Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/4815015547
My first sight of the Grand Canyon was out the driver’s-side window of a rental car along the East Rim Drive between the National Park entrance and the South Kaibab Trailhead. It was a chilly February morning, with snow blanketing the forest floor but absent from all but the shadowed areas of trail above about 6000′. Aly and I planned to run a long loop from rim to river and back. We started with a short run from the parking lot on East Rim Drive to the trailhead before hitting the switchbacks down into the canyon. Although we ran the entire descent from rim to the Colorado River, our pace was slow because we stopped frequently to take photos. My first impression of the Grand Canyon (it was Aly’s second trip) did not disappoint. I had, of course, seen many photos and video clips of the canyon but seeing it and running through it was quite the experience. What surprised me most was how dramatically and frequently the views changed as we followed the trail. While I had expected the scenery to be epic, I had envisioned it to be a more static view looking across to the north rim. Here are some of the amazing views along the South Kaibab Trail:
The South Kaibab Trail winds its way down the canyon walls until it reaches one of the suspension bridges over the Colorado River, which we crossed. Instead of turning back and doing an out-and-back or continuing along the North Kaibab Trail to the north rim (some day!), we followed the Phantom Ranch Trail along the river to another suspension bridge and eventually the bottom of the Bright Angel Trail.
We enjoyed our lunch with a great view of the river before heading back up the Bright Angel Trail. By then, and nearly 5,000′ lower in elevation, the temperature was in the mid-60s. It felt pretty warm as we hiked back up the switchbacks.
The temperature gradually dropped as we ascended the Bright Angel Trail, and eventually we hit snow (it was crunchy enough that we didn’t feel obliged to dig out our traction) and a brisk breeze (cold enough that I did fish out another layer and my gloves).
When we reached the top of the rim at Grand Canyon Village we decided that was a good place to finish our activity. We were both dealing with some knee issues and it was getting pretty cold, so we stopped our watched at just over 17.5 miles and caught the shuttle bus back to our rental car, which would have added another 4 miles along the road.
The following morning we opted to get up early and drive back to the park from Williams for a Grand Canyon sunrise. It was a cold morning but the sunrise was definitely worthwhile. Then we grabbed Starbucks and sipped our coffees as we hit most of the scenic overlooks along East Rim Drive. The photos below are from the second day of our trip.
The route and elevation profile of our trail run:
