Backpacking the Grand Canyon

Brian Kornegay's April 14, 2004 Presentation to the Central Indiana Wilderness Club

Our Bi-Monthly Meetings are Free & Open to the Public

Despite Brian's excellent presentation, featuring many beautiful photographs such as this one,
nothing compares with actual being there and seeing such awesome beauty all around you.

Our Bi-Monthly Meetings are Free & Open to the Public

The Basics

Brian Kornegay (in photo on left along side Monument Creek) spoke about his 6-day backpack trip in the Grand Canyon during October of 2003. Accompanying him on his adventure were Katharine Currie & CIWC member Ed Pope (and author of this web page). Brian opened his presentation with some basic information about backpacking in the Grand Canyon. He covered your options on how to get there from Indy (I flew in to Las Vegas & rented a car - Lots of cheap air fares to Las Vegas). Permits can be tough to get, so you need to get your application in early. For our October trip, Brian applied for permits on June 1. You can apply for permits on the first day of the month, 4 months prior to your trip. Weather is an important factor to consider when planning a trip to the Grand Canyon. Summers are very hot, August & September is the monsoon season, so went in October. On the south rim (~7,200 feet above sea level), weather was similar to October weather in Indiana. In the canyon it was more like summer, with highs each day in the mid 80s.

Our Bi-Monthly Meetings are Free & Open to the Public

General Description

Every guidebook describes the park as a "canyon in a canyon", which is pretty accurate. From the rim you descend down onto the Tonto Plateau. The Colorado River cuts through the middle of the Tonto, forming the second canyon. In addition, there are numerous side canyons formed by streams feeding the Colorado. The Colorado River was always brown, about the color of hot chocolate. It's amazing how far sound travels out in remote areas. Wherever I could see rapids on the river, I could hear them, no matter how far away. The photo on the left shows Indian Gardens from the South Rim. When we were there, the only places you saw green was around the streams. There is a small one that goes through the Indiana Gardens campground.

Wildlife

The Grand Canyon has some interesting wildlife. On the first day of the trip, I saw a bighorn sheep on a steep slope. I didn't know what it was when I saw it. I thought all bighorn sheep had the curly horns. An information board at Indian Gardens explained that only the males have them. Also on the first day, we encountered ringtails at the Bright Angel Campground. They take the place of raccoons in the Midwest. They are always trying to get your food. At Bright Angel Campground there were metal boxes to put your food in. Fortunately, that was the only place we had to deal with them. Kangaroo rats also inhabit the Grand Canyon, and they also try to get your food, just like regular mice. I think one of these guys ran off with my spoon one night. I had used it to make hot chocolate, and heard some commotion around where the dishes were during the night. In the morning the spoon was gone, and despite searching the surrounding area, I couldn't find it anywhere. Since our third day was the longest, we started at daybreak. There were a number of mule deer out during the early morning. They weren't very large, probably because there just isn't much for them to eat in the canyon. While resting in a side canyon on the fourth day, we had a chance to watch a california condor in flight. During the 15 minutes we watched him, he flapped his wings once. Their numbers are slowly increasing after being at the brink of extinction. I hope future generations can see these magnificent creatures in flight. On the last day, while hiking up the Hermit Trail, we came across a small (about 18" long) rattlesnake. Sorry about the quality of the photograph. Brian didn't want to get too close & didn't want to stay there very long. After we hiked out of the canyon, we saw an elk in the campground on the south rim. He didn't seem very afraid of people - Kind of like deer at Brown County State Park.

Itinerary

South Rim to Bright Angel Campground by South Kaiobab Trail (6.8 miles): The first day was definitely the toughest - 6.8 miles, nearly all of it downhill. It seemed like we were walking towards that bridge over the Colorado all day. We got started a little late that day, so we were hiking during the heat of the early afternoon.
Bright Angel Campground to Indian Garden by River Trail & Bright Angel Trail (4.7 miles): This was a fairly easy day - Not too long or very difficult. We needed it after the first day.
Indian Garden Campground to Cedar Spring by Tonto Trail (9.4 miles): This was our second toughest day, due to its length. We started at daybreak, and in the early afternoon hid out in the shade of a side canyon.
Cedar Spring to Granite Rapids by Tonto Trail & Monument Trail (3.2 miles): This was another easy day - short mileage down to a sandy place along the Colorado River.
Granite Rapids to Hermit Creek by Monument Trail & Tonto Trail (5.1 miles)
Hermit Creek to Hermit Rest by Hermit Trail (7.7 miles): This was a hard day with a lot of climbing. There was no good place to hide from the sun in the afternoon, so we just kept going & took frequent breaks.

Tips

Water is scarce & you must plan your trip around water sources. Collapsible jugs are great for carrying water when needed. Sometimes you have to scout around for water sources. This little puddle on the left is at Salt Creek. Brian pumped out about 3 gallons of water here. It just kept refilling after he pumped it nearly dry.
Avoid the heat of the day. On the long days, we started at the crack of down and found shade in side canyons in the early afternoon when it started to get hot.
Tent stakes are nearly useless. I didn't even try to put mine in after the first night. If you don't have a free-standing tent, get some sand anchors. Most of the time you will have to use rocks instead of sand, which is what Brian did except when we camped on the beach at Granite Rapids.
A shuttle service is available on the south rim, so you don't have to come back out at the same point you went in.
Always make friends with rafters. We talked to some at Granite Rapids & they invited us to dinner. They were having steak, mashed potatoes, & cold beer (imported brands).
Surprisingly, the radio reception in the Grand Canyon isn't too bad. We listened to the game 7 of the Red Sox - Yankees series & several games of the Marlins - Yankees World Series.

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