Another beautiful morning. The weather this whole trip could not have been better. One thing about the Grand Canyon, everything starts early. This is due to the heat in the summer (105+ down in the canyon itself). Our hike down the South Kaibab Trail was scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM. Somehow, we all made it...
The Canyon shortly after sunrise...still stunning.
Our hike was 1.5 miles down to Cedar Ridge. Doesn't sound like much until you hear it is over 1,200 feet below the rim. Yikes. Melinda is still saying...'I don't think I can do this!'. Have I mentioned lately that the elevation is around 6,800 feet above sea level at the rim?
Here's a picture for Pappy...yes, we're seeing your comments ;). A few of the world famous Grand Canyon mules...
The ranger shows up and we're off. After the standard, be careful, leave everything as you find it, don't feed the squirrels, stay on the wall side and the people coming up have the right-of-way, etc, etc, etc. Down we went.
And yes, it was steep...that's the boys on one of the switchbacks...with some new friends.
Around every corner was a new, different, spectacular view of the same place...
We made it down to Cedar Point in about 1.5 hours. The ranger gave some talks on the way down so it really could have taken less time but the talks were very interesting. I would recommend taking the ranger led hike for the first time. At least for novice hikers (like us). Cedar Ridge is out in the canyon. You can go out on a point away from the rim walls. It feels like you are in the middle of the Grand Canyon. Here are some pictures from the ridge.
And the trail we came down...
Now, to get back out! Slow and steady...the ranger's advice. We started out a little to fast but Melinda found a pace she could handle. The boys went on ahead (where else could they go but up to the top?)
Here's my beautiful wife saying...'This isn't a big deal!'...I don't see any huffing a puffing at this point.
The top has some pretty steep grades...yep, those are people coming up and down the trail. Makes you wonder where they are walking.
We made it!!!!!! It took about an hour to hike back out. No pictures...we were tuckered out!
If you get a chance to hike down into the canyon, I strongly recommend it. The ranger said 95% of the visitors never go below the rim. Do yourself a favor (if your physically able) and take a hike down into the canyon. It is well worth the time and effort. The views are amazing and there is something special about being down in the 'big hole'. The boys already want to come back and hike all the way down, spend the night (or two), and hike back out. Guess I need to start saving now! Overall, it really wasn't that difficult and an absolute blast!
Next up, the train ride back.
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