Final day of the trip, can't believe we are almost done, the rim - 2 - rim hike. After last nights decision of getting up early to see sunrise at sunset point (plateau point actually), surprisingly Sree really got up early. Rise and shine early with Rahul and then there was no stopping them. They both woke us all up and we started the 1.5 mile trail to plateau point to see sunrise. It seemed like a really long trail, it was the long flat trail that you can see from South Rim also. The end was very rewarding though. From this point, we could see the river and lot of the canyon. We also caught first few rays of the sun falling on the high peaks, and mist in the valley. As the sun rose, more coloures came into view. This is definately a point you should not miss. Only about 5 miles from South Rim, this should be open through out the year and should be doable in a day. Returning from plateau point, we also saw a group of deers.
After plateau point, it was just back to South Rim. Its a 4.6 mile hike up 3060 feet. There were 1.5 and 3 mile rest stops, no water in either, but they were like first mile markers and the only ones in the whole trip. I was little scared of the hike, as uphill is always difficult. As we packed the bags, I was quite happy to see that most of the food is gone, I had packed well, very few extra stuff. There was enough food to go up, and we took just enough water, not too much this time. This was again lot of switchbacks. One place we passed thoough a narrow gap in the canyon, the set of switch bags looked great. Srijan thought that the hike was "boring", well maybe it was. The view was just the same canyon, going further and further away. But I think it was good for going up, smooth and relaxing. We made it up in good time. At the top as the lodge came closer, it was just amazing feeling, we had done it, and done it well. I was lot more scared than I needed to be, and we did it at the perfect time of the year.
Here is all the data:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/trail-distances.htm
Day 1 we hiked 6.8 miles, 4170 ft ele loss
Day 2 we hiked 7.3 miles, 1600 ft ele loss
Day 3 we hiked 4.7 miles, 1320 ft ele gain + river detour
Day 4 we hiked 4.6 miles, 3060 ft ele gain + plateau point detour.
After plateau point, it was just back to South Rim. Its a 4.6 mile hike up 3060 feet. There were 1.5 and 3 mile rest stops, no water in either, but they were like first mile markers and the only ones in the whole trip. I was little scared of the hike, as uphill is always difficult. As we packed the bags, I was quite happy to see that most of the food is gone, I had packed well, very few extra stuff. There was enough food to go up, and we took just enough water, not too much this time. This was again lot of switchbacks. One place we passed thoough a narrow gap in the canyon, the set of switch bags looked great. Srijan thought that the hike was "boring", well maybe it was. The view was just the same canyon, going further and further away. But I think it was good for going up, smooth and relaxing. We made it up in good time. At the top as the lodge came closer, it was just amazing feeling, we had done it, and done it well. I was lot more scared than I needed to be, and we did it at the perfect time of the year.
Here is all the data:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/trail-distances.htm
Day 1 we hiked 6.8 miles, 4170 ft ele loss
Day 2 we hiked 7.3 miles, 1600 ft ele loss
Day 3 we hiked 4.7 miles, 1320 ft ele gain + river detour
Day 4 we hiked 4.6 miles, 3060 ft ele gain + plateau point detour.