Hiking the Grand Canyon – Rim to Rim

The Grand Canyon, as far as I am concerned, is the most awe inspiring place on earth. A short walk along the rim and or a few minutes spent gazing into the canyon will take your breath away. The Grand Canyon is wonderful for just a look, an extended stay, or if you have the time, a hike.

I have hiked in the canyon many times and have been down to the Colorado River more than once and have even spent a night at the world famous Phantom Ranch. But I had never hiked the canyon rim to rim. Earlier this year I made a COVID-vaccination resolution to do it and this month (November 2021) I finally made the 24-mile trek from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The 24-mile distance isn’t that big of deal. But if you’re going north to south, it’s the drop of 6000 feet or so to the Colorado River and then a climb of well over 4000 feet to get out on the other side that makes the Grand Canyon a serious endeavor. But the big bonus, and it’s huge, is that you get spend your time inside the canyon breathing in its wonderful scenery!

For me, I carried a backpack and camped out two nights. But I was surprised at the number of people who skipped the backpack and did the hike in one day. I even saw several people running the entire distance. Some of the runners planned to go from rim to rim and then back to their starting rim for a 48-mile run. I even met a young and very fit woman who was running back to the North Rim to pick up her car. She had run from the North Rim the day before and was now running back after spending the night at Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim. Can you imagine running a marathon two days in row!

Just as I was starting my hike going down from the North Rim, a young man was carrying his bicycle out of the Grand Canyon. There is no place inside the Grand Canyon where you can ride a bicycle and there was no place where I saw tire tracks on the trail. He carried his bike from the South Rim to the North Rim so he could ride it back to the South Rim. It’s a very circuitous 200-mile plus route to get back to the South Rim from the North Rim! It’s a four hour drive by car. I have no idea how long it was going take him to ride his bike back to the South Rim.

If you’re considering a cross-canyon adventure, late October or the first half of November is the best time to go. The temperature at the bottom of the Canyon at that time will be in the mid-70s or low-80s. If you go any earlier, you’ll be facing Phoenix-like temperatures of over 100 degrees at the bottom and putting your life at risk if you attempt to hike or run in it.

Although the North Rim Lodge and visitor facilities close for the winter on October 15, the North Rim gate and access to the North Rim trailhead remains open until around December 1. (The gate can be shut earlier if there is a heavy snowfall.) Once the gate is closed, it won’t be open again until May 15.

If you do plan to backpack and camp in the canyon, you’ll need a Backcountry Permit. Because permits are limited, you’ll want to apply for a permit as soon as they are available – four months ahead of time. If you want a permit for November, you need to make sure your application arrives before July 1. If you don’t get a permit, you can always show up at the canyon and hope that there has been a cancellation.

If you have the fitness and stamina to cross the canyon in one day, you won’t need a permit. But before entertaining something like that, make sure you can do it! Hiking or running across the Grand Canyon is not a casual stroll. Another thing to consider is that you’ll only have 11 hours or less of daylight, so you’ll be spending some time in the dark if you cross the canyon in one helping.

Once you get a permit your next step is to  figure out how to get to the other side of the canyon (if you’re doing a cross-canyon adventure). I paid $90 to take a Trans-Canyon Shuttle from Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim to the North Rim trailhead. The Shuttle van left Bright Angel promptly at 8:00am and reached the North Rim trailhead at around noon. The four-hour drive through the Navajo Nation was absolutely stunning! The same van that I rode in would be leaving the North Rim at 2:00pm to take hikers finishing up at the North Rim back to the South Rim. So you do have options on laying out your adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a 7 ½-mile hike ahead of me to reach Cottonwood Campground, I took off immediately from the van to start hiking down the North Kaibab trail. Surprisingly, it wasn’t until after I started down the trail that I actually saw the north rim of the canyon. Needless to say the scenery was spectacular. By the time I reached the campground sometime after 4:00pm, my legs were very tired, and I was happy to set up my tent, make some dinner, and let my legs enjoy the 13-plus hours of darkness just to lay tucked inside my sleeping bag.

The next day was six miles going downhill on the North Kaibab trail to the Colorado River and then climbing six more miles on the Bright Angel trail up to the Indian Garden Campground. Again the scenery was spectacular and the ice-cold lemonade at Phantom Ranch hit the spot perfectly. And again, my legs enjoyed the 13-plus hours of darkness to rest up for the final climb out of the canyon.

The final day was 4 ½ miles up Bright Angel Trail to climb out of the canyon. There were plenty of people hiking down Bright Angel for a day hike, But at no point did I feel overwhelmed by a crowded trail. Yes, you do meet a lot of people in the Grand Canyon, but a 24-mile long trail can comfortably absorb a huge number of hikers, runners, and mule riders. There is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the Grand Canyon! And I would guess that I spent close to 90-percent of my hiking time by myself.

For me, hiking across the canyon was a very wonderful and also very tiring adventure. But now I can add hiking across the Grand Canyon to the hundreds, if not thousands, of great hikes I have taken. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, I cannot encourage you strong enough to make plans to visit it. You don’t even have to hike it to enjoy it. Just getting a glance of the canyon will stay with you for the rest of your life!