March 31, 2022 was the start date. Yes there was snow near the rim. My hike should have begun 2 days earlier but a snowstorm arrived and I decided to wait out the snow and I am glad I did. You can clearly see the leftover snow from the storm. My original plan had me going down the Beamer Trail to the Confluence so I "dropped" those two days of the original planned hike to avoid hiking through a snowstorm my first day. Every year the river temps in Spring are slightly different. Sometimes it's pleasant in early March. Try to be flexible with your plans if you wish to avoid bad weather but you run the risk of not getting your original itinerary. When I was at the GCNP in 2019 there was snow until the first week of June and it was very cold the last 3 weeks of May. March and April are good bets for mid-day river temps in the 80's and rim temps 25-55...maybe even 65 degrees. Then there is Autumn. It gets cold after Halloween.

Thank you very much! A car accident two weeks after this 2022 trip has delayed any new content. Then leap year February 29, 2024 (my birthday) I headed back for more and did the Salt Trail down to the Little Colorado River. Winds were 40+mph then it rained creating slippery conditions. I fell numerous times, I had another brand new Sawyer water filter fail (3rd in a row now) and I called for a helicopter rescue. Video coming soon.

Thank you! The Grayl filter is very nice. My only concern is the 20+ ounces and $220 for the device.....ouch & ouch! Last month I had another BRAND NEW SAWYER WATER FILTER FAILURE while hiking the Little Colorado River that ended with a helicopter rescue because the water filter failed. I was injured, but I could have waited a few days for my injuries to subside and then hiked out, but when the brand new Sawyer water filter did not work I had no way to filter water for those few days and I called for help. In January 2022 I purchased 3 Sawyer water filters and so far ALL of them have failed in some way. Little Colorado hike that ended with a helicopter rescue; video coming soon. Thanks again!

Thank you!! Disinfect your backcountry water while at the Grand Canyon and maintain save hygiene throughout the park. If you are anywhere public (buses, grocery store, railings, etc.) disinfect your hands. Norovirus transmits easily (air, water, surfaces) and can linger for 12-24 up to 48 hours.

Thank you very much! It is a very beautiful location to connect with whomever was here before us.

Thank you! Excuse my delayed response, I was at the Grand Canyon. My pack is an Arcteryx Alta 75L from 2009. The solar panel is called a LightSaver Max from powerfilmsolar.com. I purchased late 2021 for $399 and today they cost $669. I rigged up some 1/8" bungee cord to attach the LightSaver Max to the pack. The LightSaver Max has an 18,000mAh internal battery. I would drain the internal battery the first night recharging my gear and then day 2-3-4 of the hike, the sun would charge the internal battery enough (20-30-40%) to only charge my phone and Garmin inreach and then "maybe" 1 or 2 camera batteries; but mostly the LightSaver Max would only capture enough energy to charge my phone and Garmin. While using the LightSaver Max from November through May, it would take 1.5 to 2 days to recharge to 100% IF IT NEVER MOVED, so hiking it would take longer to charge. I also carry 2 (sometimes 3) Anker 325 Power Bank batteries with 20,000mAh.

Exactly!!! Thank you!!! I try to capture the environment as-is and put the viewer on the trail along with providing whatever intel for your future hike/trip. I'm headed back this year to create more videos. Thanks again! "criminally underrated" hahaha!! Sofa-king-awesome!

Yes, I discovered the foot issue was from a 2020 car accident injury. @26:00 - Adobe Premiere. 2 shots: first is video with bats flying around and text describing the environment then it fades (basic fade transition in Adobe Premiere) into a time lapse with the moon shadow crossing the canyon followed by the rising Milky Way. The time lapse is created with LRTimelapse / Adobe Lightroom / Adobe After Effects. I leave the camera as is, stop the video, set up a time lapse and then I fade the two shots together in post production. I create this type of transition in most of my videos. I am glad you enjoyed the video!! Thank you!

Thank you! "Putting the viewer on the trail" was one of my creative goals for these videos. The wide angle lens and full frame camera are required to achieve that perspective. More videos/hikes happening this year-2024.

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Diabetes only has a negative effect on my physical activities when my diabetes is out of control. I do everything I can to maintain a consistent blood sugar level and as long as I am physically fit to complete a hike and my blood sugar is under control, there are no issues with diabetes. I can control my diabetes in any environment and I know exactly how to recover quickly from an unexpected low blood sugar event. The "more difficult" part is the extra weight in my backpack to maintain my diabetes. I carry extra water close to my insulin to keep the insulin cool and then some extra sugary snacks to avoid a low blood sugar emergency. That weight adds up and is a PIA. I hope you enjoy the other videos from 2022 and I have more to come soon.

Thank you! I am glad the video was useful! More hikes/videos to come. GCNP now warns that all backcountry water must be disinfected. I will provide a link: www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/safe-water.htm#:~:text=Filtration%20alone%20is%20not%20sufficient,time%20to%20kill%20any%20organisms And NO I did not determine the cause of the issue. I purchased a new Sawyer filter, tested 2 days before my next hike and I also purchased the Katadyn BeFree and I carried both for the other 2022 hikes/videos. The BeFree failed on my Grandview to Bright Angel hike. Link: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pbFnd7Bm0NjDiqM.html For my next hikes I plan to treat the water with a Steri Pen and/or Aquatabs. We will soon see how that goes. Thanks again and have a great trip!

Thank you and I am glad you enjoyed the video! Shuttle? Private shuttle/taxi service is illegal within the park. The park rangers at the Backcountry Office told me to "make friends" and also hitchhiking is illegal yet it was repeatedly recommended. I tried everything for several weeks; asking the staff at all the hotels and restaurants and the taxi service at BA Lodge and literally walked around asking anyone and everyone offering $100 for the ride. I was stood up three times, numerous "yes I will" then no call backs and I had to reschedule 4 hikes due to this issue holding up my itinerary for 5 weeks. I arrived at GCNP Feb 15th and my first hike wasn't until March 21st! Extremely frustrating and absolutely derailing my plans. I wish I had a better answer other than my ridiculous experience and finally getting lucky. Try Facebook group "Grand Canyon Hikers and Backpackers" and best of luck! If you find something miraculously changed, PLEASE reply back or contact me. Thanks again!

@@smoothatlas thanks for letting me know all this. I live in eastern Canada so it’s difficult to plan something like this. How frustrating this must have been for you and thanks for the tip on the facebook group.

Thank You! I considered a "Type 1 Diabetes While Hiking" video but I chickened out, unsure of what I wanted to contribute to KZfaq. My next hikes, coming in 2024, I will put something together and explain my diabetic process for the duration of the hike. Thanks again!

Thank you! Your comments are inspiring!

Thank you! More adventures to come! Yes I agree and exactly why I wanted to capture that section on video for others to know. That short narrow section just felt wrong. Dust, sand and and pebbles are on every surface with NO good hand holds and the drop is deadly. Now that I am aware, next time I will remove the water bottles from the side pouches of my backpack and slim down my waistline a bit more to squeeze through.

Thank you and thanks for watching! Not an easy place to be sick and very frustrating to have these experiences/hikes/videos to start my youtube channel. There were no water issues on the North Rim. UV filter added for all future hikes!

Thank you! Check out my other videos. This first hike/video was a disaster. Thanks again for watching!!

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed. More on the way.

Yes! Thanks for watching! I'll be heading back soon. More content coming ASAP.

Thank You! I am glad you enjoyed! More content coming ASAP.

Thank you very much! I tried to achieve that type of perspective with the wide angle lens so thanks for noticing one of my creative goals.

The footage was beautiful! I'm impressed you kept filming!

Thank you! I felt guilty for getting sick and obligated to keep recording. My first video was a disaster!

Thank you! I have heard "machine" for many years regarding drumming so it is nice to hear again regarding hiking! All GCNP water treatment requires disinfection. You need a filter that will kill viruses or a UV light or chemical treatment. The Sawyer or Katadyn squeeze filters will not filter viruses. This link is from the GCNP website: www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/safe-water.htm

Most excellent to hear! Thank you! My goals are to document the trail and provide an immersive visual description so that others can better evaluate their circumstances before taking on these challenges.

​@@smoothatlasExcellent detailed aid for me as I am doing this trip 3/24...

Thank you! Future videos/hikes are in the works.

By the way, your van is super kool!

June 9, 2022. Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed!!!

I wish I spoke Raven. The Ravens are very smart and the park rangers warn that Ravens know how to unzip or unbuckle backpacks and it is easier for them to poke holes in the dyneema backpacks.

Not really and I live in Texas. I do not go to a gym and I try to work outside often. When I drive I do not use the AC. I did play drums for 35+ years so that probably helped. I recommend walking with a 20+ pound backpack 3 miles, 3x per week at a pace of 3 MPH for at least 3 months. The more hills/stairs the better. Tall parking garages are helpful.

Thank you!

Thank you for watching and it is good to hear the video helped because that was one of my goals, to help better understand the Grand Canyon. All of the time-lapses are captured RAW with a Canon 5DIV and a 16-35mm f2.8 lens then developed and edited using LRTimelapse, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. For my camera lens combination: f2.8, 25 second exposure, iso 3200-3600 and the intervalometer captures an image every 30 seconds. I change the battery every 2.5 hours and it takes 3-4 batteries to capture the night sky from 10pm to 4am. Night time camera settings can vary with full moon versus new moon and this is were practice and educated, improvisational guess work come into play. It also helps to know the sky and where the Milky Way and Moon will be located for the predicted capture dates so you know what direction to point the camera and how to set your composition. I use www.timeanddate.com/ to predict what the sky "may" look like. Best of luck on your Thunder River Deer Creek hike!

Thanks a lot for the tips. That sounds like a lot of work in the post-processing of the material. But it was definitely worth it, because the end result is awesome.

May 21, 2022 - information is in the description. Thanks for watching! I'm curious why you ask?

Thank you and thanks for watching!

Thank you very much! "Pure perfection"...wow!...morale boost!

Thanks for watching. Compared to the Escalante route, this loop is about the same difficulty and maybe a bit easier.

Thank you! I can barely imagine doing this in 1967 or 1867 or 10,000 years ago.