Looking for tips on the Grand Canyon

[mjelder]

So a few of my buddies and I are heading out to the grand canyon for spring break to do some backwoods hiking and camping. I've never been out that way and was wondering if you guys could throw me some tips on the best areas to hike in the month of March. Taking into account temperature for the most part. We are all seasoned campers and have a ridiculous amount of combined experience in survival, cold weather camping, roughing it, hiking, medical knowledge and on and on.

So, what would be a pleasant area to hike? South Rim, North Rim or the Inner Gorge. If you have some experience, please pass it on

 

[mjelder]

Doing some more research, Looking into a rim to rim hike if the North Rim is open. Anyone ever attempted or accomplished this? We also discussed the Rim to Rim and back again if we have to park our car. We have exactly 6.5 full days of hiking we can do. Is this possible to do in that amount of time?

 

[iChokePeople]

Yes, possible. If you're going rim, rim, rim, you're talking 50 miles-ish. There's a run there, and people do it in less than 10 hours... Can you?

I've spent most of my time on the north rim and prefer that to south. Have you considered Havasupai?

 

[AGarbers]

There are many books that cover this topic far better than this forum can. There are many trails to choose from and the books cover everything about it. I personally like the North Rim better but it is 1,000 feet higher and has snow longer. When I had thought about doing the rim to rim trail I planned on two days so if you have six days, you could really see different areas of the canyon. Just keep in mind that it takes twice as long going up as it does going down.

 

[ELMO]

They have a trail that goes to the bottom of the canyon on the south rim. I didn't do it, because I never got a real early start to attempt it. The trail zig zags down the face of the canyon. on this side of the canyon they have all the restaurants, motels, and shops to visit. Just looking across the canyon at sunrise is awesome....Everyone should see the Grand Canyon at least once in their lives...

 

[kludge]

IMO... do yourself a favor and talk to some of the many companies that do tours/guides/hikes/treks, or whatever fits your personality. I'm a tightwad's tightwad, and it's worth the money to work with the locals.

 

[mjelder]

Eh, guided tours and hikes aren't really my thing. I'm the kind of guy who wants to do the research, find out what is great then get out and do it myself.

 

[mrjarrell]

Well, I've been to both rims and prefer the North rim over the Southern. It's prettier and it seems cooler, too. It's a farther drive to get there but worth it IMO. The views better and there are fewer tourist types, more campers and the like over there.

 

[printcraft]

Looking for tips on the Grand Canyon

1. Watch that first step..... it's a Doozy!!







No really, if you can when you get back please give a report.....
I've never been and it's on my short list of places to visit in the future.

 

[SideArmed]

1. Watch that first step..... it's a Doozy!!

Dang, you beat me to it.

 

[MRP2003]

My wife and I did the hike down the south rim in our trip to the GC. We did not plan on doing the hike so it was spur of the moment. Physically it was easy but we decided to start the hike at approx 11 am on a hot & sunny August day and thought that with a few bottles of water and some trail mix put into a back pack that was all bought from the gift shop would be fine. We did get to the bottom and then back to the top but we were very close to heat exhaustion. We even have a picture taken at the end right near the top. We were both smiling on the outside but hurting on the inside. Lesson learned, take plenty of gatorade and maybe some oranges.

There were two Army Rangers hiking up the south rim whom came from the other rim. It seemed relatively easy for them as they were practically running up the trail past us.

I cannot speak of what it is like in March but the sights are truly magnificent.

I know that you can hike all the way down and out to the river. There is a camp style ranch that you can stay out. Not sure if it is closed during part of the year.

Take lots of pictures and post them. I am sure that you will see some really amazing things if you can take 4 or 5 days to hike through the canyon.

 

[Captain Bligh]

Read the book, "Death in Grand Canyon: Over the Edge" by Ghiglieri & Myers. It is a fascinating book looking at persons who have met their end in the canyon. A theme of the book is that many persons in the canyon come upon a moment of adversity in which they have a choice to make. The choice was critical. Unbeknownst to them, one choice would lead to escape, but they chose another which lead to their death.

The message is do your research, and above all else be prepared. It is an amazing place. Enjoy the journey.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I did rim to rim to rim last year and posted about it here.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/the_great_outdoors/115215-our_grand_canyon_trip.html