The Grand Canyon is absolutely all that it is cracked up to be!!
Whenever, wherever you look it is breathtakingly beautiful. And it changes constantly as you walk and the sun sets or rises.
So let's talk about the hike I did and the one I didn't do. I anticipated and trained for Bright Angel Trail because it is the most famous trail probably in all of Arizona. In the end, feet on the ground and faced with reality, I did not do it because it appeared too difficult and dangerous.
And while I was a little disappointed and somewhat down on myself, I am basically satisfied with my Plan B effort.
Bright Angel Trail is the one I fixated on and trained for months. The morning I was set to go, I walked less that a tenth of a mile, hit a sharp, blind right turn with nothing but straight down canyon on my left. I was already a little head-achy from the altitude (7000+ feet). Slowly and carefully, I turned around, hiked back up to the rim and chose the Rim Trail instead.
The Rim Trail, true to it’s name, runs along the rim of the canyon. It was early morning and as I walked and the sun rose, the canyon changed each time I looked at it.
The Rim Trail has a variety of surfaces, starting with a nice blacktop rock lined path then becoming more rugged as it progress away from the Village. I hiked for 5 miles and was beginning to fatigue a little but worse was running out of water (although I packed 2-20 ounce bottles, the altitude and bright sun claimed them both quicker than I anticipated.) Fortunately, a well organized shuttle system operates on the canyon rim, so I caught one back to my hotel room. I had some lunch, rested and refilled water bottles then began walking the other way from my room on the Rim Trail. All together that day, I hiked 8 miles on the Rim Trail and saw many, many vistas of the Grand Canyon.
I would go again next month if it wasn’t so far!
