Posted on 04/14/2018 3:31:18 AM PDT by Voption
"Because I live in southern Arizona, I take advantage of this location to make an annual trip to the Grand Canyon. On my previous trips I’ve talked about the right way to hike the canyon (slowly!) and then provided some suggestions for proper preparation....This time I am simply going to suggest two hikes. One is very easy and should be done by every visitor to the South Rim. The other hike is for those who go to the bottom, and reserve themselves one day there for a day hike. Ninety percent of all visitors to the Grand Canyon never step off the rim and enter the canyon itself. What most do is drive to the south rim, which is a relatively short distance from major cities like Flagstaff and Phoenix, and go from lookout to lookout, either driving their car or using the shuttle bus provided by the National Park Service. This hike however has you traverse the rim in a relatively untraveled area..."
(Excerpt) Read more at behindtheblack.com ...
Maybe, because the rim is already HOT!
They say, it’s a dry heat...
Also see: “Doing the Canyon Right:”
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/doing-the-grand-canyon-right/
[”all “ism’s” are now “was-im’s.”]
bucket list brkmrk
As much as I want to see the bottom first hand you can’t make me step off the rim. I’m not really that scared of heights either as I’ve climbed all over buildings with no restraints, but going down those canyon trails, no thanks.
My wife did the bright angel trail mule ride three years ago which included a stay at phantom ranch. She would do it again in a heart beat. There is a weight limit on riding the mules. I managed to keep my weight up so kept our room at the lodge!
The rim is not necessarily hot. What is hot anytime after May until October is the bottom. When we started off at the North Rim at five o’clock in the morning it was 30 degrees. By the time we got to the bottom it was easily over 100 degree with no shade until Phantom Ranch. We made it to the top of the south ramp at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, where it was in the mid 50 degree range. Thank God for Cliff bars..
Grand Canyon ...
Over Rated!
/s
“Ninety percent of all visitors to the Grand Canyon never step off the rim and enter the canyon itself. What most do is drive to the south rim, which is a relatively short distance from major cities like Flagstaff and Phoenix, and go from lookout to lookout, either driving their car or using the shuttle bus...”
I spent part of my sabbatical semester drawing at the Grand Canyon, and I have hiked and visited both the north and south rims in the past. I am still upset by the following scenario: I was drawing in one of the outlooks on the south rim, and this fancy red sports car pulled up very close to my easel. Out popped a very attractive couple to take a selfie or two before racing off, effectively reducing this incredible canyon to a background for a selfie. No sense or appreciation at all. I am still appalled.
I would also advise those visiting to not only walk below the rim, no matter how little or how far, but to try to draw the Grand Canyon. Not because the drawings will be good, but because the exercise of looking and trying to draw what you see will help you to appreciate the Grand Canyon much more than a speedy selfie ever will.
Nail, on the head!
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