Reply #26: Me and my GF are going in a few weeks. [View All]

We are starting on the north rim, camping and what not for a week, then we will hike down to Phantom Ranch to spend the last night together and I will make the relatively easy hike up the Bright Angel trail to the south rim the next day to end my vacation. She will spend another night at the hotel (Phantom Ranch) then hike back up to the north rim and stay another week.

When I turned 18 I got a job on the south rim for the summer of '76 (Yes P-B is OLD) and hiked a lot of the southern side of the canyon. My favorite was the Hermits Rest trail on the west end of the south rim park, steep but rewarding. South Kiabab was beautiful but brutal. On that trail you will be exposed to the sun the whole trip with no sources of water that I know of. On my Kiabab hike I did not plan well and ran out of water quickly, and was very dehydrated in a matter of hours. Be very conscious of your water in the canyon, and plan for exposure to the sun under desert conditions. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but never forget it is most of all a desert wilderness once you descend from either rim.

Sorry if I make it sound scary, just plan for sun.

P-B