I was looking for a hiker related web site to post this trip report to and found nothing quite as good as here on 14ers and by golly it has just the best people. While not a 14er, the altitude change is challenging and the experience to report I think fits the spirit of this web site. I hope some find it useful.

After years of activities in scouting, my friend Nick suggested we do a parents trek to Philmont. I thought why limit ourselves to Philmont with so many other options. So I did some searching, narrowed things down, and suggested doing a rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon over a four day period. The window to do such a trip is late May and late September to avoid oppressive heat at the bottom of the canyon. There is a high demand for limited designated campsites along the route at this time. Five months out on new years day, I faxed in my application for camping permits along the main rim to rim corridor for three days in May. Yes I said fax. About two weeks later I got confirmation of my requested dates for corridor camping permits. I contacted Nick to tell him the news and he suggested why not take our sons. They would be finishing their first year of college. Why not. We had not heard from other parents so the trip was on. It would be myself and three Eagle Scouts, Nick, his son Tommy, and my son Dan hence the report title.

I began planning right away. I had hoped to stay in the rim lodges when not camping but learned those rooms fill up fast. Tusayan hotel rooms just outside the park were rather pricey during this time and the north rim lodges were also full so we opted to camp on the rims prior to the hike. Heck, these are scouts so why not camp. I booked the rim campsites in early February without difficulty. I tried to book dinner at Phantom Ranch to save a bit of weight but dinner spots were all filled up already. In March we booked our flights on Southwest from Chicago to Phoenix, rented a car, and reserved a spot on the shuttle bus to the north rim. About one week before leaving I discovered that Southwest Airline policy is to not allow liquid fueled camping stoves like my MSR Whisper Lite in baggage even when empty of fuel. So Nick got a Primus propane stove for $20.00 at Wal Mart which is allowed in baggage and worked great.

The trip went down like this.
We arrived in Phoenix early on Saturday afternoon, got our rental car and headed for the canyon. We stopped in Flagstaff to get food supplies. If I had to do it over again I would have gotten food back home and taken a larger suitcase. We opted not to get food at home to save space and we were getting just too busy with work before we left. In Flagstaff we tried Wal Mart, Wal Mart Super Center, Sprouts, and Safeway. We got most of what we needed at Wal Mart Super Center and Safeway but it took us over two hours of driving around. I'd recommend Safeway as the one stop shop. We got to the park after dark later than we had planned but easily found our camp site. I wanted to camp in the tent only section of the camp ground but those sites were full when I made our reservations. There were a number of RVs at nearby sites and everyone was pretty quiet. After we set up camp we drove over to Maswik Lodge and ate at the pizza pub where they told us they'd have the Blackhawks game on for us if we came back Sunday afternoon.
Sunday morning I went over to the Yavapai cafeteria for coffee but got there just after a bus load of tourists showed up. 50 people in line and they had just one register open. I went back about an hour later with our group and had breakfast. There are numerous reviews on travel sites about the food at Grand Canyon Lodges. I found it to be ok. Not fine dining but filling. Sure it's a bit more expensive than what you might find at home but I paid more for a hotel breakfast later in Flagstaff than I did here. We caught the blue shuttle bus and headed over to Mather point.

That was our first view of the canyon. None of us had been there before. The sight is magnificent. We saw a pair of California Condors circling. After some time at Mather Point we caught the bus over to the Bright Angel lodge area. We met a group of guys about our age that had just come up the Bright Angel Trail from Indian Garden. They left at 5 AM and got to the rim at 11 AM. We figured we could do that pace too. We got the bus back to the campground and packed up leaving at 11:30 just as a ranger was checking on why we weren't out by 11 AM. When traveling along the main parts of the south rim, the shuttle busses are the way to go. We stopped at the South Rim Village general store. The store has a very wide variety of things as well as a nice deli. We asked the boys to figure out what to do for dinner Sunday night suggesting foil pack dinners with a camp fire but they opted to take our chances on what we could grab at the north rim store or lodge. So into the unknown we went leaving the store without making a purchase but it was a very nice store. We drove back to Maswik Lodge and went to the pizza pub again and caught the first period of the Hawks game. They looked strong against LA. Nick and I had beverages that you can't consume when on scout trips. We dropped our gear off at Bright Angel Lodge and at 1:30 PM we caught the trans-canyon shuttle for the 4 ½ hour trip to the north rim. The shuttle stops twice on the way. At the Navajo Bridge stop, we felt the heat we'd feel again later at the bottom of the canyon. The trip provided great views of Vermillion Cliffs. The north rim was more alpine than the south rim. There were numerous alpine meadows along the road into the park with deer grazing. Pockets of snow could still be seen on the north side of tree rows. The north rim had a quieter laid back atmosphere than the busy south rim. It reminded me of quiet campgrounds in northern Wisconsin or upper Michigan.

We checked in at the campground office right at 6 PM and set up camp on tent pads with thick sand bases. At the time we thought the sand pads were great. As the evening went on the winds picked up gusting to over 30 mph. This blew a lot of sand into our tents. We bought some firewood at the camp ground store for later. The store has the type of supplies you might find at a gas station but nothing to make a camp fire meal of. We made the mile walk to the north rim lodge and got there just in time for sunset. We grabbed pizza (again) in the Rough Rider Saloon and again had beverages that you can't have on a scout trip. We walked back to camp and had a camp fire and turned in by 9 PM to sleep in our sand filled tents. Temperature was cooler at the north rim being higher in elevation so we had warmer clothes with us for that. I used a 30 degree bag and wore thermal underwear. I was comfortable. The rest of the hike temperatures were warmer and the cold weather clothes were not needed but we had the weight to carry.

Monday I got up at about 6 AM and several groups had already packed up and were heading out. While the temperature had dropped to about 35, I still wondered if we had made an error in our departure time with all the cautions you read about leaving early to beat the heat. We got to the trail head at 7:45 and began the drop into the canyon. The north Kaibab Trail is lightly traveled but we met a good number of people on the way traveling in both directions. The route down is rougher on your feet and legs as it was difficult to train some of those muscles ahead of time. Nick had problems with his boots jamming into his toes.

The boys were pushing ahead of us most of the time. We thought we were about a mile and a half further along than we were. I was using a National Geographic map of the whole canyon (#207) which had less detail than other maps. A corridor trail map would have been better with more detail. Things got warmer as we got lower. We got to Cottonwood camp ground by 1 PM with a temperature of 90 degrees. The creek running through the Cottonwood site pooled up just after the ranger house. Soaking in the creek really cooled us off. We cooked up dinner early. Nick and I went down to the creek and Nick pulled out two beer bottles which we cooled off in the creek before drinking. Quite refreshing even knowing we would pack out the empty bottles, yes Nick brought bottles. We turned in realizing that Tuesday would be warmer heading further down the canyon. We had a good breeze most of the night but with hard surface camp sites we did not have the sand problems of the night before.
Tuesday we left camp at about 5:40 and made a stop to hike up to Ribbon Falls.

Dan and Tommy made the climb up to the falls. We also looked for the route to the upper falls but could not find it. We returned to the trail and made better time than the day before. The terrain is more level and open and transitioned into a narrow canyon ending in the infamous box. The trail was shaded most of the time when we were in the narrow part of the canyon. We got to the box at 10 AM so things had not gotten too hot. So about 10:30 we were setting up camp at Bright Angel campground. The pads had sand fill and the wind gusted to over 40 mph this day filling our tents with more sand than Sunday night. Rangers told us that spring time typically has high winds. By this time we had transitioned into a typical daily canyon routine. Get up early to beat the heat. Snack for breakfast on the trail. Get to your next site before noon. Have lunch then nap or hang out until dinner. Go to bed early to do it again the next day. We grabbed some drinks at Phantom Ranch and mailed some post cards to be delivered out of canyon by mule. The NPS tells you to store your food in camp site amo boxes and hang your packs on the steel poles provided at each camp site as soon as you get to camp. We did not heed this caution and found that a squirrel had gotten into Dan's pack, taken a granola bar pack, and chewed his pack pulling out the top draw string. We followed NPS instructions after that. We spent most of the 95 degree afternoon cooling off in the creek that runs past the camp sites. Dan and I caught a great ranger talk on condors at 4 PM. We noted there are three general groups in the canyon; trail hikers, trail runners, mule riders. We met a family of four from Long Island NY, dad, mom, and two daughters that had made several treks through the canyon. They were on the same route we were and gave us some great advice for the remaining portions of the trip. We could have gotten a last minute dinner reservation at Phantom Ranch but the boys were up for cooking what we had brought. We battled the high winds and blowing sand all afternoon and evening. After dinner Dan, Tommy, and I walked down to the river and checked out the ruins on the trail to the black bridge. That is one scary river. Very cold, very fast.

Wednesday we left camp at about 5:30 and began our climb up. We crossed the silver bridge and got to the first rest station for a breakfast break at about 6:30. We hiked on passed by a mule train carrying packs heading up. The mules started well after us but easily passed us. They only look slow but are speed demons in reality. We got to Indian Garden at 10:30. Indian Garden was a gorgeous camp site, nearly all sites were shaded each with a shelter. We rested in the cool breeze with the temperature topping out at a comfortable 80 degrees. Several campers and the boys found a Grand Canyon rattle snake that had just eaten something. We hoped it was a squirrel. The site has a small book collection for use by campers located in the ranger building. Dan found Death in Grand Canyon to be very interesting.
After dinner we made the 1.5 mile hike out to Plateau Point for sunset spotting another condor on the way. Words fail me in describing this site. From this spot you can see the breadth and depth of the canyon. If you are at Indian Gardens this is a must do. Spotty cell service here enabled us to get the score of the Blackhawks-Kings game. We passed on the 2-0 score in the Hawks favor to one of the girls from Long Island who happened to be a Kings fan likely due to the sad state of the Islanders. When we got back to camp the girl made a point to find us noting the final 6-2 score in favor of the Kings. We humored her as you need some vicarious victories if you live near the Islanders, little did we know it was shades of things to come for the Hawks.
We turned in extra early wanting to start by 5 AM. The stars this night were a bright as car lights. Indian Garden also has the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a state of the art outdoor composting toilet system. With solar powered fans that operate almost continuously, the Phoenix rises to a level never before experienced in the back country. Clean and odor free even my wife would like it. A three holer served our needs quite well. The Phoenix units along the trail help keep the trail clean as people are much more apt to use the facilities. Also note that when you use the Indian Garden camp facilities at night, you can see lights from the south and north rim lodges when you stand on the platform.

Thursday we hit the trail at 5 AM anticipating six hours to the top and some sun. The boys quickly got ahead of us and wanted to see how quickly they could get to the rim. They lobbied heavily to move ahead. Just stay together I told them. I know they're older now but I'm still a dad and this is the Grand Canyon. People die here. We sent them on and Nick and I went at our own pace. We were in shade most of the time. I expected the distance between switchbacks to be shorter but they were typically a few hundred feet which made the route a mental challenge as well as a physical one. Then at about 2 miles from the trail head it happened. As a mule train of tourists past us, the young lady leader riding at the end says to me , "did you know that your socks don't match"?. There I was, on the South Bright Angel Trail busted by the fashion police. Nick and I had lost sight of the boys some time ago and pressed on averaging about 1 mph including breaks. We noted that many of the day hikers we encountered along the south rim trail don't observe general hiking etiquette by stepping aside for the hikers going uphill. Many of them were wearing sandals and had maybe ½ liter of water with them. We tried to focus on being in the canyon using each rest to take in the changing views along the route and chat with the day hikers. When we asked them where they were heading, most replied "we don't know". I hope things worked out for them. Nick and I reach the trail head at 9 while the boys got there at 7:45. We headed to Bright Angel Restaurant for breakfast which was awesome. We must not have stunk too badly because we were seated near other people. I stopped by a gift shop to grab a rim to rim t-shirt but they only had size XXXL! I find it hard to imagine someone that fits into a size XXXL shirt making that hike. If they could do it they likely play for the NFL. We loaded up our gear and Dan's pack must have weighed 70 pounds! With that he still moved briskly ahead of Nick and me. The benefits of youth. We drove to Flagstaff through the plume of the major fire at Slide Rock. We rested and cleaned up after checking into the hotel. We went to Peace Surplus Sporting Goods to donate our partial full propane canisters as they cannot make the flight home. There we got our rim to rim shirts. Not the same design as at the canyon shop but just as nice and in our sizes. Great people there too, I recommend them for supplies if you are in the area. We would have gone to Lowell Observatory that night but the fire made observation impossible. Friday we visited Walnut Canyon then drove to Phoenix for a safe flight home.
I'd like to return to the canyon but I'd do something different than rim to rim that has fewer people. The main rim to rim corridor has a large number of hikers but even at the south rim end there are fewer people than I met on a Saturday last June of Torrey and Grays. Maybe go from Hermits rest down to the Tonto Trail then back up at Indian Garden. I met one person who was doing this and he said he met one other group along a five day trek. I might even convince my wife to go to Indian Garden if I carry all the gear.