a much, much shorter period of time: 11 years, actually.
That’s how much time has passed since I last backpacked into the Grand Canyon. How did I let that happen? Not for falling out of backpacking, which I’m fortunate to be able to do several times a year; nor, certainly, for the absence of desire to return here. Funny how time seems to dash ahead of us even when we think we’re keeping up just fine.
Being back here again after so long feels like arriving late at a party that’s clearly been rockin’ for several hours—glad I made it, but wish I’d gotten my ass moving a little sooner. And if that sentiment strikes a chord with you, then you should do something about it very soon. I’ll explain why below.
From high up the Grandview Trail, one of the planet’s most awe-inspiring and incomprehensible landscapes sprawls before us, a vastness of deep chasms and soaring towers, of sheer walls and steep, crumbling slopes stacked in layers of red, orange, white, brown, and black, with green daubs of sparse vegetation.
Six of us—including my wife, Penny, our nine-year-old son, Nate, and seven-year-old daughter, Alex, and friends Jeff Wilhelm and his 17-year-old daughter, Jasmine—have come to the canyon in the last days of March to backpack off the South Rim. Over four days, we’ll hike 29.2 miles from Grandview Point to the South Kaibab Trailhead.
We’re two or three weeks ahead of the nearest thing there is to an ideal time of year to backpack in the canyon. With so much vertical relief here, picking dates inevitably requires choosing between the risk of cold temps and possible snow and ice on the rims or unbearable heat in the canyon. As it is, we start out on treacherously icy conditions on the upper Grandview Trail—which feels a bit sketchy with young kids, though we get through it fine, if very slowly—but spend most of our trip hiking in T-shirts and shorts and hardly breaking a sweat.
On our first afternoon, we drop a steep 3,500 feet in less than five miles to a campsite on Cottonwood Creek, beneath a horseshoe of red cliffs and a night sky riddled with stars. Then we follow the Tonto Trail’s serpentine course westward across the broad, cacti-studded Tonto Plateau for more than two days, walking the brink of cliffs that plunge more than a thousand feet to the Colorado River. The kids play in each of the few creeks we pass, doggedly building rock dams that will be swept away by the next heavy rainstorm. We pitch tents on sagebrush flats and gaze out at an endless parade of stone castles and amphitheaters spreading out beneath the snow-dappled South and North rims.
It really is kind of mind-boggling. As Jeff summarizes, simply but completely: “It doesn’t look real.”
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John Wesley Powell, the one-armed Civil War veteran and legendary Western explorer who led the first expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869, once said, “You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths.”
Okay, the guy had a point there. But he didn’t exactly have a desk job. For those who can’t quite wangle, say, six months of sabbatical to toil through the labyrinths, a hike of four or five days in this majestic place can go a long way toward purging your head of the toxins of civilization, among various mentally healthful benefits.
Many of the park’s trails are remote and difficult, so most backpackers stick to some combination of the only three trails that are maintained and regularly patrolled by rangers, the South Kaibab, Bright Angel, and North Kaibab trails. Competition for backcountry campsites along those three trails is fierce. The most popular multi-day hike in the park that’s not entirely on one of those three “corridor” trails goes from Hermits Rest on the South Rim to the Bright Angel Trailhead; it’s 27.2 miles if you make the 2.4-mile out-and-back hike to Hermit Creek (where most hikers camp their first night). So permits for that trip get snapped up quickly, too.
I can help you plan this or any other trip you read about at my blog. Find out more here.
But the hike I describe above (with more details in The Itinerary below) is easily accessible, off the South Rim, and not hugely popular. Like basically any trek in the canyon, the 29.2 miles from Grandview Point to the South Kaibab Trailhead delivers scenery that assure it will rank as one of the best trips of your life—but without crowds, except on the very busy South Kaibab Trail. Between Horseshoe Mesa and the Tonto Trail-South Kaibab Trail junction, we see just only one or two parties a day.
If, like me, too many years have passed since you last hiked into the Big Ditch—or if you never have—now is the time to do something about it. The first date you can apply for a wilderness permit for a trip beginning in April is Dec. 1; for May, it’s Jan. 1. (See Permit below.)
On the long hike up the South Kaibab Trail, walking in powerful, cold gusts that portend a storm bringing snow and rain tonight, I make a vow to not let another 11 years pass before I backpack here again.
That’s much too long.
Note: See my stories “A Matter of Perspective: A Father-Daughter Hike in the Grand Canyon,” about backpacking from the New Hance Trailhead to the South Kaibab Trailhead with my 10-year-old daughter; “A Grand Ambition, or April Fools? Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim;” and all of my stories about the Grand Canyon at The Big Outside. I also write more about this trip and Grand Canyon National Park’s climate story in my book, Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks, from Beacon Press.
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Hi Michael, I am considering doing this hike. So far, I have already hiked the Grand Canyon Rim-Rim-Rim, Hermit-Tonto-Bright Angel, and the Escalante Route (started at the Lipan Point on the Tanner Trail and finished at Grandview). Now I would like to do Grandview to South Kaibab to complete what you call the “best backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon”. My main question is regarding water sources and which direction to travel.
It seems that if there is a long waterless section between South Kaibab and Grapevine Creek, that would be best to hike down the South Kaibab and head east, and either make it to Grapevine in one day or carry enough water to dry camp the first night. If I start at Grandview and hike westward, I am concerned that I might be finishing the hike possibly running low on water and having to hike up the entire unshaded South Kaibab. I noticed that when you did the full hike from South Kaibab to Lipan Point you started at South Kaibab and went eastward, and hiked 19 miles straight to Grapevine Creek. How hard was that? I will be doing this hike the last week of April. Of course, if there is water at Boulder Creek or Lone Tree Creek the last week of April that would solve lots of problems. Let me know your thoughts on which direction makes the most sense. Thank you!
Hi Jeff,
That’s a great hike and wonderful section of the Tonto. It’ll be most similar to Hermit-Tonto-Bright Angel, but with a longer waterless section, as you know. Yes, I hiked down the South Kaibab to Grapevine in one long day. In late April, a good time to do it, you might find water before Grapevine and the rangers at the Wilderness Center may know, but you might need to carry that extra water.
It’s a long day, made significantly harder if it’s hot (so start early to beat the heat). But it’s not nearly as hard as hiking in the opposite direction, which is mostly uphill instead of mostly downhill. But most of the Tonto is pretty easy walking. If you’re in shape for a 19-mile day, you probably will finish this day tired but not destroyed by it. We did do it carrying enough water to spend the night without a water source if we didn’t reach Grapevine, but that wasn’t a crazy amount of extra water because we realized we’d very likely get within a couple hours of Grapevine and reach it by early or mid-morning.
Hope that helps. Thanks for the question and have a great hike.
My boyfriend and I hiked the South Kaibab trail down to Colorado River and then came back up to the south rim via Bright Angel in just under 7 hours. It was absolutely amazing! I personally liked the South Kaibab better than Bright Angel…it was steeper but the views are breathtaking and the hike was just more interesting in my opinion. We took a shuttle from Bright Angel Lodge to the trailhead at 8:00 and it was 29 degrees out, but by the time we got to the bottom, it was about 70 degrees. I feel like you just can’t visit the Grand Canyon without checking this epic trail off of the list. Just don’t forget your trekking poles… they are a life-saver on this trail!
That’s a spectacular hike, Yolanda. Yes, I agree that trekking poles are a must on any Grand Canyon hike. Check out all of my poles reviews at https://thebigoutside.com/tag/trekking-poles-reviews/.
I recently finished this 4 day, 3 night backpack with my wife and three children (ages 17, 13 and 13). The trip was as beautiful, spectacular, uncrowded, and fulfilling as Michael describes in his essay. We departed on April 3 and finished on April 6. We had good weather, although storms passed through the area just before and just after our trip. At Mather Campground on the South Rim the nights got down to the mid-20s, but the upper Grandview and South Kaibab were clear of any ice and no microspikes were needed. Down on the Tonto it was warm but not hot during the day, and cool but not cold at night. We camped at Cottonwood, Grapevine and Lone Tree. The relatively short days gave us plenty of time to take in the magic of the canyon. Plenty of water in Cottonwood and Grapevine, and just enough water in Lone Tree. No water near the trail at Boulder Creek or Cremation. Thanks again Michael for the inspiration.
Thanks for that report, Mike. I’m glad the trip went so well for your family. It really is just as you described, too.
Hi Michael, two friends and myself will be taking this trek in just a couple of weeks. We’ve got most of the logistics figured out but I was wondering if you have guidance on transportation to / from the trailhead. We’re planning to stay at Mather campground on the rim and enter the canyon at Grandview. Is there any way to get to Grandview point without driving your own car there? We’d prefer to leave it at Mather to have all our stuff when we come out. I’m curious how you got there when you did this trek. Thanks!
Hi Ben,
That’s a great hike. You’ve probably seen that the park’s free South Rim shuttle buses do not go out to Grandview Point, which has long puzzled me because it would behoove the park to provide shuttles to an overlook and trailhead that are so popular that the large parking lot there is often full. As you know, you can catch a shuttle when you finish at South Kaibab Trailhead. Make sure you get there well before the last bus departs.
When I backpacked that route with my family, we were joined by friends and had two vehicles for the shuttle.
I have found in other parks that there are numerous workers at the park, lodges, restaurants, stores, and other businesses in the park and gateway communities like Tusayan that are willing to provide a ride to a trailhead for a fair price. I suggest calling some businesses and hotels and simply asking whether an employee would drive you to Grandview Point; it’s a short drive and shouldn’t be hard to find someone.
I also suspect that one of you could hitch a ride back to your car at Grandview Point post-trip from tourists and other hikers on the South Rim.
If you Google “Grand Canyon South Rim taxi service” you’ll see options like Williams Taxi and Shuttle, but their website is unclear about trailhead transportation; you’d have to inquire. I have not tried to use Uber or Lyft at the canyon and I’m not sure about its availability in such a remote location.
Good luck and enjoy your hike.
I will be following this itinerary May 9-15 with a layover at Cremation Canyon so we can hike down to the river (fgure we’ll reload with h2o there). The maps you have listed enough- will that and a compass suffice, or is there need for gps or additional maps as well? First time to the canyon- very excited and want to make sure I’m well prepared!
Thanks!
Hi KK, that’s a good time of year, though it can get hot by midday. You might even have time on your layover day hike to the river to hike partway up the North Kaibab Trail and back; it’s in a narrow gorge for a few miles, with a beautiful stream, and may give you nice shade. Yes, the Trails Illustrated map is fine, the trail is good, you don’t need a GPS. Just a few minutes’ walk west of Cremation Creek is one of the best campsites I’ve seen in the canyon, with a natural rock overhang that provides a shaded kitchen area. You’ve picked a great baptismal hike for the Grand Canyon, have fun. I’ll be doing another canyon trip a little later in May, actually, and looking forward to it. The place is magical.
Beautiful pictures and hike description! I love that you’re doing all these wonderful hikes as a family. Me and my pop did something similar over multiple summers when I was a kid. Keep trekking!
Thanks Howard, we will do that.
What a beautiful location. This definitely goes on my list of hikes i want to try before i die. I can definitely agree with the ‘It doesn’t look real’ sentiment, just too beautiful.