Trek America - Grand Canyon

Today we had the opportunity to explore the Grand Canyon by taking one of the trails down into the canyon itself. There are many signs warning of the risks involved due to the changes in altitude and increased temperature as you descend (it can be as much as 30C hotter at the base of the canyon than it is at the rim). This has led to people dying as they are unable to ascend back out of the canyon and help cannot get to them quick enough. Signs warn against attempting to travel down to the Colorado river at the base of the canyon and attempting to return to the rim in the same day, however we've heard people still attempt to do this. Emily advised that the Grand Canyon National Park is the country's most dangerous with deaths numbering in the hundreds each year due to these risks as well as people getting too close to the edge...

We chose to descend at the South Kaibab Trail, originally honed out of the rock with pick and explosives by workers in the 1920s. The trail is just wide enough for two people to travel side by side or allow mules through to carry goods between the base and the rim. The trail is a 6 mile round-trip iand descends a total of over 2000 feet (the rim to base is nearly 4800 feet) There are three stages to the trail, Ooh Aah Point, Cedar Ridge and Skeleton Point.

When we began our descent from the rim, along steep switchback trails, we had our jackets as despite the sun and bright blue sky, the breeze and canyon's shadows kept the temperature cool. Acknowledging the risks we took plenty of water and went slowly, prepared to turn back at any point if needed. The enormity of the canyon's drop at the side of the trail was knee-buckling (for Alex at least) to view but this was a mental battle and we pushed on with the physical task ahead. We reached Ooh Aah Point and decided to continue on to Cedar Point. It was here that the geology changed from yellowy limestone to a rich copper of sandstone, reminiscent of that we had experience in Arches National Park and Monument Valley. The trail narrowed here and returned to switching back and forth as we descended further still into the canyon. As well as moving down, we were also moving further out into the canyon as we approached Cedar Ridge. Drawing us away from the cliff face of the rim, we became exposed to the sun, which began to beat against us and quickly our jackets were removed.

We rested at Cedar Ridge, which offered us a near 300 degree view of the canyon. Looking back up we could see just how far we had come but knew that the hardest part, the ascent back out, was yet to come. We sat resting and replenished with water and food (even when descending, at such altitude and with such heat, it was still crucial to do this). We walked out to the very edge of the ridge to take in the views before contemplating whether to continue on to the end of the trail, Skeleton Point. Our fellow Trekkers had all turned back at Cedar Ridge and it was appealing to try and achieve the full trail. However the sun and our depleting supplies of water were foreboding a very difficult and possibly dangerous climb so we decided, sensibly, to return to the rim. Quickly we realised how sensible our decision had been as the heat, altitude and steep climb took their toll on our bodies. Nevertheless we kept a steady pace and after a brief rest at Ooh Aah Point we returned to the rim in just under an hour. The round-trip to Cedar Ride was 3 miles and we descended just over 1000 feet.

Overlooking the canyon and using our camera lens we could make out specks of people moving to and from Cedar Ridge whilst more people near us were contemplating the descent themselves.

We walked along the rim and attended a talk by one of the ranger guides on how the canyon was formed. In short - the canyon was originally formed when the Colorado plateau was pushed up through the earth's surface when the plates that cover the earth's surface collided billions of years ago. This also created the Rockies mountain range from where the Colorado river flowed and began to break its waters against the edge of the plateau. Over millions of years the river steadily flowed through the plateau creating many tributaries along the way. Again, over millions of years, the force of the flowing water caused the limestone and sandstone (two stones very susceptible to water erosion) to break off and up, making the river bed deeper and wider, eventually creating the canyon you see today. The Colorado river still flows furiously at the base of the canyon and at certain points on the rim it can be seen with the distance disguising it as a slow trickle.

We returned to camp happy with the success of our hike as well as the knowledge that tonight was our last night under canvas and tomorrow we were heading to Las Vegas.Read more