Last week, me and 2 buddies went out to the Grand Canyon to backpack from the North Rim to the South Rim. We got lucky back in September when we started considering this trip, and were able to get permits for the sites we wanted. We camped a total of 3 nights – 1st at Cottonwood, 2nd at Bright Angel, 3rd at Indian Garden.
All of us had been to the GC before but only to look at it from the rim. After this trip it is clear that you see and appreciate SO much more from being down in the canyon. I had no idea water was so plentiful in the canyon- with creeks and waterfalls never being too far from the main corridor trails.
The coldest night was a little below freezing with the warmest being low 40's. Despite a 15 degree bag with a Reactor liner, I still had a little chill each night. Not too bad, but I'm starting to think I'm just a cold sleeper when I'm camping (don't seem to have that problem at home!).
We ate mostly dehydrated "Hawk's Vittles" meals. First time trying these meals – in general they were good, but some seemed a tad bland. The final dinner I had was the exception – hot italian sausage and pasta that was actually too spicy for me to finish – and I like spicy food.
I had a Tarptent Notch, other guys had REI Quarterdome 1 and Big Agnes Fly Creek 1. Everyone was pretty happy with their gear on the trip. We were each around 25 pound pack weight, maybe a couple pounds more with water. We typically carried around 2 liters each, luckily the potable water was still turned on everywhere except at Cottonwood, so we only had to filter one night.
I am kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR despite the extra weight it would have added. I brought a point-and-shoot and am not really happy with how most of the pictures turned out.
In summary – for those who haven't done it, this is a great trip to consider. I would *not* want to do it in the summer. We would have liked to have a bit warmer temps (and longer daylight hours) but there is a sweet spot before it gets TOO hot in the canyon, so it's a tradeoff. I would never say it was an easy climb out of the canyon, but it was easier than expected and we made it out quite a bit earlier than we thought we would.
Thanks for reading!
