By Michael Lanza
I returned to the Grand Canyon yet again in April, my ninth backpacking trip there in the past 17 years. Any psychologist, behavioral scientist, or criminologist would describe that as an established pattern of behavior. I confess: I can’t get enough of that place. This time, a group of family and friends, including my son, Nate, spent five days hiking about 54 miles from the Tanner Trailhead to the Grandview Trailhead off the South Rim, including a route with a reputation as one of the canyon’s most difficult: the Escalante (photos in the gallery, below). Four of us, all accustomed to difficult backcountry terrain, found it matched its reputation for loose sections and a lot of steep uphill, including one scramble up a cliff; we spent about seven hours covering nine miles on it. And our last day consisted of hiking more than 12 miles and about 5,700 feet uphill. A typical Grand Canyon adventure.
But our entire hike also delivered the typical, incomparably Grand Canyon-scale vistas from start to finish, culminating with the long ascent of the Grandview Trail, overlooking a huge swath of the canyon.
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The Grand Canyon always delivers on exceptional beauty. But as I’ve learned from numerous multi-day hikes and long dayhikes there over the years, while running this blog and previously as a field editor for Backpacker magazine for many years, including hiking rim-to-rim-to-rim a few times (see links to my stories about those trips below the photo gallery), each trip exhibits its own character. And this latest one proved just as unique for the Escalante Route, but also outstanding camps at beaches on the Colorado River.
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“The Best First Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon”
“The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon”
“The Complete Guide to Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim.”
The popular “corridor” trails—the South and North Kaibab and Bright Angel—while tough, are nonetheless the kindest to backpackers and dayhikers and constantly serve up vistas that inspire wonderment. The remote Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop off the North Rim goes from the bone-dry Esplanade to some of the best waterfalls and perennial streams in the entire Grand Canyon. The remote and adventurous Royal Arch Loop explores a tributary canyon with sometimes puzzling obstacles to scramble over and around and shockingly lush desert oases; it also requires one short rappel.
And the “best backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon,” from the South Kaibab Trailhead to the Tanner Trailhead, basically throws every ingredient of a consummate multi-day canyon hike into the pot: the never-grows-mundane majesty of two rim-to-river trails, the South Kaibab and Tanner; the unique perspective of the Tonto Trail; side canyons that are vast and magnificent by themselves; the blessed relief of campsites by perennial creeks and to-die-for camps by the Colorado River; spicy route-finding and scrambling on the Escalante Route; and the surprising variety, beauty, and remoteness of the Beamer Trail. This year, we hiked a variation of this trip that runs in the opposite direction and utilizes the Grandview Trail instead of the South Kaibab; keep an eye out for an upcoming article from Nate about the trip.
If you’re thinking about taking any of these Grand Canyon backpacking trips this fall—an ideal time to visit—you should be looking into a backcountry permit right now for a trip anytime in October, because available permits for popular trails and campsites get claimed very quickly.
See “How to Get a Permit to Backpack in the Grand Canyon.”
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In the words of John Wesley Powell: “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.”
You may not have months free to toil through the Grand Canyon’s labyrinths, but a few days or a week can give you a pretty good sampler of the place.
My gallery of photos below includes images from all of the backpacking trips and long dayhikes (routes normally done as backpacking trips) that I’ve taken in the Grand Canyon. See links below the gallery to my stories about those trips at The Big Outside.
I’ve helped many people figure out the best Grand Canyon backpacking trip for them.
Click here to learn about my Custom Trip Planning.
See my story “10 Epic Grand Canyon Backpacking Trips You Must Do,” or scroll down to Grand Canyon on my All National Park Trips page for a menu of all stories about the Grand Canyon at The Big Outside.
Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned backpacker, you’ll learn new tricks for making all of your trips go better in my stories “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be,” “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” and “A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking.” With a paid subscription to The Big Outside, you can read all of those three stories for free; if you don’t have a subscription, you can download the e-book versions of “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” the lightweight and ultralight backpacking guide, and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.”
Inspiring shots of the Grand Canyon, Michael! I just returned 3 weeks ago from completing the Royal Arch Loop. The Arch and the pinnacle were overpowering and Elves Chasm was mesmerizing. RAC had significant pools scattered along the route that made navigating pretty challenging, but fun! Like you, I return to GC frequently – spring and fall – and each visit is as mind-blowing as the previous.
Thanks for sharing that, Terrie, and of all the backpacking trips I’ve taken in the canyon, the Royal Arch Loop and Escalante Route are probably the two I’m most eager to repeat.
Fabulous photos, thanks
Thanks, Thomas.
Breathtaking photos, Michael! Which camera(s) did you use?
Hi Susan, thanks for asking. As I explain in more detail about in this post (https://thebigoutside.com/ask-me-what-camera-equipment-do-you-carry-in-the-backcountry/), I shoot with a Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 18-140 and 10-24 zooms. I previously used a Nikon D90 and a Nikkor 18-200 zoom and a Sigma 10-20 zoom; many photos at The Big Outside were shot with that setup. The Grand Canyon photos at my blog were shot with one or the other, depending on how recent the trip was.