Hiking the Grand Canyon's South Rim

We camped two nights in Mather Campground, which was very quiet and pleasant. Gathering of downed wood is prohibited in Mather Campground, so Dustin had to buy firewood. It turned out to be a good thing, though, as it was much drier and this fire actually succeeded :-)

We saw several tarantulas wandering around the park, including this one at our camp site.

Dustin has once before hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and knows the shear physical and mental strength needed to not only make it down and out, but to actually survive the experience.

Over 600 people have met their demise in and around the canyon since the 1800's many from heat stroke or dehydration. People have also died from being overly hydrated, hyponatremia.

The park does an very good job of scaring the pants off of you if you're even considering the hike down. Posted at all of the trail heads is a picture of a Boston Marathoner who died while making the ascent. I'm kind of thinking if marathoners and other extremists are dying, I'm feeling pretty good about passing on the endeavor until I've had a little more prep time. I didn't really feel up to a "survival" experience so we opted to hike the rim instead of the descent itself.

We did cover 16+ miles on the rim over two days, and got plenty of exercise! I really enjoyed all of the different views of the canyon from up there. If you can believe it, the canyon never looks quite the same each time you look at. The sun and shadows from the clouds make this 5 million year old canyon look a little different each time you take your eyes away then look back again.

- Kim (turning it over to Dustin for the rest of the narration on this post...)

I liked to stand on the edge, but Kim refuses to do so.

I did get her to sit on the ledge for a few minutes, reflecting on just what we were looking at. I think she enjoyed it sometimes.

The squirrels at the canyon seem to be in for a good winter, sporting big fat bellies.

The background in this portrait almost looks fake, it it was taking in front of a screen at the visitor center or something. Alas, this is the real deal. Amazing, huh?

And here's what not to do at the rim of the Grand Canyon ...

Funny :-) No, we were in no danger for any of those shots. There was a decent sized ledge that we were standing on, pretending to climb the rocks.

The flora and fauna around the Canyon really reminded us of home in Austin. When we checked into our campsite, the ranger got a kick out of our address on "Canyon Edge Drive". Yeah, our canyon doesn't look anything like this one. But landscape absolutely does...

The yuccas...

And the cedars (junipers)...

And the prickly pear cactus...

And the Kaibab limestone. Any of these pictures could have been taken in our own back yard in Austin.

But this one couldn't ;-)

Or this one...

Clouds over the Canyon really make for some complex shadows, and somehow connect the canyon directly to the heavens.

This panorama attempts to show how far reaching the canyon (and some of its side canyons) are.

Most of the weekend, we could spot some fairly large forest fires on the North Rim. We were told that these were controlled burns.

We managed to stay out of the cactus, but boy, were they everywhere.

We did bring a small day pack with 2 liters of water and a handful of snacks. But Kim didn't feel she was getting enough protein from granola bars and fruit roll-ups.

So she had a snack of a different kind.

Just kidding :-)

I'm not sure what kind of plant this is, but Kim and I agreed that we believe it belonged underwater.

Anyway, we hiked a total of 11 miles on Saturday, which is most of the length of the Rim Trail along the South Rim of the Canyon. We were rewarded the entire way with simply spectacular views.

Kim wants to update her Facebook profile photo. My Facebook photo came from my last hike down the Grand Canyon some 7 years ago, so I thought it would be appropriate to replace it with one from this hike. We shot a few portraits. What do you think?

Late into the afternoon, we made it to the westernmost end of the South Rim Trial, Hermit's Rest.

We paid a visit to one of my favorite structures designed by Mary Coulter, the most renown architect of the Grand Canyon. It's a little gift shop and visitor center at the head of the Hermit's Rest trail.

Inside, there's a beautiful hearth. Kim read a few pages of Death in the Canyon and reiterated that she was glad we did the Rim Trail :-)

We spent a good hour or so, soaking in the Western end of the South Rim, and watched another sunset.

And like the last, we basked in the glow of sublime majesty, wondering at the spectacle below.

:-Dustin