Grand Canyon Backpacking
1st day at the canyon; sunny at noon with great views from the South rim.
This is one of the studios at the South Rim, designed to blend in with the landscape.
Another view into the canyon from the South rim.
Old glory guards the canyon as seen from the porch of one of many lodges along the South rim.
The storm can be seen near the North rim; heading towards camp.
Threatening clouds dominate the canyon; but the vista is still magnificent.
One of several overlooks along the South rim; the canyon is barely visible now.
Snow started falling heavily in the afteroon on the 12th with the temerature falling just as quickly.
At Mather camp the guides managed to build a snowman to greet campers as they showed up for the hike.
Burr. Yep, that's the campground and most tents slept one or two people. Temps dropped below freezing that first night; the snow was still around in the morning.
Everything just looked amazing.
The view from my tent.
The group. Some folks drove all the way from Ohio and Missouri while others (like me) drove in from Flagstaff, AZ.
The sun popped back out as we started our hike down Hermit trail from Hermit's rest on the South rim.
Finally, the Colorado river and Hermit Rapids.
Several raft trips floated on by while we were at camp; I had a chance to chat with many of the folks on those trips - quite a ride they had.
This time of year the canyon was in bloom; flowers were along the trail, on trees and the various cacti.
Three California Condors sunned themselves above camp. These birds are on the endangered species list, only 273 exist worldwide. These birds have a 9 foot wingspan! It was amazing to have them join the hike.
Ah, camp on the 2nd night. Warm air, the sound of the rapids and a beach (mostly) to myself.
These little guys were everywhere in the canyon... if you move slowly enough they'll stand still for photos.
Another condor photo...
and another rafting group drifted on by.
Hiking from the Hermit Rapid camp to our 3rd campsite.
Hanging out by the watering hole...
Tom, one of our guides takes advantage of the refreshing waterfall - quite a contrast from the freezing weather a few nights before.
On the way to our 3rd camp site; can it get any better?
The running water carved an interesting canyon, one of many such spots through-out the entire canyon.
Camp the 3rd night; quite cozy there and quite an echo. The sound of frogs filled the canyon this night.
An educational moment.
The end of the trip; hiking out of the canyon that last day was much more challenging than I though it'd be; but we all made it with no injuries and lots of memories.
