Dale just called me from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There were two backcountry passes available for this weekend. I told him to grab them.
Sunday we are hiking down from the South Rim to the river, where we will camp for the night. Monday it’s the long climb back up.
I’m excited! I have always wanted to hike down into the canyon, but it seemed almost impossible to get permits. They usually have to be reserved months ahead.
On Monday we will climb from around 2000 feet up to 7000 feet — a 5000 foot climb. That’s more than we did on any day on our recent hike in the Sierra, but two things will make this easier. The elevation will be much lower than it was there, and we will only be carrying 1-day’s rations instead of 4 or 5. Having to carry extra water may offset that advantage, though.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Dale // Nov 4, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I’m hoping for one more big advantage for this hike over our last – NO SNOW!
2 Don // Nov 4, 2010 at 5:40 pm
You guys are going to enjoy that so much. Take many pictures.
3 Donna // Nov 6, 2010 at 2:51 pm
By the time you com
4 Donna // Nov 6, 2010 at 2:55 pm
By the time you guys are ascending back up, you won’t have even a day’s rations, right? You’ll have eaten it the day before and that morning. Well, I guess you’ll still have your lunch. Have fun but save some energy for an overnighter with me later this year.
5 Daryl // Nov 9, 2010 at 10:48 am
Right, Donna — we only had to carry one evening meal, one breakfast, and two lunches. My pack weighed 28 pounds (weighed on the scale at the Canyon’s Backcountry Office), and Dale’s was only 22 pounds. He has newer, lighter equipment.
Not having to carry bear canisters and 4 days of food like we did on our Sierra hike made this a lot easier. I even left my tent in the car, and slept in the open, since it only got down to the upper-40’s at the campground.