Backpacking: Grand Canyon

 

I realize I'm a little overdue in writing my planned Grand Canyon guide, so I'll be brief with today's point.  If you have been preparing to hike in the Grand Canyon this Fall: prepare harder.  This advice is especially for people living in Texas or other places with landscapes lacking in verticality.   Hit the leg weights, hit the StairMaster (or as I call it, the "Stair Bastard"), and ride your bike.  If you are in Austin, load up a pack and hike up one of our larger hills multiple times multiple times per week.  Do this in the boots you plan to wear.  Trust me, you'll thank me for this later.  

Some examples of good hills in Austin are (included but not limited to): the Hill of Life (end of the Barton Creek Greenbelt trail), the hill on Mesa Dr. from 2222 up to the top, or Far West from Bull Creek up to Mesa.  

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...

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.]

Traveling

The Grand Canyon

In addition to my recent trip to Taos Ski Valley, I've also been to Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Parks.  I'm currently at the AGRIP Spring Conference in Phoenix, but I'm heading back to Austin for SXSW Interactive later this week.  More to come...

Also, in case you are wondering: TSV now allows snowboarding.