Grand Canyon

South Kaibab Trail

The Grand Canyon is a unique and rewarding hiking destination. There are so many trails that offer different views and glimpses of the canyon many of which would make you question whether you were really in an arid, desert climate down inside the largest canyon in the world.
The second of my trips here to the Canyon came in early January. Brian and I made a rim to river and back trip the year before and we wanted to slow things down a bit this year.  Our plan was to hike all the way to the other side using the South Kaibab trail to north Bright Angel Trail and camp at Clear Creek. The way down is fast but hard on the knees. We made good time but then again we had to because we were going down in elevation close to a mile and coming back up almost another half mile, all over the distance of around 20 miles. Clouds hovered on the rim and made visibility limited. There was a couple of feet of snow on the rim which slowly became thinner the further into the canyon you made it. By the time we had reached Cedar Ridge we were below the clouds and the views were spectacular.

Taking a breather in the early going. It was extremely icy and slippery near the rim.

A clear view below the clouds of what lays ahead for us

On the north side looking back towards the South Kaibab Trail. This is the last stratum of rock before the river basin. The canyon floor is much warmer than the rim. You can barely see half way back up the canyon because of the cloud cover.

Brian pciking up from a pit stop along a little ledge on the trail. Everything feels ancient deep in the canyon.

A view back towards the south rim. The expanse of the canyon be comes even more evident when you start getting down into its deepest reaches.