From Heights to Depths: An Unforgettable Grand Canyon Trek

A seemingly impossible and very distant dream came true for me and my husband on October 17, 2024 - we hiked from the south rim of the magnificent Grand Canyon all the way down to the mighty Colorado River and back to the rim the following day! Yes, we did it!!!

Ever since I first visited the spectacular Grand Canyon National park back in 1992, I was in awe of the hikers going down all the way. In the back of my mind, I planted the seed for that distant dream - maybe someday! The logistics seemed too complicated - you need to enter a lottery to be able to stay at the Phantom Ranch - the mysterious lodge down below that we thought we would never get to see, the lottery that opened up for entries 15 months in advance. 15 months - really? That seemed too far away to plan for...

Nevertheless, the two of us clung on tightly to our dream… maybe there are some other ways. And yes, we did find that other way - it was possible to backpack and camp at the National park campsite - the Bright Angel campground by the river. Apparently those sites get filled up really quick too. I kept checking for cancellations, suddenly found a spot for two and booked it on a whim - the first step to our dream becoming a reality! Long story short, we booked a campsite, and also booked a mule duffel service (via Xanterra) to carry 30lbs of camping gear down, while we only carried the essentials (food, lots of water, warm clothes, flashlights, etc.) in our backpacks, bought our plane tickets, and headed over to the canyon. All this while, I had been checking the Xanterra website for availability at the lodge - maybe someone will cancel and we will get a spot, just maybe. But clicking that website every day, sometimes 3-4 times a day didn’t give us a single opening, not even on other dates in October. So, as planned, we started for Phoenix with all our camping gear - we just could not let go of this amazing opportunity - camping it is!

We arrived at the canyon on Wednesday, October 16, the day before our planned descent. While checking in with the Xanterrra front desk for our mule service, I casually asked if there’s any opening at the lodge for the next day - still a sliver of hope in my mind that we may be the lucky ones. “Nope” he said, but I could put you on a waitlist”. Well, why not? Let’s take a chance… although I very well knew the odds.

After a good nights rest at the hotel we booked at Tusayan, AZ, we were ready for the big day. We woke up early and started driving towards the visitors center, from where we would take the Orange shuttle to our trailhead. I decided to call the Xanterra line just one last time for the status of our waitlist, right before we would go off the grid (there’s no cellular connectivity inside the canyon). “Hi, just checking on the status of our waitlist…”… I could not believe what I heard from the other side! I don’t know how people feel when they win a million dollar lottery, but we were this close to realizing that feeling - yes! We got a spot. At the mysterious phantom ranch! The spot people wait months and months for - that too through a lottery… We would no longer be sleeping in a campsite after that arduous hike down. We would have a proper bed to lie on and warm shower facilities.

Day 1: Descending South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch

With elated spirits, we began our descent down the South kabab trail on Thursday morning. No picture can do justice to what we saw and what we experienced. We still took pictures, tons of pictures - at every bend, at every change of light and shade. Sharing a fraction of those for the readers to enjoy.

We continued down the soft dirt path, kicking up dust with each step taken. Through the first three quarters of a mile, the trail cuts through the eastern side of Pipe Creek Canyon until Ooh Aah Point, where the canyon walls turn around Yaki Point and the view of the eastern canyon slowly comes into view, with the early morning sun lighting up each layer of rock that has formed over thousands of years. This point is named after the common reaction to the magnificent view.

Continuing on, the trail descends through a series of steep switchbacks and eventually curves to the right, providing a spectacular view to the east. From there, it heads west towards Cedar Ridge, which is the most popular turnaround point for day hikers and is only a mile and a half away from the trailhead. It has pit toilets and hitching posts for the mule trains that travel the trail, but there is no water available (there's no water anywhere along the South Kaibab).

The pit toilets at Cedar Ridge on the South Kaibab Trail are basic facilities designed to provide hikers with a necessary amenity in a remote location. These toilets are essentially non-flushable, composting toilets that help manage waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

From “Cedar Ridge,” the trail once again makes a steep descent. This time down the east side of O’Neill Butte.

Moving on, the trail continues below O'Neill Butte without any switchbacks for a bit until it reaches Skeleton Point. Located three miles from the rim, Skeleton Point is the furthest distance recommended for a day hike. This is where we saw our first glimpse of the mighty creator of this vast chasm, the Colorado River.  It was a humbling experience looking down the canyon staring at the magnificence of this powerful body of water.  The color of the water was a spectacular emerald green!

Free of the crowds, the hike down from Ooh-Aah point to the Tipoff was really enjoyable in the quiet solitude, with scenery and grandeur on a scale we had never experienced.

Similar to the Cedar Ridge, the Tipoff point has restroom facilities. Additionally there is a large sized picnic shelter here where we took a break for lunch and met an inspirational family of 4. The mom hiked down all the way with a 2-year old on her back, and the soon to be 9 year old had chosen the hike down to the river as a celebration for his upcoming birthday! Spent a really fun time chatting with the two little boys.

Below Tipoff, the South Kaibab Trail loosely follows the course of an earlier trail called the Cable Trail (built in 1907 to accommodate access to the old cable car system across the river that existed before the construction of the present suspension bridge).

Leaving the Tipoff, we could hear the sounds of gushing water and catch a glimpse of the Colorado River shortly thereafter. The view of the mighty Colorado River from the trail was simply breathtaking.

After the Tipoff point, the trail makes its final steep descent to the bottom of the canyon. This section is the steepest of the South Kaibab Trail at an average grade of 22%.

After some grueling switchbacks better known as the "Red and White switchbacks" in the scorching sun, eventually, we arrived at a tunnel that led to the Black Suspension Bridge, a bridge that spans the Colorado River and is the river-crossing used by mules going to Phantom Ranch. The Black Bridge was built in 1928. It was the only crossing of the river for hundreds of river miles until the Silver Bridge was built just downstream within the park during the 1960s.

We crossed the bridge, turned left, and continued on the trail towards Bright Angel Campground. We did not anticipate having to walk more than a mile after crossing the bridge to get to the Phantom lodge, our destination, but we got there, in high spirits to enjoy the famous lemonade from the canteen.

The Phantom Ranch truly lived up to our expectations and more. Hiking to Phantom Ranch and staying below the Grand Canyon Rim is honestly one of the most memorable and unique adventures we have ever experienced!

The beef stew dinner at the canteen tasted heavenly! We ate our fill and retired for the night, in anticipation of the next day of climbing...

Day 2: Ascending back to the rim

“CAUTION: Down is optional, up is mandatory!”

This is how the sign reads at the three mile rest house… Well, we had already completed the optional part the previous day, now there was no choice - it was time to start the mandatory part…

The weather turned out to be a bit sketchy all of a sudden - there was an abrupt drop of thirty degrees temperature, a forecast for rain, strong winds and possibly snow. Having no real connectivity inside the canyon, it was hard for us to predict the weather pattern that would hit us during our day long hike. I must admit that we were a little worried and wanted to start as early as possible in the morning so as to avoid the inclement weather at the top, reaching the rim well before it became dark.

This time we took the longer but gradually inclined route - the Bright Angel trail. There were a few reasons for this - first, this trail, although two miles longer than the South Kaibab trail, had a more gradual climb, second - there was potable water along 3 stops in the trail which meant we could carry much less water and hike lighter, and last but not least - this would give us the opportunity to experience a completely different trail which meant vastly different views of the canyon vistas. The total hike clocked on my watch was a tad short of 12 miles - this included the riverside walk from the phantom ranch to the trail head that starts at the River resthouse stop, and the actual climb up the trail. It took us a total of 8 hours and 17 minutes to complete the ascent of about 12 miles…

We started our hike at 6:30 in the morning, after a warm breakfast of eggs and pancake at the phantom lodge canteen at 5:00 am. We also got some packed lunch from the canteen to enjoy later.

There are only two bridges that provide crossings for hundreds of miles in either direction along the Colorado River corridor—the Black Bridge and the Silver Bridge. We took the Black bridge the day before while descending, and today we got to see the Silver bridge. The silver bridge not only allows hikers passage across the swift Colorado River, but also supports a transcanyon waterline that carries water from the north side of the canyon to Havasupai Gardens.

The river trail along the south bank of the Colorado river was really scenic. The entire time we had magnificent views of the pristine emerald green waters of the river fiercely flowing through the crevices of the canyon.

The weather was cooperating well in the morning when we started, although we could see the ominous clouds in the sky indicating some impending rain. We were well prepared, with rain jackets, waterproof backpack covers, and gators in case the torrents started.

The clouds added a different dimension to the views… and needless to say it made the weather very comfortable for the long climb up. The interplay of light and shade created a simply mysterious and majestic scenery.

To get to the first rest stop with toilet facilities, we had to tackle a set of switch backs called the Devil's Corkscrew, some of which you can see in the pictures below.

Close to the Havasupai Indian gardens stop, we encountered the worst weather of the day - there were some pretty strong rains and winds. We decided to wait it out until the rains subsided. This was the perfect stop for our lunch break as well, since we had already reached our halfway point.

The Havasupai gardens was an ideal spot for rest and recovery before continuing the challenging hike back up to the rim. There’s potable water, restrooms, a picnic shelter and emergency phone service available here.

Thankfully the rains did not last too long and we were able to continue our trek back up after a 30m break. From this rest house, a series of switchbacks known as Jacob’s Ladder took us up the Redwall Limestone to the next stop a mile and a half away - this stop is more popularly known as the Three-Mile rest house. Each bend and turn brought before us a magnificence like no other. The Bright Angel Trail ascends steeply up the broken, shattered rocks along the Bright Angel fault line, offering stunning views into the depths of the inner canyon.

The last rest stop along the trail was the 1.5 mile rest stop. The section between 3 mile & 1.5 mile rest houses is the most difficult section when hiking back up to the rim with a never ending set of switchbacks. It was a rewarding moment to look down and see the switchbacks that we had already completed to do the climb!

And before we could realize it, we were done! It was truly a moment of mixed emotions… while we were elated to complete the hike successfully, we also felt kind of sad that it was over - it felt it all ended too soon. So many days of anticipation, planning and preparation - all seemed to be over just too quickly. We definitely got bit by the canyon bug, immediately we realized this was not enough. We want to come back again and explore the mysteries of the deceptive canyon. Someday soon, hopefully.