Skip to main content

Day 20 - Grand Canyon - South Rim

April is a great time to visit the Grand Canyon. I was originally going to come in Mid May but since my travels took me back to Las Vegas, I decided GC was worth the early trip. For my first full day at GC, I decided to arrive at daybreak to the park and walk the 12 mile flat south rim trail from the visitor center to Hermits rest, stopping by each viewpoint on my way. 

I arrived at the park at 630 with my down pants and coat and fleece neck and hat on. It was cold!  By about 8am I was shedding layers as the weather warmed and my body heated up. I was lucky in my timing. I saw a dozen people (mostly photograph buffs hunting the perfect sunrise pic) on the early walk near the visitor center. Once I got out five miles I had the park and the viewpoints to myself. I turned some Lord Huron (mom will remember them from a concert) as shaw had thankifully given me some extra tunes recommendations. Life seemed too good to be true. 

Not until I arrived to the last two miles, a paved bike road to hermits rest, did the crowds start appearing. I took in all the viewpoints on the west part of the park and believe Pima Point is the most beautiful. After arriving to Hermits rest, I rested, after my 12 mile hike from 630am to 12noon. Then I took the shuttle back to my car, had a quick pasta lunch and traveled by car to the east park of the park, stopping at all the vistas. I got to the very east end of the park, a beautiful 1930s era stone watchtower, as the sun was beginning to set. I drove back to my campground just outside of Grand Canyon park and collapsed in bed. 

Below are the best shots from the day!  Elk!





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day 51 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 3

A deep connection to the nature surrounding you comes from the solitude of solo travel, but sometimes it is nice to have a companion!  I ran into David, a retired telecom exec from Canada a few days ago on the Syncline Loop trail at Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Then I ran into him again halfway through my Chesler Park hike two days ago, then again later in the hike, finishing the last two miles together.  David hiked his favorite trail, the Peekaboo trail yesterday, and said I could join him, but my heart was set on confluence trail, so we hiked separately. We did share a campsite though and exchanged travel stories. David was 55 and had retired at 50 from a high-level international job with Nortel and was now traveling full-time. We instantly bonded over our solo travel style. He outclassed me by leagues. He had trekked one month in Nepal, then another month in India, then some months in Asia. He had hiked and skied and adventured all over the western U.S.  and Canada....

Day 40 Escalante Hole-in-the-Rock Road

I woke up late following a lovely slumber in a REAL bed-- such a luxury. I stayed in bed reading my maps and guidebooks, trying to put a plan together for the next months travels. I decided I would spend two more weeks in Utah and add on two weeks in western Colorado instead of spending all four weeks in Utah-- I was starting to tire of the desert and Colorado seemed like a good mix of backcountry beauty and civilization proper.  The last must do in Escalante was Coyote Gulch, so I read and reread the route description in my guidebook and went to the visitor center to get my permit. I was going to do a loop down Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and then up Crack-in-the-Wall overland back to my car. Permit in hand, I lingered by the Outfitters wifi emailing and blogging and then drove out Hole-in-the-rock road forty miles to my trailhead. The road was dirt but well graded in most parts. A high-clearance vehicle was recommended for the last five miles but my Dodg...

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet!  I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception.  I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton.  The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district.  Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...