3 Days Backpacking in the Grand Canyon - Hermit Trail, Granite Rapids, Tonto Trail & Bright Angel
Check out Clint's channel here: / thenotlostnomad
A bit of history here. I love hiking. I love backpacking. I live in Arizona. My KZfaq channel is Jerry Arizona....And I've never hiked the Grand Canyon before. Sure, I technically hiked in from Cathedral Wash and the Havasu Confluence, but never the 'proper' Grand Canyon.
I find this sligthly crazy, but there is a reason. The Grand Canyon intimidates me. I've been to the north and south rims and looking down into it....It seems impossible to hike into, let alone out of. So I've procrastinated.
But that wouldn't stop me. I got a cabin at Phantom Ranch. I figured it would help if I didn't have to carry a heavy pack with me; we'd stay at the ranch. I trained. I was as ready as I could get. Then this whole pandemic thing happened and Phantom Ranch was closed. I lost my reservation.
A year passed. I couldn't get new reservations. But I was pushing myself and training harder than I ever had before. And out of the blue, a buddy of mine (Clint) invited me along on his trip. It was finally going to happen.
Then I got COVID. Recovery was much slower than I expected and I was weak. All my progress was lost. I did a practice run about 2 weeks before the date of the trip and....things didn't go very well. (You can watch that trip here: • I created the most ico... )
So I basically just....stopped hiking. I figured by some miracle, maybe I'd rest to get my strength back up and make this Grand Canyon hike finally happen.
Despite being the worst idea ever, it worked. I felt great on this trip.
We went in at Hermit's Rest, taking the Hermit Trail to Monument Creek, then camping at Granite Rapids. The hike in was incredible. Granite Rapids and the Colorado River were incredible. We went from freezing temperatures at the rim to me walking around barefoot on the beach at the Colorado River.
Day 2, we went back up to the Monument Creek campsite and took the Tonto Trail to Indian Gardens. We passed Cedar Spings, Salt Creek and Horn Creek campgrounds, making it to Indian Garden Campground just as a storm was rolling in. Clint really wanted to see Plateau Point, so after setting up camp, we headed down there. Plateau Point was worth every extra step. The views were mind blowing. Then it was back to Indian Garden Campground to wonder what the weather had in store for us that night and the next day.
Day 3 we were up early, heading up Bright Angel Trail. I've heard a lot of things about Bright Angel Trail. Mainly that it's steep and hard on the knees. Both of those things were true. But Bright Angel Trail was also beautiful and honestly not as tough as I thought it would be. We finally made it up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at the top of Bright Angel Trail in the midst of a snow storm.
Overall, the trip was about 28 miles with around 5,400 ft of elevation loss and gain....and it was amazing.
Am I still intimidated? Yes. But I'm also hooked. I will be back many, many times.
Music by Epidemic Sound:
We are Giants - Silver Maple
The Farmhouse - Silver Maple
But I Flow - Sayuri Hayashi Egnell
From 59 to 109 - Nickolas Jones
The Fig Tree - Jakob Ahlbom
Bonnie & Clyde - Roy Williams
A Wanderer - Peter Crosby
If you click on the links below - and especially if you buy from these links - I'll get compensation. So that would be cool. No, I'm not sponsored by them, but I love the products.
Filmed on:
GoPro Hero 9 Black:
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Canon EOS R:
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Canon 35 mm f1.8 lens
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Weebil S gimbal for your DSLR:
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