Grand Canyon: The parent’s view

 

Phantom Ranch deep in the valley with the trees.
View from Mather Point

Earlier in the year we had wanted to walk down to the bottom of Grand Canyon and camp at Phantom Ranch, however we didn’t have a tent or enough sleeping bags. The plan was to try and do it in November, and with the cold weather descending it was time to go before the north facing trails iced up. The thought of walking next to cliffs on ice with a backpack was not appealing. Many who walk to the bottom of GC get the required backcountry permit 4 months in advance and some will do some training. We decided to roll up to the Backcountry Office on a Monday morning and request a permit, there are always some held for walk-ins. $40 later the permit was in our hands for the next day.

Into the freezer, South Kaibab

That afternoon we did a 5 mile acclimatisation walk from the campground to Mather Point, onto Yavapai Point and back to base. The views were stunning on a clear and cold afternoon, but there was some focus on the bottom of the canyon 4500 ft down and how far away it looked. Back at base and training complete we stuffed our packs for a two night hike and tried to keep weight to a minimum.

Some of the step-downs that produced that calf pain.

Tuesday morning arrived with a clear sky, with light wind and cold. At the Backcountry Office is was goodbye to the RV and we jumped on the ‘hikers special’ bus to South Kaibab trailhead. With puffer jackets still on it was straight into the Chimney, a steep switch backed section of trail that doesn’t see the sun and really could be called the Freezer. We had done the 2000 ft descent to Skeleton Point before and made good time. It was surprising how quiet the trail was in comparison to when we did the walk in early March. We descended another 1400 ft to below the Tip Off for lunch and rested on a rock in the sun with a sweeping view of the Colorado River. We choose a good spot as shortly after a tour guide stopped for lunch with her group at the same spot. We contemplated our final destination, Phantom Ranch, just another 1300ft below. At this stage it was looking daunting, the South Kaibab Trail has steps on it and what was hurting the most was the calf muscles, specifically the soleus (if you are anatomically knowledgeable) as it decelerated our weight down the hill. Not that this was affecting Symi too much, after lunch she rocketed ahead, gliding down the hill with apparent ease. Fiona on the other had shaking legs and was not really able to stand still and keep her balance.

Finally some sun.

After lunch we descended towards the river moving out of the sedimentary layers of rock and into the Vishnu Schist, the 2.5 billion year old metamorphic rock that forms the base of GC. We were relieved to arrive at the Kaibab Suspension Bridge and enjoyed the close up view of the Colorado. It was then a short walk to the campground. We managed to set up camp and get to Phantom Ranch before 4pm, which is the cut off time to get a cold drink (read beer for the parents). At 4pm we attended a Ranger talk about the animals of GC, we were able to hold some animal skulls and furs which helped maintain some focus for our tired and attention wavering brains. There was a large group of tired looking people and we suspect more than one was thinking, “is 4:30pm too early for bed?”

View at lunch

 We headed back to our tent for dinner. To give you some idea of the cool temperatures, our zip lock bag of bolognaise sauce had not defrosted and had been out the freezer for at least 9 hours. After a quick dinner and a bit of chocolate we were all thinking about getting into our sleeping bags as we were cold and weary. There were a lot of people in the campground but it would be surprising if anyone was still up by 8pm.

Big Horned Monster

Next morning it was a little cloudy and calves were a little sore, especially Fiona’s. We had a pretty slow morning with Symi getting her Junior Ranger Patch for those who reach the bottom. They say 1% of Grand Canyon visitors get to the bottom. Of that 1% we suspect not many are 10 year olds carrying their own packs. After we set off we found out that it is possible to pay about $70 to have 15kgs brought down by mule. That explained all the people who were walking down with daypacks. You can join a tour (carrying your own pack) for $900 for three days or you can do a mule assisted tour for about $1100. To us the mule looked like you were swapping sore calves for a costly sore bottom!

The only way is up.

We were pretty happy with our $40 permit and about $30 of food. We considered buying dinner at Phantom Ranch – this would have cost about $150 for the three of us and you had to pre-order. When we were inquiring about this they said we could come back at 6:30am on the day of our hike and they would see if they had any meals. The weight of the bolognaise sauce was seeming less significant at this point.

Pancaked layers of Tapeats Sandstone below Indian Garden

We finally set off for Indian Garden about 10am. The first part was along the river and undulated, the ups were good but the downs were unpleasant to say the least. Fiona commented that the only reason she could continue walking was that we were going to be going uphill! A big call at the bottom of a 20km, 4200ft ascent with a pack on. Upwards we plodded. We were walking along the Columbine Spring which has its own microclimate and was spectacular. After some gradual ascending we came upon the Devils Corkscrew, a well named series of punishing switchbacks climbing up through the Vishnu Schist providing a contrast to the lush canyon below.

Watching Mule Deer as the afternoon sun lights up the canyon.

It was a relief to reach the top of this and rest while enjoying the view. There were a few people resting here and it was heartening to see that although we were finding the walking challenging we were certainly not working the hardest of those on the trail. After this the ascent was not so steep and we were back next to Bright Angel Creek with its vegetation.

Visitor in our camp.

We arrived at the Indian Garden campsite and had our pick of almost any site. We were interested in the one with the most sun. Rob and Symi found a good one which was not too far from the toilets. We put the tent up and sat in the sun. The sun did not last that long and it was only then that Fiona began to realise the less appealing aspect of the site. The toilets near us were closed for the season. To get to the only other ones required walking down from our campsite and then up a small hill for about 100m. Uphill walking = good, downhill walking = near impossible with calves screaming. This situation provided endless amusement for Rob and Symi. This would continue for days as unfortunately for Fiona the muscle soreness had not yet peaked.

We sat drinking cups of soup, amusing ourselves reading the camp books about the Grand Canyon. After a dinner of mac & cheese and tuna followed by chocolate we were once again in bed very early. There were a few nerves as we had only done 1200 feet of the 4200ft climb – only 3000ft to go.

Getting there!

We set off early the next morning with Fiona praying it was all uphill – a very strange thing! After about 30 minutes it became apparent that Symi was flying up the hill. Rob and Fiona were plodding far behind thinking maybe she needed a bigger share of the weight. This was confirmed when a couple walking down said to us “she needs more weight!” We called for her to stop and Rob gave her about a kg from his pack – he had already taken what he could from Fiona. Symi did not even seem to notice this. She did comment a couple of times that her legs were sore but as soon afterwards she would break into a run or do a small dance on the trail we did not feel this was a big issue.

Looking down at Indian Garden from near the top.

We made great time on the steep climb covering the 8km or so in 3 hours. We were very pleased with ourselves when we reached the top and celebrated with a photo. We caught the shuttle bus back to the RV and ate a large packet of chips for lunch. We felt this was necessary as we kept meeting people who said you had to each chips to keep up your salt levels!

Ugg boots, what else would be as good when walking down
into Grand Canyon?