Grand Canyon Trip: Getting There

 

Lobby of the Hotel Monte Vista

So you want to backpack in the Grand Canyon?  That's a great idea and I highly recommend that you do it.  Now you ask, what's the best way to get there if you are planning to enter the canyon from the south rim?  Here's what we did and what I recommend: fly to Las Vegas and drive to Flagstaff.  I've been to the Grand Canyon twice before, both times after driving up from Phoenix.  It's a nice drive (and coming back off the Mogollon Rim offers some great views) which can afford a detour in Sedona (recommended).  However, for our trip Vegas had better flight options (Southwest from Austin to LAS was cheaper than to PHX) with the bonus of a fly-by of the canyon (sit on the starboard side of the plane on the flight to LAS).  We rented an Outback which provided ample room for 4 people and their backpacking gear.   We then drove from Vegas to Kingman whereupon we hit I-40 and headed to Flagstaff.  It was an easy drive.  

We decided to spend the night in Flagstaff before making the hour and half drive to Grand Canyon National Park.  As for Flagstaff:

• Flagstaff has a large, well stocked REI staffed by knowledgable people.  I recommend that you buy your stove fuel online and have it waiting for you when you roll into town.  
• I recommend a stay at the Hotel Monte Vista.  It's a cool old hotel with a lot of charm.  
• You can visit their website to read up on the old-school actors who stayed their while filming westerns in the area.  
• You can walk to many bars and restaurants in the adjacent blocks.  I recommend less drinking and more eating to fuel up for canyon hiking.
• Also, it's allegedly haunted (I had zero paranormal experiences whilst staying there, but maybe you will get lucky).
• On two previous trips to Flagstaff I visited the Lowell Observatory.  I highly recommend going to the observatory for a tour.  It was founded by Percival Lowell (yes, the very same gentleman who theorized that canals on Mars were probably build by an intelligent civilization) and it's where Pluto was discovered.
• The south entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park is 79 miles from Flagstaff.  Once you're in the park you'll still have to drive around to find a parking place.   We entered the canyon from the South Kaibab trailhead while leaving the car by the Bright Angel trailhead.  There is a free shuttle which will take you from Bright Angel to South Kaibab, but there may be a wait so factor that in as well.  

Now you're at the trailhead.  I'll follow up with more posts about the hike and about gear at some point, so stay tuned.

Backpacking: Grand Canyon

On the South Kaibab Trail

A couple of weeks ago I alluded to training for a backpacking trip.   Well, said allusion was to backpacking in the Grand Canyon National Park for 4 days/3 nights.  It was a fantastic experience which I highly recommend if you are an outdoor enthusiast.   The backpacking part was bookended with stays in Flagstaff and Las Vegas, both of which were fun.  

I have a fair amount of material to cover regarding the trip, thus I'm going to spread out the information over a few posts.   Stay tuned...

Meteors

(Blurry) Photo of Meteor Crater in Arizona

 

I came across this interesting list last week:  Meteorite Impact Craters in the United States 

Many of these impact craters are now filled in, covered up, or otherwise unable to detect without having done some kind of geologic surveying.  A glaring exception is the Barringer Crater (aka, Meteor Crater) in northern Arizona (shown above, in a photo from a point and shoot camera I bought in 2006).  I went there on a whim back in 2008 when I was in the Flagstaff area.  The crater was much more fun to visit than I anticipated (though not on the level of the Grand Canyon, which I also visited on that trip).   

The crater I have "visited" more recently is the Sierra Madera Astrobleme.  I used the quotes there because said visit involved driving to Big Bend National Park on US Route 385 (which runs through the 8 mile diameter crater).   The cool parts are visible from the highway, but on a private ranch.   Thus, it's a cool road trip anomaly to encounter on the way to Big Bend (a place I'll write more about in a future post).  

Do you like the idea of owning rocks which have traveled through space?  Earlier this evening I read that starting on Tuesday Christie's will be auctioning off 72 meteorites.  Thus if have some spare cash lying around, you can potentially get your hands on a meteorite without having to wait for one to fall on your property.   And if you do buy one, consider letting a museum display your new meteorite (at least from time to time) so that the general public can enjoy getting to see it.     

       

Google Does Street View to the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon (W.D. Floyd)

The Grand Canyon: more than just a giant hole in the ground, it really is one of America's most awesome natural spectacles.  I have been to Grand Canyon National Park twice, but unfortunately have only had time to drive the South Rim.   Hiking in the Grand Canyon and rafting the Colorado River are high on my to-do list.  Until then, our pals at Google have given me a preview with new Street Views of some spots in the area.

You may be thinking: "how can that be? There are no streets in these panoramic photos."

Google has solved this problem by inventing The Trekker, which Google describes as "our latest imagery-gathering apparatus, is a wearable backpack system that allows us to venture to locations only accessible by foot."

If you have seen the Street View car around around your city, imagine it's roof mounted ball (of cameras) now protruding from a hiking backpack.  The intent of the Trekker is to expand the Street View catalogue to include hard to reach places of natural beauty and historic significance.

Check out the images of the Grand Canyon and surrounding area.  [note: Meteor Crater is not in the Grand Canyon.  It is about two hours away, between Flagstaff and Winslow.]