With Covid still annoyingly limiting travel, I have recently been taking mental travel excursions with one of my favorite authors, David Baldacci. While many of his novels are centered in the Washington DC area, his Atlee Pine thrillers are rooted near the Grand Canyon. Having lived in Arizona for almost 13 years, I have very fond memories of the state and will be traveling back to witness my son’s marriage soon, so, as I am strolling down memory lane, I thought I would share a little canyon time lapse with you.

Heading up from Phoenix

During my tenure in Arizona I made the trip to the South Rim a few times. Like many of these trips, my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon was a whirlwind trip up and back from Phoenix during my college spring break. Traveling from the desert of Phoenix to the mountains near Flagstaff was a study of contrasts and climate changes.

Starting out as the Sonoran Desert, I-17 climbs steadily up to the high desert near Camp Verde where the only trees are Palo Verdes, Mesquites, and Saguaro cacti. From there another 30-minutes of travel brings you into into the Coconino forest with Pine trees festooning the roadside. The temperature has dropped at least 20 degrees from Phoenix as you have ascended over 5000 vertical feet. The smell of the pine trees entices me to open the windows and drink in the fresh air.

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Turning left at Flagstaff we quickly head to Williams and then, again, northward to the South Rim of the Canyon. Now in the Kaibab national forest I see snow still clinging to shady areas, a few deer out in the fields and begin to wonder if we took a wrong turn. All the images I have seen on the web are of this arid, desolate canyon with very little if any trees. But still we press on.

Paying our $10 day fee we make the final push to the Visitor center. Walking to the rim and am stunned at the beauty and enormity of the Grand Canyon. It indeed looks just like the pictures yet turning 180 degrees around it looks very similar to a Colorado trip. While easy for us today and we have Google earth to view from the comfort of our homes, I cannot imagine what some of the first settlers thought rolling up in a covered wagon only to be thwarted by the canyon. Hiking from the South rim to the North rim is a distance of 21 miles (on improved trails) but to go around the canyon requires navigating 220 miles.

Canyon Views

Following the rim trail, I start out at Mather Point and slowly make my way east to Pipe Creek Vista. Clicking away with the camera I try to capture the colors of the Canyon walls, the light and shadow of the sun within the canyon and pictures of friends on a point waving to me with a dramatic 400 foot drop just inches away. Luckily, most points have safety railings but given its immense size much of the Canyon is unprotected. Visitors need to use good judgement and be prudent when capturing the perfect selfie, but unfortunately, 2-5 every year do not. Taking risky photos, rock jumping, dehydration during hiking, not being attentive to children and helicopter crashes have taken over 60 lives. Be careful!

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Hiking Down

Unfortunately, I have never taken the time to actually hike down from the Rim to Phantom ranch near the Colorado River. I have only hiked down about 500 feet down bright angel trail, but, as we still had an evening planned in Phoenix, I quickly took a couple of photos and went back up. My plans are to someday hike the canyon (which needs to be soon) but everyone needs to plan. Typically the hike down can take 4+ hours to travel and minimum double the time back. So most people don’t do it in a day but rather hike down one day and back out the next. You can also ride a mule up (or down) but would need to book at least 15 months in advance of your trip (weight restrictions). Likewise, planning camping accommodations at Phantom ranch needs to be planned well in advance as both cabins and campground book early. The suspension bridges across near the ranch over the Colorado look to be fun and it would likely be worth the experience.

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Too soon it was time for us to jump back into the car and turn our sights back to Phoenix. Having moved, all my visits were in the pre-digital camera days many years ago so I would really like to do it all over again! It is the only natural wonder of the world in the US, so what is holding you back?. Let me know if you enjoyed this quick trip to the Grand Canyon and please feel free to share any comments or suggestions.