Grand Canyon and Sedona Arizona

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is the ‘quiet’ side that ‘nobody’ visits – but the campground was booked out! So we camped just outside the park boundaries and commuted in to do a few short walks along the rim. All very pleasant, with lovely cool weather, but a few fires and the everyday-USA pollution had made it quite hazy.

So it was off to the more touristy southside – 16 km in a straight line – but a 500 km road trip(!) as the road goes way upstream until the canyon is sufficiently narrow to stick a bridge across, then way downstream. Once again, huge crowds everywhere with free shuttle buses the only way to get to most places. Good thing it is now the quiet season!!

We filled in the next day with a few short rim walks and organized a tent spot for the next night at the bottom of the canyon. We left the South Kaibab trailhead at 8.45 and got to the bottom at 12.30. Although only a short walk - 13 km down hill all the way - it was 41C with bright sunshine reflecting off the walls of the canyon. Despite drinking a lot, we were a bit hot and dry when we got to the bottom. A lovely, clean spring-fed creek runs through the campground so we spent the next 30 minutes sitting in it cooling down while each drinking more than 2 L of water. There are two steel bridges crossing the Colorado, both suspension type and both were carried down by men in the early 1930’s. To carry the 100 m plus, 25 mm diameter suspension cables, they lined men up 1 m apart, stuck it on one shoulder and off they went in a big conga line.

In great North American tradition, we saw lots of people drinking very little and a lady from the campsite next to us was helicoptered out at 6.00 pm suffering from heatstroke/dehydration/stupidity. After later talking to a Ranger we discovered that, in summer at least, this is just about regular enough to be called the 6.00 PM shuttle.

Considering the heat and having to go UP the slightly longer Bright Angel trail the next day, we opted for an early start and left camp just on daybreak at 6.15. The walk up is mainly in valleys, so most of the time it was a lot shadier and cooler than we thought it would be and we were grateful for it, especially through the Devils Corkscrew - AKA Hotbox. The trail is 15 km with a 1.5 km vertical climb finishing at about 7000 ft. It took us just on 6 hours, for a total trip time of just under 10 hours. Due to the shade and good acclimatization, we did it relatively easily – or at least a lot easier than most others. Ian had walked the full trail 15 years ago as a 7 hour day-trip and was pleasantly surprised at the pace we managed this time around. Check out the switchbacking trail on the photos.

Jen’s pack was 5.5 kg, and Ian’s was 17.5 kg (including 8 L of water) on the way down, and a few kg’s less on the way up as there are regular water stops. We were both a bit stiff the next day, but strangely enough, the only real sore bits were the outside top of our calves. All up, a very nice walk with great scenery and a pleasant campground/creek, just a bit hot during summer.

By far the worst part is that they run tourist mules along the same trails. They all seem to piss and shit in the same place, so every once in a while, the peace and tranquillity of nature is rudely interrupted by stinking, festering pools of mule-piss. Crazily enough, the mules are booked out about one year (!) in advance. So, in the fattest nation on earth, the government (ie Parks Service) is encouraging fat Americans to sit on the fat arses rather than get out and go for a walk.

The other highlight was California Condors. In the 1980’s there was only 25 of these birds left, so they were all caught and a captive breeding program started. There are now about 310, including 20 that summer in the Grand Canyon. These are huge birds with 9-foot wingspans, black bodies and baldy red heads. They seemed to be happy just circling around in the updrafts and came within a few metres of us at one overlook.

Next stop was Sedona, home of world-famous energy vortexes and more psychics per square mile than anywhere else. Apart from the Nimbin-ese style people, the town was in a very pretty red-rock setting and even had some town-planning!!!