Into the Grand Canyon
“Sometimes the adventure starts on The Rim”. The die was actually cast for our adventure back in October 2022 when we sent a fax (a fax! In 2022!) to the Grand Canyon Ranger’s office with a list of our preferred backpacking itineraries and the dates we’d be willing to do them. Competition is fierce and I knew we wanted to do the beginner friendly corridor hike so I gave a wide date window and, a couple of weeks later, we received our permit for a 4 night Grand Canyon backpacking trip at the beginning of March. This was the very earliest of the date range I’d specified but, according to the info I’d read online, there was a very slight chance of snow but to expect spring-like temperatures.
We’d actually tried to get close to the Canyon a couple of weeks ago, but a winter storm closed the roads through Flagstaff and we had to turn around and re-route through Southern New Mexico. Whilst there we were keeping a keen eye on the forecast (which was looking dire) and could see that there was a brief break in the snow hitting Flagstaff on the Monday before our Wednesday start date so we put in a big day of driving and arrived at Tusayan, a town just outside the Park, on the Monday evening with the plan of staying in a cheap hotel for a night or two before starting our trip.
On Tuesday we visited the backcountry office to talk to a ranger about our hike as our phones were pinging with winter storm alerts threatening over a foot of snow in the Canyon overnight on Wednesday - the first night of our trip. Ranger Hacker seemed entirely unphased about the prospect of us attempting the trip which was reassuring but suggested that we delay our start by a day and begin Thursday to miss the snow storm therefore hiking a longer day to make it to our second night campsite. We’d both been getting worried about the prospect of not being able to go at all so we returned to the hotel psyched to have a plan and booked in for two more nights to wait out the storm. This change of plan also meant we could do a loop hike - walking down the steeper (but shorter) South Kaibab trail and then up Bright Angel trail.
It was honestly great to have that time to relax, do laundry and pack our backpacks for the trip. The hotel also had a gorgeous outdoor hot tub and pool - the benefits of visiting during a winter storm are that you get the pool to yourselves! Downside is that it’s snowing… But we made like those Japanese hot springs macaques and had a great time running from the cold pool to the hot tub and back again.
Wednesday night rolled around and the snow began falling in earnest. It would be rain not far down the Canyon and we were relieved to not be getting all our gear soaked on day one of the trip. Come Thursday morning though when we were digging our car out of the hotel car park we weren’t totally sure we’d a. Make it to the hiker shuttle on time for the last bus to the trailhead at 9am or b. That those hiker shuttles would even be running.
Once we’d dug Big Buddy out of the snow, thrown our stuff in the back and made a quick pitstop at Starbucks we were feeling good - the roads were clear(ish), the sky was blue and the park was looking gorgeous. Unfortunately the snow plough hadn’t yet reached the car park we needed to park in. We could see a couple of cars had managed to park so we decided to give it a go and slide in next to them. Nope. Turns out the car park had previously been ploughed and we beached ourselves on a pile of snow mere inches off what would be an acceptable parking job. With 20 minutes till the hiker shuttle we were scooping snow out from under the car with hiking poles and trying to get him forward just a bit. Thankfully two other parties of hikers showed up to catch the same bus. One couple were from Montana so they knew the score and had snow chains and a shovel. The other group, a father and son, also snow newbies, promptly got their car stuck. We all had a good warm up pushing our car into a space and the second car back onto the road as the snow plough had finally arrived and dug them a cushy spot.
There was a bus (which definitely wasn’t the hiker shuttle) but us six hikers got on it anyway and were told by the driver that she’d try to get us to the South Kaibab trailhead to start our trip. You could hear all the radio chatter going on and how hard everyone in the park was working to get people to where they wanted to be. There were two buses and a car stuck at the South Kaibab trailhead so we sat in a car park for a good twenty minutes waiting for them to be pulled out. It gave us a chance to finish our coffee and eat our (by now stone cold) breakfast sandwiches. Soon the radio crackled into life “South Kaibab two” (that was us) “you’re good to go”. The bus driver tried to move and we could hear the wheels spinning out on the hard packed snow and ice. Oops. She’s an expert though and it wasn’t long before we’d rocked our way out and were up at the trailhead.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much snow! The couple from Montana set off like rockets as we took our time doing some last minute pack adjustments and debating whether to wear our microspike crampons or not. The first few switchbacks of the trail were pretty clear, with deep snow on both sides and, bizarrely, items of clothing draped over the trees all the way down. Like a large group had got hot hiking and decided to ditch their jackets and jumpers at intervals. Round the bend it all made sense as we came across a crew of about 8 people who usually work as mule guides, encouraging the animals up and down the Canyon to deliver supplies to the ranch at the bottom. There was no way mules could get through this trail so they were doing the backbreaking work of shovelling it out. Beyond where they’d shovelled there were 4 or 5 people hiking in front of us who had cut a bit of a path through the snow. As long as we followed their footsteps the going was relatively easy and I was so amped up to be in such a beautiful place in such gorgeous conditions that we made pretty quick work of the steepest, snowiest section. It did make me laugh that the two guys behind us, after spending a short time out in front, found convenient reasons to stop when we did so that we could pack the snow down ahead of them.
The trail crew and the steep, snowy path down into the Canyon
Despite the amount of snow and how steep the drop offs were, it never felt sketchy. Sure we’d occasionally stumble up to our waists into the snow but the trail is so well established and maintained that it wasn’t hard to keep to the path. If anything I think the snow made it slightly softer on the old knees than walking down the endless steps that were buried under that snow.
postholing through the deep snow at the top of the trail (trying, and sometimes failing) to follow the footsteps of the hikers who went ahead of us
A little way down we met a man who had been breaking the trail coming uphill. Having walked up in packed snow and ice I don’t know how he was doing it! He was very happy to see more people packing down the snow to make his journey up a bit easier. The vibe on the trail was great, everyone was so hyped up to be there.
Snow turned to slush turned to mud. Lots of mud! Don’t get me wrong it was still absolutely gorgeous but after 5 miles of solid descending, it begins to wear - literally on your knee joints! We got quieter and quieter and shed more of our layers as we got closer to the campsite and the promise of a dip in the cold creek to take down the soreness. We also started seeing more and more cacti and other desert-y plants. It amazed me how much is growing on the canyon floor as from the top it looked like an empty expanse down below.
To be continued….
